Woah, this article has inspired some really spicy, hot takes! Maybe because the article erred slightly on the side of a hot take itself, but still!
I think Arnhelm is due some scrutiny, to be completely honest. Things have taken a while to heat up while typically with new projects, the start is the most active period. Part of this is definitely marketing, which Olde Delaware pointed out. I think to some degree someone needs to be Alan Lee in a Haven sandwich suit talking about this place to new members wherever they are.
I also think the nature of the Arnhelm "world" needs to be expanded on a little more. I had conversations with Prim about Councilors being able to post bio's going into their "background" to introduce a little bit of a roleplay element. I also think random "events" that Councilors have to respond to with legislation like Nationstates.net issues could be cool, and also something new members easily understand because of NS issues.
So I disagree with Calvin that the project is fundamentally flawed, or should be shuttered, or is even on a failure track. But I agree that after months of writing the founding document and now weeks of slow-and-steady (but mostly slow) on-ramping, we do need to apply some constructive criticism if the project is going to succeed.