Yes, I have decided to finally close down the forum! 
JWD has been running continuously (with only the odd minor outage) for well over 8 years and in that time has seen tens of thousands of members submit 3 million posts and hundreds of thousands of PMs.
We started it ourselves when we were on the way out and intended it as civil, welcoming place where people could meet and discuss beliefs, their concerns and get support through what is a difficult time.
At the same time as wanting to do something good for others I also wanted to do something good for myself. I wanted to channel the hurt caused by the Watchtower society into something positive. I’ve seen people over the years that have allowed themselves to become eaten up by bitterness and desire for some sort of revenge and didn’t want to end up like that.
In hindsight, helping people is the only way to really hurt the WTS. People join the religion largely because of social factors (a few probably like the doctrines but I don’t think most ever really know what they even are!) so providing social assistance is what helps people leave. Seeing people able to leave and live a normal successful life can encourage those trapped to take steps to freedom. It is the best revenge.
I think we have largely accomplished what we set out to. 
Along the way JWD has been involved in some major events in the world of JWs – the revelations about UN membership, child abuse settlements, various lawsuits, documentaries by major TV channels around the world and umpteen other causes many of which were made public or announced on here. I remember being on the phone with the producer of BBC Panorama asking about the religion and working with them to keep mention of the programme hidden until they were ready to broadcast!
People have met and made new friends, there have been meet-ups and apostafests (Florida – yay!) some have become close and there have even been some marriages and births as a result of meeting through the forum! Sadly, we’ve also lost people along the way which has touched many and we have shared in other people’s tragedies and hopefully provided some measure of support for them.
Many people have made a positive contribution to the site and helped to make it what it is which we really appreciate. We are especially grateful of course to all those who have helped with moderation of the forum which is an absolutely thankless task at times – they have to deal with you lot AND me! 
LOL
The forum just would not have lasted as long as it has without them and I owe them a huge amount of gratitude and credit both for the time and energy spent keeping things civil and taking care of the site as well as the emotional support they have given us behind the scenes. They have always spoken their mind and been willing to tell me when I’ve been an idiot which is just as important.
Over the years we’ve seen many people come, work through various issues and move on. Some stop around a while to help others and a few pop back to say 'hi' from time to time but as I’ve always said it should be the aim of every ex-JW to eventually become an ex-ex-JW. It is healthy and an indication that people are moving on and growing and that the forum is of use.
I think it is now our turn. 
That doesn’t mean that it’s been an easy decision to make of course but we have been thinking about it for some time now and recent events have strengthened our resolve and confirmed that we are making the correct decision.
Running a good forum is not easy or simple. It is impossible to please everyone and not everyone wants to take part in a civilised community or even allow other people to do the same.
Over the years we have been subject to various, what can only be described as ‘hate campaigns’ with various lies and slander told in attempts to ruin our character and reputations as well as those of some of the moderators. We have been subject to repeated harassment, threats and attempts at intimidation of a level that I think most people are unaware of.
Recently the malicious activity that people have engaged in has reached new lows with obscene emails sent to me and my work (to no avail I must add – I have a really great employer why already knew all about my JW past and the forum and have been very supportive over this). These people have threatened me, my wife and our children and are actively seeking our home address (and claiming that they already have it and offering to share it with others). They are also harassing some of the moderators who give their time and energy freely simply to help others.
The internet truly gives every cowardly slime-ball a voice and a virtual street corner to stand on. BTW: Any information that people may have about any of those concerned would definitely be appreciated so that we can pursue action against them for what are definite crimes. 
The ex-JW community has certainly changed over the years.
People have and always will have disagreements but in the past there was a certain level of mutual respect, even if you vehemently disagreed with someone, and a line that people would not cross. Now it seems that the slightest disagreement is taken to extremes and escalated beyond all proportion with a level of vitriol seen in very few online communities. Some people even hold grudges about things that have happened literally 5 or 6 years ago! How sad and pathetic is that? 
It seems that too many people don't want a civil place and for some reason don’t want to see other people have one either.
I think the silent majority have always appreciated what we do and continue to support us but there is a sizeable minority that is either easily swayed or too lazy or stupid to see what is happening or just plain don’t care and even think its all fun to watch and it becomes a game – maybe they have nothing better to do with their lives?
Others seem to have a problem with any sort of authority and refuse to cooperate with the simplest request. Time and again we see simple requests or announcements turned into major battles and campaigns.
Some people seem too selfish and only appear to be interested in their own wants and ‘rights’ while ignoring those of others who don’t want to see or put up with such nonsense. They are unwilling to look at the bigger picture or the intent behind what has been said and instead they want to argue over every word of every request or announcement. Of course, they know what is really going on – much of the frustration and anger that I have voiced recently comes from the fact that they know what has really been said but they do not care. They have a plan and do these things intentionally and distort what I say to scare people away and to misrepresent us.
