Allow me to state the obvious since no one else has. Viruses, hacks, maintenance mode, hang on tight, and a crawling server speed have left the members feeling somewhat disenchanted. Traffic is certainly down and those that do log in are sometimes in a pissy mood these days because of the bullshit. If problems persist, it is possible that members will continue to drift away to other boards and Getbig will not retain sufficient mass to survive or recover, and will wither and die.
240's thread on a Mr Getbig 4 contest had some legs. Ron should pursue that imo. Freeing some of the more interesting people from Timeout might pique some interest and get the place hoppin'. Letting us know what's behind the recent rash of problems might help, even if Ron just starts a thread called "Fuck you, it's free, deal with it." People would at least get to vent and raise a little hell.
Mostly, he needs to ensure that his site is up and running properly and is disease free. It's awesome of him to have never tried to cash in and make us put up with advertising and such, so if it's a question of money to get things done, I'm sure a lot of long term posters would be willing to make a donation to help him out. I'd give him a few bucks for all the laughs I've had over the years and if the place folds anyway then so be it. I've never been one to yell about the sky falling here but the time for a decision is at hand because the fat lady is starting to sing.