By now, I think this mixer of a thing should have been put behind us, theymos will do anything that will make people think he didn't think it well before he acted, and for me, that decision was a perfect one. The repercussion he guarded against is different from the end-user discussion, but those who are advertising them.
Is it not better to safely advertise here and not be known to advertise what the government is clamping down on? Many must have missed the big money from mixers, but it can't be compared to shutting the forum for it.
I personally don't think the government would shutdown bitcointalk because some users, on their own, advertise for mixers on their signatures. But you never know...
This is an assumption, and we can't base the fate of the forum on that. Has the government banned advertisers simply for advertising certain products/services? Yes! This is not new.
Are those advertising the mixers through their signatures not advertisers? Where are they doing that if not inside Bitcointalk? For me, the risk was high, and theymos did the right thing.
Despite the big mixers' money, how many big advertising outlets do you know that openly advertise for them?
Not many outlets advertise for gambling, porn, as well.
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These are not accurate examples, you may not see gambling/porn adverts everywhere, for they are adult contents that might be offensive to many, unlike mixers. The government has clampdown on many mixers, how many lawful gambling/porn sites have the governmenet clampdown on? They are just incomparable.