I can tell you that I did the same thing more than once, building a $10k bankroll twice from virtually nothing, and you are 100% in your observations. Poker is ever-evolving, online more quickly than live, and requires constant study and attention to be successful. I can remember at one point discussing the fact that only the top 1-2% of players are long-term, consistent winners. It ain't easy, and when you consider the difference over the long term between running good and running bad, you realize that even the best player can lose money to bad runs, and the worst player can turn profit due to luck.

Bankroll mgmt is the real key, as you have noted. Seems like Chris Ferguson once attempted to build a b/r from $0 on Full Tilt and kept a blog about it or something. I remember him saying it took like a year before his b/r "stabilized" at over $1.

NO solid player joins a forum to brag about his winnings or to talk about how much he/she has won. They do it to improve their game, to bounce ideas off of others, etc. Here are my OPR stats from "the old days" on Tilt, and you can see I was barely on the cusp. PHINGROOV72 Poker Results and Statistics - Official Poker Rankings

I have friends who were real winners, who've long-since moved abroad so they could continue to make a solid living. They are still on forums, but generally don't bother with one aimed almost exclusively at providing freeroll opportunities.

Keep at it, be strict with your bankroll. Starting from $50 is almost INFINITELY easier than starting from $0. And moving up in stakes means adapting to a new set of strengths, weaknesses, and play patterns in both yourself and the competition.