Some just quietly wither away. Some, because they feel that have become useless, become bitter and cynical and blow their heads off. That's what people do when they feel they've lost their purpose in life. More than one old-timer has told me that they have no reason to go to places where they aren't wanted and the new guard isn't interested in hearing what they have to say. They get tired of being called everything from bleeding deacons to Big Book Nazis. The AA message has become passe' in many circles in AA.