Forum activity slows every year in November and December. People are still fighting diseases, but perhaps they are also busy with the holidays.
Search engines prioritize authoritative disease information over informal discussions when you search for the name of a disease, which is appropriate. If you search for "MDS forums" or "MDS discussions" you're more likely to see forum sites in the results.
I think that patients should use all of the resources available to them, including these forums, the
MDS Foundation's message board and, for those in the UK, the forums of the
MDS UK Patient Support Group. There is also an MDS group within the
Leukemia & Lyphoma Society Community.