I've never recruited through general-- and my group's lasted a good 6 months. My friend runs a sister group to mine and his, too, has lasted just as long-- and he's never used general.
I've always recruited entirely through word of mouth and roleplay-- even well before general was removed. Once or twice every two weeks, we take our mapped group into public areas and just-... Roleplay! No advertisements, no frantic whispers, no ((Join our group!)); we just act as our characters and garner interest. Our recruitment's inevitably slower and smaller than general-spammers, but every member who's joined has stuck around; we're few, but more active and long-term than most bigger groups! It's a very close-knit community where everyone knows each other. Honestly, people should just try!
With advertisements, you're more likely to attract those looking for a night of roleplay rather than something long-term. I'm hoping recruitment will get a little more intimate than repeatedly typing out a dull advert every two minutes! While I do agree that advertisement takes more effort now, there are other (arguably more successful) methods to get members.
