The Demise of rec.kites

Ever since I started reading USENET news (around 1987 if memory serves) people have been saying "Imminent Death of USENET Predicted - Film at 11!". When the Internet exploded onto public awareness in the mid 90's, and the public subsequently exploded onto the Internet, it became September all year round (the traditional month for hunting hapless newbies on the net due to the start of a new academic year and a new intake of college freshmen). rec.kites has survived better than most newsgroups, but it's clear that it's been going one way (down) since then...