I would think it takes a lot of effort to keep the sites going. I went to a panel for Gaiaonline a few years ago and he was talking about the nightmare it was to try and reorganize and get back to their original intent of the site. Not everyone was on the same page, some got paid, most were volunteers and many left disillusioned. (That was my take of the panel). Maybe if they were able to run it like a business? But then you have to sell something to make that happen and you need people with a keen business sense (and honesty)!
I was looking at a little guy sitting in the grocery cart yesterday...he was maybe 8-10 months...full set of hair sticking straight up...absolutely adorable! They just melt your heart...especially when they start interacting with the world around them.