Abe Sokolov stated for the record:

The comments unearthed by Sean Barret do not represent my views, and a careful examination of my long editing history will demonstrate that. (Given the economic approaches in which I was inculcated for years, I probably wouldn't even be considered a social democrat outside the U.S., let alone a Communist!)

I did not post them, but I suppose that I wouldn't be able to prove that. Of course, if one were to post similar comments under the names of Sean Barret and Michael Snow, they wouldn't be able to prove that they were not the ones making them either... It's quite distressing that users are searching for dirt on people off Wikipedia in order to server their political or personal agendas on Wikipedia.

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Four responses:

I Google lots of people's names, both those I despise and those I respect.

The hope that I expressed -- that those were not in fact your views -- was sincere.

When you Google for dirt on me, your efforts will be more effective if you take the trouble to spell my name correctly. (To aid your digging: I am not a professor, an athlete, or a "dysfunctional programmer." I am an author, with at least one book in print, but most of the books sold under my name are not written by me.)

For someone who won't be returning, you sure are watching the mailing list closely.