i think it's really a matter or spreading the word and getting readers to engage. Sure tapas will give an announcement about an event, direct everyone to a forum post, people read it and move on.. but to really get engagement i think it's gonna take creators finding way to interact with readers in the forums and get em interested.
i've also wondered if the fact that it being mostly creators has also led readers to stray away. Some people (readers and creators) i know have shied away just out of shyness others simply may not know if they'll be contributing anything valuable to a conversation (again tying back to the predominant creator presence here). There's gotta be stuff that'll give them a reason to engage
also agree with joe a thread would be good