I'm probably not going to involve myself in the conversation at length. But as a member of one of the niche roleplaying communities in question (Tabletop, in particular), I felt that it was proper etiquette to share my opinion on the matter. 

So, the issue at hand: People want the forum condensed and re-organized. I don't have much to address about this, but one solution that has been suggested was removing certain subforums entirely rather than reintegrating them elsewhere. Why? Because they're dead, of course! The whole lot of 'em! 

Even if this were completely true, removing them wouldn't be a great solution. Even if there isn't an existing playerbase (which there is, and I'll get to that in a second), why would we alienate any newcomers or returning vets that are seeking that niche? The goal is to keep people in the site, not shoo them away because they have an unpopular taste. 

My second point is that these communities aren't really as dead as the general perception. In my personal experience, the forum itself only shows the tip of the iceberg. Most of the roleplaying and ooc talk takes place in other programs entirely (particularly Discord and Skype). The result of this is that the interest checks are really the only things getting any eyes, while the real activity takes place off-site. If nothing more, the forum should act as gathering ground for people looking for a new group to play with. 

So my opinion is that it'd be very kind of the roleplaying community and the moderators to maintain this site as a platform for the less than popular forms of play.