there seems to be some minority of authors that post intermittently.

I'm in the same category as you. In the last year I posted virtually nothing anywhere.
Short form is being pushed on all platforms but I don't think it has a future tbh. YT is in competition with tiktok, reels etc but what future do these tiny videos have? Where is the value in this type of product? I don't mean monetary value but lasting value?

Looking at my own actions I have been solely watching movies...old movies to be precise on YouTube and interestingly there are no ads. I assume that advertisers don't see any value in placing ads on old movies lol. Which is just fine with me.

As far as hive Leo etc it seems that lately short form is the flavour of the current season. 😏👍🏼