I love how all the contacts are so shadowy. None of them can ever be named! Art Bell doesn't have friends...
I assumed most people would innately understand, but apparently I have to use a parable - so I'll give it a try.
We could probably agree that Art Bell has millions of fans - fans who would also naturally be interested if Art were no longer associated with C2C.
That having been said, let's pretend that your father was close friends with Art Bell, and that your father knew that Art would no longer be associated with C2C. Also imagine that I could contact your father via phone and email.
Let's assume, for the sake of the parable, that I did indeed contact your father, and that he confirmed to me, that Art "will no longer do C2C."
Now, firstly, I don't think that simply because your father is close friends with Art Bell, and that he knows his circumstances with C2C makes him a shadowy figure. In fact, I'm guessing that, you would
NOT want me publicly naming your father, or how to contact him - you can see how that might put enormous strain on your father's life, answering countless phone calls and perhaps thousands if not hundreds of thousands of emails. Not because he's a "shadowy" figure, but merely because he knew something, and answered honestly when I contacted him. It wouldn't be fair to your father for me to name him without his permission.
Now, similarly, despite your faulty notion that Art Bell does not have friends, he actually
does have friends (imagine that!). I contacted this friend, and was given the response I've already posted. This person has a direct connection to the message Art sent via his webcam screenshot. I did not ask this person for their permission to publicly name them, or their phone number, nor their email address. I think it only fair that I err on the side of caution, and save this person thousands of phone calls and emails, don't you?
So in much the same way I suspect you would want me to respect the privacy of your father per my example above, I have chosen to respect the privacy of the person who confirmed Art's new lack of association with C2C.
There is no conspiracy or shadowy figures - it is simply a matter of manners.
Capiche?