A Few Leaves

The growth of a site might be compared to a tree, typically vigorous when young but slowing as it reaches some size, whatever that may be. Trees are claimed by some to grow in silence, though will on occasion shed branches. Many never make it, judging by the "hello, world" sites one may find on a newest hosts page.

Oswald Spengler made a comparison between civilizations and living organisms: rapid growth, maturity, decline. Perhaps he was trying too hard to fit a rather messy history into his particular, deterministic narrative, though, alas, some of his predictions have been too good.