Forced absence? I don't know if I'd call it that, because that's a really big exaggeration. There was a one-week period where you were able to log into the forum and use the private messaging system, but not make public posts, and since then you've had your posting abilities back for three months.
Tangentially, the Maccon was available for almost everything with a slot in the early '90s -- which version have you got? Is there anything special about it that makes it $200 desirable compared to other Ethernet cards?