About .Dave.
Okay, I know you've made the decision to permanently ban .Dave. I think it's a bad decision, but I don't guess you're going to change your mind just because I don't agree. But I want to tell you what .Dave. did for this community, and for me in particular, just in case it might help you understand why I, and so many others, are so very upset by this decision.
.Dave. showed up on Blogit four years ago and began promoting, not his own blogs, which would have been both understandable and expected, but my blogs, and other people's. He did what I didn't have time to do. He took my Blog Seeds and planted them, and encouraged other writers to plant them. And he started a blog to chronicle those posts that had been inspired by the seeds. And so many people found out about my seeds that way.
Many writers here were "discovered" by other bloggers simply because they wrote a seed-inspired post and were included in the list at the Potting Shed. I know I discovered a few that way. Many other writers were "discovered" and became popular because .Dave. took the time to comment on their posts, or to "remember" their posts in his "Blogit Gold Dust" or "A to Z of Bloggers."
In short, .Dave. came here and set out to contribute to the Community. Not just to earn money for himself and to have a forum to spout his own ideas publicly, but to promote those whose work he saw as useful, interesting, or unique. And his own work flourished because he struck a chord among other bloggers. Those who clicked on his blogs to "repay" a click or two found themselves hooked and kept clicking.
What was wonderful about .Dave. was that he didn't care if you clicked on him or not. He clicked my Blog Seeds blog every day for four years, and I don't think I've visited his blogs more than a handful of times in those four years. He knew my limitations, and supported me anyway.
All that to say, it's a shame that such a community-minded, inoffensive person has been ousted. I'm going to miss .Dave. And it's clear to me that many other bloggers will, too.