Reading through the 6 points this thread is based on, I think 1,3,5 and 6 have always been true. People are all different, and some people like to play the bass at home, and always have. I have no idea what 2 and 4 are based on. There are loads of good gigging opportunities in the UK. There is a growing trend of pubs and venues closing, but I'm not sure that this is "too many", and the opportunities are nowhere near "drying up". As far as gigging becomming less popular... I just don't get what it's based on. Probably posts on basschat, which is far from a representative sample. Loads of the posts here are rants from people in a bad mood, loads more are bitterly sarcastic, so there's no way to get a real sense of the reality of musicians' life in the UK from basschat.