Although the current moderators will tell us that membership is up, quite a few of those are the spammers ("My step-aunt makes $70 an hour....") that appear as answers to so many questions. Same message, multiple account names, and they can't be stopped, apparently. And maybe not all the "real" new members are posting questions.
The new managers also have said that the format changes were implemented so many more people could access from their smart phones, which people requested. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think people are going to write thoughtful responses of any length on a phone. I think we are seeing a greater number of way-too-short questions - just not enough info for responders to go on. So you see a few "huh" or "we need more info" answers - and that means fewer people are going to repeat those answers.
I maintain that there's a level of nastiness that continues with some responders, and a whole lot of "this is our site and how dare you criticize Member X who has been here for years." There are also a lot of "I'm calling troll" answers (probably made worse by exceedingly brief questions posted by cell phone). So new people who ARE legit are scared off by the judgmental attitudes they encounter. I think new people who are just reading a few questions and answers, who have not yet posted anything, may be scared off by that and figure that Mamapedia has nothing to offer them but petty BS and sniping. If I were checking this site out for the first time, I'd have a very different opinion than I had some years ago when I first joined. I doubt I'd come back for a second look.
And of course there has been a lot of discussion of technical issues, a lot of badmouthing of people who aren't as computer savvy by those who think they are experts, and it just looks like a nasty mess instead of a supportive community.