No block source available - 0 active connection(s) to Vertcoin network. Fresh Install. Why?

Fresh Windows 64-bit install using the latest version from github. I searched around here and it seems a common issue for over a year now. I know the recommended process to use the bootstrap.dat from vtconline.org, but that still doesn't solve the issue of fresh installs not being able to sync quickly. It doesn't look good for new users.

Why should a fresh installation have such trouble syncing? I would understand if it just takes a long time, but as others have posted - it frequently has 0 active connections to the Vertcoin network. Why is this happening and how can it be remedied? Does that mean not enough people are running full nodes? Or that the initial configuration in v0.11.1.0 does not contain the correct information to connect to the current network?