Ask HN: Is it becoming more quiet around here?

I've only been a registered HN regular[1] for about 1.3 years, having previously just drifted in and out, but recently, it seems that the quantity of comments has dropped off, and the fluidity of posts on the front page has also reduced. Is this a common occurrence (some type of ebb-and-flow) or is HN usage dropping? If its the latter, then it's just my luck to finally settle in where all the cool kids hang out, just to find it abandoned shortly thereafter... --- [1] I'm fairly active and I think my Karma score is quite good for the period.