I'm well over a year now, so don't count as a newbie. I agree though that there seems to have been quite a large number of new members commenting recently. I hope this is evidence of an upwards trend and not just a temporary blip. The more that leave, the more doubt that will sow in the minds of those remaining.
Now that the WT isn't making commitments to any specific date for Armageddon then I suspect it's the DF/DA threat that's keeping a large proportion of the congregations in. The irony is that you could have a whole family of doubters but no one says anything because they fear losing contact with their relatives; it's like living in some sort of Stalinist regime.