Well it would seem so.
On 04 April 2005 this site had a record number of people on-line...that being 696 simultaneously.
That record was then beat on 27 Feb 2007 when we hit a record 698 pers on simultaneously.
Since the 27th of Feb, that record number has gone up 5 times on 5 seperate days and now stands at 753 (and that's from today!!).
We've also had 5012 new posts already this month and a 710934 page views. (42701 just so far today!!).
So yes, I'd think that the growing popularity of the site most certainly has something to do with it.
Want to help solve the "slowness" that is sometimes experienced?? Support the site via subscribing, as only with these funds can servers (which are very costly) and other essentials be upgraded. Without that support Mr. Bobbitt does what he can, with the resources he's got. And I think he's doing an excellent job of it!!