I'm not defending the decision (because I don't agree with it) and I am clueless about why the Tavern disappeared (unless it was feared that the OT people would start smashing the place up), but I believe the reason that they have not come out to discuss the issue is that there is a policy that the administrators/moderators/coordinators avoid getting in quibbles with the membership. Yes, this has happened in the past, which is why the administrators/moderators/coordinators make the effort to take the high road now. If you haven't noticed, they rarely try to defend themselves. This isn't cowardice. It takes a lot of self-control not to respond to anger with anger. And the fact is that many people don't want to hear the reasons, they just want to argue and use any incident as an excuse to do another round of Rendosity bashing. Saying all that, I don't think it was a particularly good decision because the OT served the function of providing a place for stray conversations and letting off steam. But I'm not running the place and I'm not paying the bills, so I have to either stay and respect the decisions of the people who do, or go to another site. My choice. And yours.