I know that to not be true as I was just on a month, or so, ago and saw a couple of them on. I also know people who are still active.

Either way, it's inexcusable. I spent years building relationships, gathering alternate account IGN's, and saving those over my own alternates to only have that taken away. There is no way for me to remember each person I've met in this game, nor to recall which IGN they may be using to get in touch with them if they happened to have returned.