Call me a sad loser - I won't argue the point.
I would never do that, and anybody who would isn't worth talking to.
To answer your question: there's nothing playable yet. However we do know of at least two attempts to create something playable based on City's client, and at least two other attempts to create whole new games in City's likeness. So "not yet" is not the same as "not ever." It may not be exactly the same city we left, but we'll have a city again. I don't doubt that for a second.
I feel your pain. Waiting sucks ***. But look at it this way... at least there's something to wait
for. We don't know exactly what it'll be, or when it'll happen, but something
is on the way. City's future is not an empty void. We just need to find things to fill our time with until it gets here. Oh, and support those attempts when they ask for it, so "one day" gets here even sooner.
Stay safe out there, hero. We'll fly again.
By removing it for them, you deny them any contact with people who may be browsing but do not want to be bothered by registering.
In my personal opinion, if someone finds registering on a forum too bothersome, then they didn't have anything worth saying in the first place. So no loss there. But putting your email address out there for anyone with an internet browser to see? Now that could lead to problems. Not everyone realizes that though, some users need people with more experience to point out these things.
To have let that email address sit out there would have been highly irresponsible on a moderator's part, and I for one am happy that the people looking after this site have strong enough moral fibre to do more than just look the other way.