Thanks for the replies guys. I realize that asking "are forums dead" here is about like asking an aquarium fish how they like the ocean, but I'm just trying to imagine what could be done.
I *could* just put up a clickbait site and work to hit critical mass, but that's a lot of work. What I'm hoping to do is to find a way to actually have fun with the Internet again...
My real options for dndplayer.com seem to be to put up another forum (Xenforo) or to put up a Social Media site using SocialEngine which would be more akin to Facebook meets (whatever is out there)
(check socialengine.com)
I have spare licenses of each, so it's not a matter of money as much as a matter of direction...
I'm also not really a D&D player (as much as I would truly like to be) so whatever direction I go in, maybe I can find someone who's interested in the admin side but not the hosting/techy stuff.
Wayne
Well, you're in luck; right now Wizards of the Coast (the owners of D&D; they bought all TSR's intellectual property in 1997 or so) is being very not-aggressive as far as going after community creations.
I say, start it, slap a few different "edition" forums (original D&D, AD&D 1e, 2e, D&D3rd, 4th, 5th, Basic D&D) and see what happens. Hit the usual suspects (various D&D facebook groups and other webforums) and lightly advertise with the permission of the PTB on those fora, and see if you can build a critical mass.
As far as community admins and such, I'd throw my hat into the ring for Original D&D and AD&D1.