Personnaly I find the foundry a little empty at times but things are getting done.With new maps being made by old and new people.Criticism is usually well thought out and constructive.
Devolpment of a map can sometimes also hinge on your activity in the forum.Like if you post in a couple other places and people have a notion of who you are then thier more likley to look in on your map(if you advertise a little, like with sigs).But if you just start a draft and dont post anywhere else except in your topic then only a few people will respond.
what daunts others to cause problems, in my opinion, is that some maps move quickly through the foundry(quickly being 6-8 months) and they get steamed that thier map is stuck in the mud so to speak.Its not political bias or the stampers just hate you but that 99% of the time your map could be made a little better.Whether that be the background, Color of a territory, name, or any of a millon things.You just have to tough it out, continually update and it'll work its way up.
Just my thoughts