From what I have read in the site records (I've only been here for about 3 months, but I was curious about this), it seems that we are in the "No one's Home" time of the year. If this isn't dead (and I don't think it is), the site will be back up with the regular hustle-and-bustle sometime between late August to mid September.
As for the character discussion part, I think that it is normal that the Character Suggestion part will always be the favorite spot that people flock to.