...so I thought I'd explain why I left EvC and what I've been up to, since.
It was just taking up too much of my time and attention, frankly. There was nothing more to it than that. I'd get into these furballs with Rrhain and Holmes and it just wasn't worth the attention and mindspace they were taking up. I don't think anybody cared (or even read the threads) but the three of us, frankly. So, one day I just put "evcfourm.net" in my router's blacklist and started pursuing other interests.
I think most everybody who knew me knew I was a dropout English major, so I decided to refocus my efforts, and I've been working on finishing my undergraduate degree in biochemistry, because the biochemistry of life was always something I found fascinating but too intimidating to absorb on my own. It's really been a lot of fun. I've lost none of my passion for the life sciences, nor for arguing - these days I'm mostly arguing politics under the handle "Chet" on various blogs - but I'm trying to have arguing on the internet be a diminishing timewaster in my life. My wife is nearing completion of her PhD in entomology, I hope to be done with my undergraduate degree around the same time, and we're going to live as adventuring sailor-scientists on our own 40-ft yacht. Well, maybe not right away.
Thanks to everybody who emailed me over the past two years or so, it was nice. I still see some of the old crowd around on the internet - I'm facebook friends with Schraf, and I ran into Arach on io9.com last year.
I have no particular thought on what has come to be known as "the Purge" (which happened long after I had decided to leave) except to note that any policy that resulted in the departure of so many luminous minds must surely have been flawed. What is the purpose of EvC if it's not to have people like that around to talk to?
Anyway, consider this the farewell I didn't make last time. I was tired of grandstanding exits and decided simply to stop posting. I'm heartened that I was noticed and missed, and perhaps I'll stop by again in the future to keep any interested parties appraised.
P.s. Who's got the no.1 post count, these days?
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