[mikenew]

The issue was also opened in a very positive and respectful way, which sets the tone for the whole discussion.

From my own experience, if I've been away from a project for a while sometimes there's this snowball of guilt that just keeps building up, and if there's people saying "hey what the hell?" it just adds to it. Understanding that and making sure there's no implied accusation can go a long way to getting someone to break their silence.