They only get used for the username colour and userbar.
A lot of new users seem to think they're full of activity and what-not - which is false.
I'm not complaining, just putting it out there for those that have high expectations.
Its a shame group sub-forums are dead, you need to have a pretty much open group for it to be active, maybe if there was only like 10 groups people would be more active else they would lose there spot in the group.
I can vouch for this. I'm getting myself a co-leader to help try to boost the activity and get things on track since I can't do it alone. But it is true that most people just want a fancy color and a userbar to match it. Hopefully some changes are made soon enough to some of the groups (mine included) and get things rolling again. It is just a shame to see some of these groups become a wasteland.