Yes, you do.
And yes, it does sound like Carbon is pretty done for, BUT he did get pissed one time and swear he would leave, ultimately deciding against it. Rather, he just cut back how often he posted.
I think for a lot of us, once we got the main arc finished, which took long enough, it was time for people to take time off or clock out completely. Of course, not only do you still have these characters living on, but you also have new people (Teal, Bison, Oranos, etc.) coming in who want to have a go at it and that means others of us have to find something to get into. So, there's a certain fatigue involved that I think has struck a few people.
And I hate to say it, but I think the main arc finished up anti-climactically. Carbon, Xenon and Ryat had their ships toasted. On the one hand, it would have made it far more dramatic if I got more of my shit toasted and there was a drawn out ordeal involved in my rescuing the others while they try for a daring escape. On the other, getting my shit toasted would leave us with almost no resources and I think we all wanted to see it finally over with given the delay in progression and ocassional missed opportunities for other action/arcs. Of course, it was satisfying to see Alpha toast the bitch.
I dunno. Let me know what they say.