That is all and that is what I said to my friends on the site privately to explain my absence.

So WHY are some people trying to characterise my leaving as an attack on free speech? Seriously? I didn’t threaten you, didn’t try to get anyone silenced, I didn’t try to shut the board down. I. Just. Left.

I just had an AHA! moment. I suspect that the "attack on free speech" may not have been your leaving, but rather your telling others (a) that you left, and (b) why you left. Or I could be wrong.