When I was a JW back in the 1970s ("pre-Armageddon"), there were a few apostates back then that we all knew about. Back then, they were looked upon merely as another sign of the "times of the end" and were largely ignored.
The fact that these boards and apostate websites are regularly monitored is testament that the WTBTS is now more concerned with losing control over their membership, and are less concerned with the supposed imminence of Armageddon.