We all know by heart UC is falling apart, that's obvious. But I don't think we should regard it as a giant dump with such an attitude.
It's helped us grow, the community.
Do be reminded that the success of this forum and many products (including the Vortex deck, and the rise of many kickstarter projects) began there. We would've have reached and become what we've became today if it wasn't for its contribution. You ought to give it credibility.
Well, the actual website itself is nothing, it's a forum that isn't responsible for anything. The community is what drove all the positive aspects, not the functionality.
Now, we can divide the community into two parts. Part one is the staff, part two are the members. I have always thanked the members of UC for helping my project grow, and most of those members are now here. The UC community does a lot of great things, but most of that community has diminished, came to the Discourse, or barely posts at all. This is only natural when a site begins to die.
The success of this forum definitely didn't come from UC. Most of the founding members here, if not all, had little or nothing to do with that site. When I posted the forum on UC asking for help, most people ignored it, and a few people mocked me. It wasn't until we became super active did the other people start coming by.
During my stay there, I remember a few different people trying to start a forum to replace UC. Everyone complained about how terrible it was, and they still do.
UC was awesome in its prime, and the people did and still do a lot of great things. However, sites die and fade away. I've seen forums much greater and larger than UC become nothing. That doesn't make their history bad, it just means it's time to move on.
If I were the owner, I would shut it down and make it like Decknique, a database of posts, and redirect people to the forums that actually have a thriving community, rather than beating a dead horse. I guess I could be bias since I own this place, but I don't profit from more members here. I think this is more your guys' community than it is mine or any of the staff's. Every feature is built around you guys, and I think that's what ultimately drives this place forward even in my absence.