All I gotta say is "dang". Not really the news I expected to casually mosey into tonight. This is sad to hear.
I honestly never would have expected Parallaxed to do something like that. What would he expect to accomplish from this? I just can't wrap my head around it.
I also share the sentiment that while I loved seeing the updates and other things Marm was up to in the development of this server, I always had the feeling he sorely needed a break. A hobby like this should be fun, not stress. I hope to see him around to, at the very least, hang out and enjoy the results of his own work for once.
Also, if it's any consolation to Marm (assuming he reads this), whatever it is, it isn't you. You are not the cause of this mess. I'm in my 15th year working tech support, and there has been a very nasty change in the air in the past year. People are getting mean ridiculously mean, snapping at any perceived wrongdoing, demanding compensation for every tiny perceived wrong. Culture as we know it is falling apart. Too many people are concerned only with their own validation, and not with any self-reflection. None are willing to compromise, because that would destroy their oh-so-holy validation.
If you do return, do it for your own enjoyment, and make sure you are not directly reachable by the players. Maybe not a "PR group", but maybe find a mod who makes a good "point of contact", that has enough of an "FU" attitude to tell off any would-be Karens. You're not making money on this, so you have no obligation to take abuse.