I do not see SuperTopo as being a unique experiment, other sites have done the same perhaps not as prolific. Cascade Climbers went through a similar upheaval a while back. Now it is a moderated climbing forum. I think SuperTopo will be around for a while, it will not be as prolific but it will stick around as more of a climber site. What I find interesting is one of their admins participated in quite a few political discussions. I personally do not think they will get sold, where is the value? MTBR was bigger and never got sold. MTBR solved the political problem for a while by creating a forum specifically for that purpose. The problem is, politics on a recreation based forum just turns into an administrative shit show. It gets worse when your admins get involved.