No Easy Way To Say This

RIP

Will never forget you or your kindness and support during my early Admin years. I send my sincere condolences to your family. You are now a bright star in the sky Reunited with your Mum and Dad. Out of pain now. R.I.P

In memory of Julie I have organised a tournament in my group Pam and friends. This will be an annual event. Our 1st opponent will be Team Wales. Ron please join.

I'll do my best for you & Jules in the tournament but send me a notice when it starts, or PM.

I can't play because I belong to both teams. Will notify all Pam and friends players when match begins

Me too.

oh no...... i'm so sad to hear this news. Kohai was an angel.

Rest in Peace

I wasn't aware of her passing (I don't read the forums much), and so I sincerely thank @bishophowells for making this posting.
I knew Jules since she first joined and had reasons to interact with her on a continual basis until she closed her Kohai account. I knew about her health issues and her issues with this site (which we shared). She built a reputation here for being knowledgeable, fair, incorrigible and diligent. I always enjoyed working with her, conversing with her and learning from her. She was the kind and quality of individual this site used to attract and hold onto before becoming a "brand." She had a huge following of admirers when she was active, and I was among them. 
While I'm sure more of the 100s of millions of members couldn't care less, she was a force in her time and a decidedly direct reason for the development of some of the positive qualities this site has somehow managed to cling to. I don't know how many here will miss her but the effects of her existence her will be felt, knowingly or not, by all for a long, long time.

I will miss Jules a lot. A felow welsh lass and my friend.

She was wonderful and will be missed.

Well said, batgirl.

I will always be one of your fans also.,

(I came here to talk peacefully, please do the same. I'm necroposting for a GOOD reason, not for a random garbage reason. I got all of this information from DrSpudnik, who discussed these things in this forum. I'M NOT THE OP, The OP is CattlesRevenge). Look up this forum if you want): https://www.chess.com/forum/view/for-beginners/why-am-i-so-removed-stupid-can-someone-explain-what-is-wrong-with-my-brain-111576778 [Page 33 has the detailed comment]

The History of Chess.com Forums and Moderation

Kohai was indeed the leader of Chess.com's moderation team. She is basically a "super-mod from England" who was essentially the "overlord of the moderating staff." (During her tenure, she and other staff members struggled against waves of forum trolls who made the site chaotic.)

After Kohai left due to mental burnout from the stress and carpal tunnel syndrome in the wrists, Chess.com management implemented sweeping forum policy changes, including:

- No political discussions
- No vulgarity
- No discussion of cheating (redirected to a dedicated group)
- Restrictions on images and memes outside the Off-Topic forum
- Stricter moderation generally, partly due to the growing number of children on the site

The Encyclopedia Dramatica reference is also real. There was indeed an Encyclopedia Dramatica entry about Chess.com management, and suggests that negative publicity from it—combined with other pressures—may have influenced the site's decision to tighten forum rules. I've also seen mentions that a rogue staff member disabled a Trump-hating discussion group some people belonged to without explanation.

The broader point: Kohai's departure marked a turning point in Chess.com's forum culture, shifting from relatively open discussion to much stricter content moderation—a change that remains in effect today.

100% true, and very well said.....I will always miss her.

Gosh, that's sad.