DA has always had problems - I still remember the ongoing feud I had with another artist that went on for a year or two, and it was honestly more amusing than it was antagonistic (and least from my perspective), because it's like we had become the AVGN and NC of DA.
But, I digress. DA has been seeing quite an exodus of people in recent years - even I'm considerably less active than I was in the beginning. One thing I have been noticing lately, however, is that DA seems to be turning into Rule34 Lite: there's a lot more nude and sexual photos and artwork than ever before . . . I wonder if perhaps DA is trying to relax their restrictions a little; I've noticed many people who have migrated to tumblr say they prefer it over DA because they can get away with more NSFW kind of art.