Yeah it gets really confusing. It takes the context out of some threads. I guess I am a little confused, though...are there "levels" to deletion? Gorse and MistHunter, for example, still have their names on their posts. The context is maintained. For others, it just says deleted user number whatever, so there's usually zero way to know who it was. Did Gorse and MistHunter not actually delete their accounts, just abandon them? If so, that is inadvertently inconsiderate compared to the deleters. Not that I would expect someone who feels the need to delete their account to consider preserving the sanctity of the Forum Timeline(TM), but they could. It makes more sense if the staff deleted someone's account and banned them that the traces of their identity would be torched also.
I just use the same name everywhere, for the most part. If someone wants to find me or scam me, well, they are welcome to try and steal my identity and student loan debt, I guess. My email, phone number and other info gets sold to scammers and spammers whether I'm posting on forums or not. And if I get bored of this place or too busy to post, I'll just...stop. I won't delete it or make a big deal, I'll just wander away. Not that I see that happening.
The thought of things getting deleted over time does make me think of all the various posts on websites that have deleted/missing links to megaupload and mediafire and other file sharing sites. It definitely dulls the excitement of finding an old webpage that might otherwise provide a way to obtain something obscure or otherwise unavailable.