Probably because people are getting tired of how damn slow this place is and that it's been way over a year this way. So, it's possible the count comes from people doing what I do...right-click and open messages and forums into a new window so that while you are reading one thread the others can be trying to open. I've had 10 windows at various stages of opening. Darned if I'm going to click on a thread and waste 2 minutes of my life waiting on this site.