I'm a little bit confused. The moderator explained with a reply to the thread before closing just why the action was being taken.

And you didn't wait very long to get a reply from the moderator to your email... Thread closed at 12:06pm CFT (Central Flyertalk Time), this message posted 2:42pm CFT. And there may even have been a few minutes in there where you didn't know the thread had been closed, and a few minutes before you emailed.

Not a criticism, and I don't mean it to sound as such, but a suggestion for other situations that I like to be given a chance to email back -- I might be on a plane, or just in a meeting during the day, or out to dinner. I try to answer my own emails promptly, but I do sometimes walk away from the screen. I suspect others might feel the same way.

I'll leave it to Randy to comment on your suggestion that he share Flyertalk news more broadly. He might well appreciate the member feedback. I suspect it won't come as any surprise that notifying a very large user base of a disruption in service will be a challenge, and I bet there will be several approaches taken.