It might be useful to compile a list of "purged" DUers here and see if we can dig up contact info

[Very_Boring_Name]

I have the email info of Kitchenwitch and Techbear Seattle, I've sent both of them an email informing them of the situation. I'd like to see if anyone has contact info for indianagreen, or pelosifan?

[sensate2000]

1. What is the situation?

[Very_Boring_Name]

2. skinner is giving amnesty to any DUers banned during the gay purge

[tekisui]

3. Nevermind, I found the thread.

[rurallib]

4. when did all this happen?

[Very_Boring_Name]

5. the gay purge or the amnesty?

[rurallib]

9. the purge -

I don't remember any big hoohah about anything. Was it around the whole DADT thing?

[Smarmie Doofus]

12. More like a brouhahah. Not so much a hoohah.

May '09.

Other details I'm unclear about. It seems to have been Obama loyalists dismissing and ridiculing GLBTers objections to O's backburnering of DADT as well as a number of other issues: Rev. Warren, marriage equality, and the rest.

All I noticed was there were a bunch of people here in April and .... very gradually ( being somewhat slow on the uptake on these things) I noticed this one was tombstoned or that one was tombstoned.

Communication was difficult 'cause discussion of what happened was banned as well. I think, knock on wood, we are past that, at long last. Skinner's intention was undoubtedly NOT to recreate East Berlin in the 50's , but that's how a lot of us experienced it.

We lost a number of other people ( besides the May '09 contingent) along the way... both before and after. Where'd they go? Why were they banned?

It would be nice if some kind of consideration could be extended to them as well. Skinner's been , on the whole, magnificent in these threads. Maybe he'll come around to the view that an extension of a targeted amnesty would be fair and just and wise. Hope so.

[Very_Boring_Name]

13. it was quite a while ago, april or may of 2009 IIRC

What made it so strange is that people were tombed simply for mentioning it, or asking "what happened to X tombed DUer?"

[eilen]

6. I don't know if many will come back.

After all, could you blame them?

[Wetzelbill]

7. same here nt

[Starry Messenger]

11. There are a couple who would like to come back.

But I believe the amnesty only applies to the May '09 posters.

[Control-Z]

8. KitchenWitch's number was the only one I had to offer.

Sorry I can't be of help.

[Smarmie Doofus]

10. I'm not sure he said that. The May '09 bannings: yes.

Did he extend that? If so .... can you post a link? That Mending Fences thread's so overgrown , anything or anybody... including Judge Crater... could be lying in there.

[Cherchez la Femme]

14. I already mentioned some names

some of the following may be redundant, even spelled or syntax wrong, but fwiw:

Two Americas
sniffa
johnnyblitz
Lost in VA
YoY

Gah, when it comes right down to it my mind draws a blank; there are well over half a dozen other names of people I've enjoyed reading (even though I haven't participated much -- no, this was not a safe place, still may not be) who have been delivered granite headstones.
When I remember some I'll post again.

Or is that the purpose of this thread?
It seems to be, but then no names have really been mentioned in the comments, have they?
I don't know, is there still too much fear and I am too blind to see it?

A personal note:
I wish TechBearSeattle would come back, but I don't think he will -- just my (probably ignorant) Opinion based on what I saw as his principles.
Still, a huge loss for this site.

[Very_Boring_Name]

15. I emailed techbear, and he said he will not be coming back. This was his reason:

Thank you for the information, but I will be declining. My opinion on Obama and the current Democratic Party will only get me banned by the end of the week.

[Cherchez la Femme]

16. Thank you

for letting me know. I was wondering if I should have even said anything...

It's so strange, through all those years of Bush 'it was patriotic to dissent';
now, not so much-to-none at all.

And unfortunately, President Obama has caused much to dissent about (bad grammar, can't think of any way to say it better).