You do not have to connect yourself with your previous SR account but if you were a previous vendor and wish to have access to a new account here without having to pay for it as you already paid for it on the previous site, you can encrypt a signed message to Sarge or myself and operate under a new name here. That entails revealing your former identity to a forum moderator - in the interests of security and balance, Sarge was not at all involved with the previous Silk Road, whereas being a member of staff, I was. If you wish, you can PM one or both of us with your request for verification. Again, if you wish to start fresh, that is certainly something you are entitled to do. "'hero OG members' have been accused of all sorts" - accusations about various things have always been thrown about. Unless those accusations can be backed by solid proof, they are just that: accusations. I think we have demonstrated by our actions and words that we have the best interests of the community at heart here, and before directing people anywhere from the old forums I advised all members to treat every forum and marketplace as though it were compromised from the very beginning in order to ensure that they treat their security with the respect that it both requires and deserves. If you act at all times as though you're operating under the eye of LE you will ensure that you don't do anything that may potentially put you at risk. Again, there's no obligation to connect yourself to the old site at all. You will have the opportunity to become a vendor in the same way as any other new vendor when the marketplace is up and running. Some old vendors wish to capitalise on the brands that they have built, and that is perfectly understandable. If they acted at all times on the previous site as though LE were watching their every move, they have nothing to lose by retaining their former usernames, and everything to gain in terms of customer loyalty and brand appeal. Libertas