Eric, The Engineer goes way back with us -- way back before I was any part of us, certainly. I gather he's been 'taking some personal time', and his membership lapsed in the interim. I've not been here long enough to be aware of any such a circumstance occurring before now, but apparently policy is that if one returns after a dues-lapsing absence, it is to be as a 'tenderfoot'. I've missed his postings and am relieved and happy to have him back regardless of station.
I'm not clear on the policy regarding contributions made by those who part from us, whether temporarily or permanently, but I'm afraid their contributions disappear with them. If that is indeed the case, I believe it should be reconsidered as an unwise and perhaps unnecessary diminishment of the collective accomplishment. [Edit addendum:Peter has just posted.] Peter, could it not be possible to delete a member's contact data without sacrificing their contribution? Or some alternate method of avoiding our being a source of spam while not diminishing the, ahem, richness of the collective effort?
Engineer: welcome, sir. I've been wondering whether and how to say that, as I barely had time to appreciate your offerings here when they tapered off to nil. My loss. You've been missed. The Turning Star, too: brilliant. I certainly hope it can be resuscitated.
Respects and kind regards from a relative newbie,
Denny
PS - It's also my understanding that we have more space available on the server these days for really thorough and painstaking consideration of matters great, and not so much.