If anyone publicly voices any support for us then they turn on them too and try to drive them away with insults, attacks and attempts to reveal people’s identities and cause trouble for them.
I’ve never liked bullies which is why I have been so stubborn all these years and refuse to give in to these people. Sometimes others have been caught up in things which is unfortunate but typically the result of them not looking at what is really going on or just accepting and repeating the lies that they have heard elswhere. I have little patience for these people whether they have done things because of malice, stupidity or plain laziness.
While the forum has always survived (and I think always would because of the majority of decent posters) the hate campaigns die down for a while but never stop and we know they will just start again over the latest issue-of-the-day or request. All the old chestnuts and lies are resurrected and the cycle repeats. The forum ends up just discussing itself which is a waste of time.
While many may disagree with some decisions I have made over the years and how I have run the forum I can point to the fact that it is the biggest and longest running as vindication of the approach. Other forums have come and gone and alternate approaches tried and abandoned when they were shown not to work. Yes, it takes a certain bone-headed stubborn individual to do it but I think our success proves that we must have done something right!
Of course I will have made lots of mistakes and could have handled some things better. I my defence I would say that I never advertised perfection and it has been a learning experience for us along the way. I don’t think everyone appreciates the amount of time, money and energy that we have committed to run this site and what we have had to put up with along the way. So yes, I’ve been cranky at times – but then I may have just spent hours being jerked around by someone or received some threatening email. People want to be shown patience but not everyone is willing to give any to us when we’re trying our best to do the right thing for the best of intentions.
An example this week is typical. Someone can slander me by accusing me of being ‘an angry drunk’ but when I say anything back in reply there are howls of protest and demands for me to apologise. Sorry, but that just aint gonna happen! 
There are other forums where people actively plot to come on this site to cause trouble and where they post slanderous lies. They seem to have very little to do with their lives but we have so the bottom line is that I’m giving up and letting them ‘win’ (I’m not sure even they know what they won but I hope they are happy). I feel sorry for someone if this is really the best thing they can focus their energy on - it's pitiful in fact.
Inevitable of course we’re quite sad and feel like we’ll be letting some people down. I know the vast majority of posters who come here and use the site without ever being a problem may be disappointed and for these people we are truly sorry but we’re just getting too tired of it all to carry on any longer and our interest in anything related to JW-ism has waned. 
The site could never really end on a high and was always going to end some way like this. We could never close it when everything was running smoothly and it was all plain sailing. Even now there are lots of things that I planned to do which I know would make a difference to the site and counter some of the negative action but I think it’s time to call it a day for us.
We’ll take with us some great memories, some good friends that we’ve made along the way and an enormous sense of pride in what we accomplished - that we were able to build something that helped and touched so many people. The messages of appreciation we’ve had over the years really have meant a lot to us and helped encourage us to keep it going as long as it has. 
So what is going to happen now?
I’m sure that some will rejoice and gloat and do whatever they think I won’t like. I also know that there will be a hell of a lot more people who will be sorry to see the site go and angry at the people responsible or even at us for quitting – we’re sorry, honestly.
Other forums will start-up to replace this one and if anyone wants any help setting up a serious site (not a trivial chit-chat site) for the purpose of helping others then I am willing to give advice (technical or otherwise). If they PM me then I will be happy to promote it on here as long as it isn’t a “let’s trash Simon” site like others have been.
I haven’t decided on the exact mechanism yet but the forum will continue to operate for the time being although registration will be kept closed. I don’t have a date yet but I won’t just pull the plug without plenty of warning.
Once posting has been disabled (don’t worry, I’ll give more warning!) then the site archive will be kept available and if there is another good site we will include links to it so that new people wanting to join a still active site can be directed to it.
I know Lady Lee who has done a huge amount of work creating a very valuable 'best of' section still wants to add more to it. She has brought together a wealth of valuable gems that make it easy for people to research a whole host of issues.
Later on I may sell the domain name if someone makes a suitable offer (the dysfunctional bunch need not apply of course!)
What about us?
Well, we started a new life and it’s going really well! We both got great jobs that we enjoy with good companies that appreciate us. We have a great family, both here and back in the UK (until we convince them to move over LOL) and we couldn’t be happier. Running the forum has been a great experience and I think made us both much more confident and assertive which has certainly helped career-wise.
I have other projects that I want to work on and the things I’ve learnt from creating and running the forum will be extremely useful. I’ll also have so much more time to commit to them now!
Mainly though we’ll be relaxing and enjoying the sun (or snow) and the great city we live in or visiting the mountains (we’re determined that we can’t be the only people in Canada that can’t skate or ski 
).
We’ll still be here for a little while longer but would like to say “thank you” to everyone who has used the site over the years and taken part in building up the community and especially those who helped us run it - all the moderators, past and present (we really have a great team of people right now). It’s been a blast.
As Dave Allen used to say, “Goodbye, and may your god go with you!”
- Simon & Angharad
)
Wish I had the chance to sit down and toast you with a real one.