Hello Mile-O ..
>> No one is being rewarded. Fact of the matter is that the accounts should never have been deleted in the first place. <<
I do agree that accounts should not be deleted with out the account owners permission .. even if the user is banned.
I also fully respect your thoughts on a "self moderated" site ... I do not like "rules", I much prefer guidlines and mature "direction" if needed. But I think we (the site) need folks like you to have the ability to perform unpleasant actions ... reprimands, bans, etc. in order to ensure a high quality site that can be enjoyed.
Ok .. so .. the reason I threw my comment out there is that it seems ( .. of course realizing my perception is my reality
... ) that Rich (nor Mike) acknowledge the fact that their actions were uncalled for, and the welcome back with out a consequence, or acknowledgement, of their behavior is, to me, a reward. I will grant that I am unaware of any PM's you (or other admins) may have shared with the two in question, so again, my perception is my reality.
Also, sticking with my viewpoint that I have expressed on other threads, I support any action you, as an administrator of this site, have taken, I may not agree with it, and will express my thoughts of disagreement, but I trust you are acting the way you see fit, while considering the opinions of others, that is in the best interest of this site.