I think all of the social rollplayers moved to discord. Look at the off-topic and roleplay discussion sections? They aren't very lively either. It's not that people aren't talking about roleplays or off topic stuff anymore, it's just that these discussions are being held on discord. I think the more social users like the "junkfood," rapid fire nature of discord more than the forum for chatting, which is why only the RP sections seem to be thriving. 

If you want to get new users in touch with the forum, it might be better to direct them to the discord server instead of encourage them to make an alkward hello post that few people will bother reading. Otherwise, find a way to bring discussion back onto the forum. But I haven't been on many forums with an active chat that have managed to do that.

I also agree that giving people "brag points" is a shallow, but a potentially effective way to get people more active on the forums. I'm also all for the "be your avatar" game, as that seems like something that's easy to participate in and doesn't require the same level of devotion as say an RP.