Sometimes creators go in with the best of intentions but you just cannot get traction.
I had the same when I launched NamePost, it just stalled and one has to know when to stop bailing out a sinking ship. I can relate to the owners and feel sad the project was not a success. Especially when you consider how much work goes into coding a site. For me I was fortunate because NamePost was a learning curve and a lot of the innovation I put on the site has now been incorporated on DN.ca so my many hours of work were recycled to our benefit here. Fortunately DN.ca is a passion project of mine so I am willing to keep it running regardless of economics, but I do picture us picking up steam as the .ca space starts to get more crowded.
I had an inquiry on one of my domains yesterday (via phone call) and it was a new startup company from Toronto. I knew the owner was playing me pretending he did not know the value of a one word .ca but when I directed him to our community he was instantly taken aback by the short domain and the thriving community. He said he had no idea such a place existed for Canada. I told him to read and try to find a compromise by adding a second word if he cannot afford a single word.
All in all a very nice guy so my heart aches every time I read a story about a failed project. I hope the owners of Fanbase are more successful with their new project. Apparently it is launching on the same domain.