I moderate 7 tribes at the moment.. Only two are public. one of which is quiet.. almost silent..

I would not give up a moderatorship simply because the tribe was "unsuccessful" meaning there were few posts - doing so seems "wrong" on some level.. .. Whether moderator or member - I think people direct their efforts and time into tribes (and people) which interest them. I also think the role of mod in tribes vary.. sometimes as a host, sometimes as the centre of attention, sometimes as policeman, sometimes simply being another member who administers the tribe.. Some mods feel a strong personal responsibility to see them succeed and hence post post post.. Some mods feel personal "ownership" while others are simply "custodians" of them.. some are just plain old indifferent - while yet another class of tribers seem to like to collect moderatorships as some form of self-validation.. All these will affect a tribe - especially the commitment of the mod to make it an active tribe - and how intelligent and resourceful approaching that goal.

I think additional big factors in tribal activity is why the tribe exists, whether is has a broad or narrow focus and also the members and the relationships (or lack thereof) between those members..

Mark Morford is the quietest Tribe I mod. It has 131 members and is about the San Fran news-columnist Mark Morford morford.tribe.net/ The narrow focus is probably restrictive.. It was created in April 04 so many of the members are not active on tribe.. I sort of regard myself as a "caretaker" mod until we can find someone with a Passion about Mark Morford who can also demonstrate they will be a good mod (hint... hint.. ) I sometimes think I should rebirth with a broader mandate to discuss the media but I think the tribe is valuable for it provides specific information and discussion focused to something which folk might be interested in.. just because a tribe is inactive does not mean it is worthless.. I get lots of good information and read interesting discussions even in tribes which have been "dead" for ages..

I love the Trivia Tribe.. because I love the folk there.. but also I love Trivia ! When ever it gets quiet I try and post and come up with ideas to keep it informative and entertaining .. its focus seems a little boarder than when it started .. and in some ways that reflects my hope to keep it vibrant.. Join it readers ! tribes.tribe.net/triviarocks

The others are private and small tribes centring around friendships -so the topics are very broad with the exception of a Masonic one (but once again that's just friends with a focus.. because all in it are passionate about Freemasonry.... but they share themselves thee as well and will post about their new dog or problems.. it will often out post tribes which have fifty times the members of that tribe.. )

As for asking for help.. I sure do ! I also tend to pimp the trivia tribe all over the place :)