> If you go that route, at least change the password to some random string to lock yourself out.
I do that once in a while when I find myself wasting too much time participating here. It increases the friction quite a bit, but eventually I cave and recover the password.
If you really want to be serious about it, have to change the email address first, then toss the keys to that.
But that's not leaving either. Your posts are still out there, and so is your account. In fact, no one except you would know you left.
There is a reason why the EU mandated the right to deletion.