After a long debate with myself while watching for evidence of Quickseller's motives, I have tentatively concluded that he is sincere in his current intentions.
Therefore, I have decided to follow the spirit of theymoses advice:
Exercise a lot of forgiveness.
In contrast to the accusations of people who just like to criticize me in every conceivable way, I am interested in cooperating with anybody who genuinely wants to contribute to the community. I believe that Quickseller is a highly intelligent individual which is precisely why I previously saw him as very dangerous (in comparison to just some dumb troll, of which there are many). If he put behind him all the things for which I condemned him, then I want to offer him peace, maybe even friendship, so we can each better work to make this forum a better place - despite any differences of opinion that I will gladly agree to disagree about.
I most of all credit Quickseller for making the first move here, which was a rather very big move. I did not ask for his recent apology; and frankly,
I never expected to see that day come within my lifetime. It was also a thing I think he could not have done with ulterior motives: He had no way to predict in advance if I would accept what he said, or reject it with the same harshness I showed when fighting him for years. Furthermore, I have noticed other behavioral traits consistent with this belief (his apology is only what got my attention and woken up my thought process).
Those who know me, also know that I am always vigilant; and out of various criticisms, there's one thing that I have never been accused of: being soft. If there is any repeat of the past mistakes and/or harmful behavior, I do not need to say here what my reaction will be. But I do not expect that to happen! I will support Quickseller's genuine effort toward the long task of rebuilding his reputation; and I earnestly hope to someday see him earn the status of a highly respected member of the forum.
Therefore, I have done the following 2 actions:
1) I have removed any negative ratings on
Quickseller, and left a neutral rating referencing this thread.
2) I have withdrawn support for any flags that have been created against his account.
I do not expect individuals to follow me in this peace offering at this time, but I ask and hope that people will be more open towards giving forgiveness where forgiveness is earned - especially given that his arguably biggest enemy (The Catbat Witch) has forgiven him and hereby offers him an olive branch.
That's the spirit required here these days. 