I apologize for deserting those of you whose hope for the future of this board allows you to
remain.

As one of those who asked for your guidance, I am one of the disappointed ones, yet I am also one who wishes you well wherever you may choose to go. Your reasons for departing are completely legitimate, with not a hint of cowardice. You need not take a "busman's holiday" by remaining here in an acrimonious place. I remain here in part because I have no other place to go. I remain here in part because there are still occasional bursts of wit and intellect that I cannot find in my job. I remain here in part because a few people here have treated me with kindness when I've sorely needed it. Even the oft-maligned Keiva, whom I publicly criticised, has never failed to treat me kindly. Perhaps, as you believe, AWAD-talk is moribund and disspirited, but I can't help but remember the old saying, "Where there is life, there is hope." The pulse is weak, and shall weaken more with your withdrawal, but there are a few of us who hope that your well-stated reasons for withdrawing may serve as an elixir to restore both spirit and flesh to this body.