Matt, back in the early 2000s you banned one of my sites after I told you about it at a Pubcon conference in the hallway, asking some questions. That was actually a good thing, as over the years, I've always thought whether ""Matt would approve"" or ""would this pass Matt's review of the site?"". It's kept me honest and transparent, and I'm sure you know that it's so easy, as an SEO guy, to wander over to the ""dark side"". This industry, as a whole, needs more honest, transparent folks.

I sincerely do apologize for my antics back a few years ago with the April Fool's joke, and how the agency I worked for announced that you were coming to work for us--didn't think the whole entire search industry would take it so seriously!

Hopefully we'll be able to connect again in person at some point--so I can thank you for everything you've done for me, for the industry, and SEO as a whole.