Well, there's always the Randy is actually Black theory....
Ok, I'm not saying it's valid, but thinking it over a bit, I think it'd be a hypothesis that could be something to explore (and turn into a theory in the process). Let's assume for a moment it IS the case. It could be Black found a reason to fix VP unrelated to what the people are looking for (like Stein complained his tables are in jepoardy of not working in future releases of XP or something). That would explain why Randy suddenly reappeared and why he has nothing to say about anything (because Black already said his bits and has indicated the "new" direction he has in mind with Future Pinball). The "Black" persona gives Randy permission to be an asshole, become greedy, etc. while leaving "nice guy" Randy intact. But Black is the more realistic persona once R/B realized there might be some money to make with VP, but the VPM issue would give VP itself serious problems when trying to charge money plus it's kind of out of date, technology-wise (if you believe in real-time 3D as being the "in" thing) so it was a good reason to start over and just leave out VPM type support, at least officially (whereas we KNOW Randy supported VPM, at least indirectly which would leave him liable if he started charging for VP).
I mean I just don't think Randy EVER participated socially enough to gage his real personality, but we have a VERY good idea about Black's short temper, etc. Besides, I never thought it made any sense that a programmer supposedly in Alaska (I never bought that location) would team up with some guy on the other side of the world in Australia. It doesn't make much sense to me and it was pretty clear that Black & Randy didn't seem to be getting along in that short period where they seemed to be working together (well more like shortly AFTER that period when Black started talking about "his own direction/plans" for VP, etc.) That doesn't sound like the attitude of someone who is Randy's friend and co-author. It sounds like the attitude of someone that OWNS VP's source code. I also found it strange Randy is supposedly his friend (by Black's own admission) and that they were always on good terms and yet Black couldn't get a hold of Randy for a supposed 6 month stretch and then for 2 years or so until NOW when Randy miraculously reappears. That doesn't sound like a co-author / friendship type relationship to me. It sounds very ODD. It either suggests they were NOT getting along PERIOD and were actually fighting over VP's direction, etc. (or that Randy found out about Black's "plans" for VP while he was away (which Black denies and only Randy could verify, but he was conveniently missing all this time) or that they are indeed one and the same person and Black simply didn't want to be nice-guy Randy anymore. It certainly doesn't suggest what Black claims that they are good friends but he couldn't get a hold of him for some unknown reason.
But the rub is that BECAUSE Randy is back now, he could answer the "WHY" question above and make sense of the seeming contradictory evidence, but MY prediction is that he won't explain those details and will fix VP for SP2 (maybe a few new features already completed or mostly completed for VP will appear) and then Randy will conveniently disappear into the void again. Meanwhile, Black will continue Future Pinball.
One potential reason for "Randy" to reappear now and fix VP for SP2 is that it doesn't do Black much good for the VP community to totally fall apart (and let's face it, with AJ's server issues, the SP2 issue and no word from Randy, it was fast heading in exactly that direction) as that would mean that much a smaller potential user base to fast-grab new consumers from when Future Pinball is released. You have to admit, the VP community makes for a nice quick place to post a mess and try to sell / advertise Future Pinball at. You can't do that if the user base is gone (either not there because it closes down or because users stop coming there due to a lack of interest in a VP product that is extremely buggy and doesn't work right with the latest version of Windows). Thus, it would only be to Black's advantage to make sure there is still interest in VP over the next year until Future Pinball can be completed for its initial release (the latest timetable posted suggests May at the earliest for a DEMO of it, let alone a completed version, which I would suspect on target for the following Christmas season). The VP community could have been very diminished in a year's time with no fix for VP. So conveniently during the whole VPF server crisis, Randy suddenly reappears out of NOWHERE and says he's going to fix VP for SP2. Other than some vague hint at a future VP7 (we've heard that for YEARS and there's no sign of it), he pretty much just indicated he's got an idea for a fix for the SP2 problem.
So paranoid, crazy, whatever or not you might call that theory, you have to admit that the puzzle pieces do kind of fit, X-Files style.
The proof will be whether Randy explains what's going on and whether or not he sticks around this time or disappears again. If he disappears (or stalls and does nothing with VP and then disappears AFTER FP is released), I'd say more than likely the theory will have some proof. If OTOH, he starts moving VP again with new features and poises it to be FP's competitive nightmare, I'd say that is proof they are indeed two separate people and the reason for his disappearanc, etc. lies elsewhere. We'll just have to wait and see.
I just checked the latest thread. "Randy" conveniently IGNORES all questions directed towards him (about where's he's been, the direction of VP, etc.) and only seems interested in fixing the SP2 issue. All seems to agree with the idea that Black is playing the part of Randy (one other possibilty is that Randy WAS a separate person in the past, but really has LEFT and now Black is just playing the part; AJ could probably shed light on where "Randy" is coming from compared to Black in terms of an IP address, although those things can be faked).
Hey, I hope it is Randy (and not Black) and all is well, but I can't escape the sheer "odd" factor about how he ignores all such questions (Black tended to ignore things as well unless he went into a rage or something). The "Randy" talked to back in 2001 in e-mail and on VPF seemed VERY different. He started behaving oddly about the time Black appeared (for whatever reason). Black seemed to do all the talking and major developing at that point....
Wheee..... aren't Conspiracy Theories FUN? :D