Goodbye

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david63
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Goodbye

Post by david63 »

It is with some regret that I have decided the time has come to hang up my “phpBB boots”.

You may, then again you may not, ask what has brought about this decision? There are two aspects to it – the first is the personal aspect in that later this month I will be 75 and that seems like as good a milestone as any, coupled with the fact that I have been an active member of this board for almost 20 years which is longer than, as far as I can ascertain, only two other members, and in that time I have become one of the top 20 posters, so I consider that I “have done my bit”. I also have ongoing health issues to contend with.

The other reason is with phpBB itself. Over the last year or so I have become increasingly disillusioned with phpBB along with quite a number of other members both from the various teams, some of which do not appear to have visited the board for years, and non-team members! I have voiced my concerns about this in several other topics but those concerns, which are not just mine, have gone unheard or dismissed as “we know there are problems and are working on them”. None of this can be blamed on the volunteer organisation with phpBB because phpBB has always relied on volunteers.

Then there is the attitude of some, and by no means all, Team Members to me personally which I find discourteous:
  • Being threatened that I will get an official warning if I post something that a Team Member does not agree with – even though I have not contravened any phpBB rules, and that particular Team Member cannot issue warnings anyway.
  • Having Team Members continually criticise or contradict posts that I make.
  • Team Members who continually advocate using sql commands or custom coding when there are extensions that will do the exact same function. This is when the whole ethos of the current phpBB versions is to avoid any manual changes.
  • A Team Member locking topics because they may become too controversial, or are too close to the truth.
  • A total lack of interest, for over two month, from someone in the Team (not the Team Member who is acting as a “go between”) when I try to improve a topic in the KB.
There is also, in both my own opinion and that of others, a total lack of management within phpBB evidenced by several facts:
  • There is no plan, or if there is then it is not published, for future version releases of phpBB despite the fact that phpBB 4 has been ready for well over 12 months (except for Chameleon).
  • There are over 700 open tickets in the Bug Tracker, some going back to 2009.
  • If there is ever a suggestion, or even an offer, to do something in a different way it is always dismissed with the “this is the way we have always done it” attitude – times change and, believe it or not, so does technology.
  • Then there is the fiasco of Chameleon. The Chameleon project is beyond belief – it has been put in the hands of one person who has gone on record as saying that he can only spend one hour a week on the project – that is 50 hours a year – I have spent more than that amount of time in one week working on extensions. For the record I have never at any point said that there is not a need for a new style, or at least a re-working of the current style but what I have said, and will repeat, is that Chameleon will be a total disaster for phpBB unless some attitudes change.
It is time, well it is probably long past the time, that some Team Members, especially the Management Team, woke up, took their heads out of the sand and had a long hard look at what is going on (or more precisely what is not going on) and ask themselves why so many developers, extension writers, style designers and even long standing members have ceased to be active. phpBB management is living in the past and relying on past glories – so much has changed in the last 10 years, but not here.

As of today I will no longer be supporting any of my extensions.

And with that I will take my leave – and thank you.
David
Remember: You only know what you know and - you don't know what you don't know!

I now no longer support any of my extensions but they will start to become available here
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Mick
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Re: Goodbye

Post by Mick »

Oh dear, sorry to see you go, you will be missed, I understand all your sentiments. Have a relaxing time in real life 😉
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dbrewood
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Re: Goodbye

Post by dbrewood »

You will be very sadly missed by myself at least.

I do not disagree with your reasoning.

Keep well and take care. Enjoy your retirement.....
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Scanialady
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Re: Goodbye

Post by Scanialady »

I'm sorry you're leaving, I've enjoyed using your products. But I understand the problem, and some of it applies to me too. It gets harder every year to keep the motivation for this project and for the own website.

I wish you a good time.
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Re: Goodbye

Post by Sergio64 »

Sad news :(
Thank you for sharing your amazing extensions David.
Take care of you.
Best regards.
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Talk19Zehn
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Re: Goodbye

Post by Talk19Zehn »

Hello david63, I will greatly miss your actions :cry: , including controversial constructive discussions. Thank you for everything, for your precious time and what you have done since 2002.

Stay confident and above all healthy. Best regards from Germany.
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warmweer
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Re: Goodbye

Post by warmweer »

hmm?
another one of the phpBB2 generation calling it day. (you're senior to me by about 9 7 months - that is in phpBB age ;-)).

Enjoy the piece peace and relaxation 8-)

edit:
david63: Dec 19, 2002
warmweer: Jul 04, 2003
that's 7 months, not 9 (the older I get, the more difficult counting becomes ;) )
Last edited by warmweer on Wed Oct 12, 2022 10:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Meis2M
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Re: Goodbye

Post by Meis2M »

rest in pieces my friend.

non of us will not see phpbb4 like u in 75 :D

see u in next life
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Elias
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Re: Goodbye

Post by Elias »

Very sad day.

Thank you for all the hard work and time you spent helping make phpBB better <3
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HiFiKabin
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Re: Goodbye

Post by HiFiKabin »

Sorry to see you go.

Take care of yourself David.
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KevC
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Re: Goodbye

Post by KevC »

David, you are easily one of the good guys. You've been here for as long as I remember and always willing to dive in to topics to help out. Many a time I'd see something and think mmm... I don't know that one but David will be along soon no doubt and he will! I've used many of your brilliant extensions on my boards and recommended them to many more. You'll be a great loss to the extension library.

I can fully understand all of the points you make.

Have a happy rest of your retirement, best wishes to you in everything else in your life.
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[Dimetrodon]
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Re: Goodbye

Post by [Dimetrodon] »

Understandable, sorry to see you go.

Thanks for your contributions David63. I certainly appreciated them, and so did many others.
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Raul [ThE KuKa]
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Re: Goodbye

Post by Raul [ThE KuKa] »

I wish you the best David, rest and enjoy your free time.
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P_I
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Re: Goodbye

Post by P_I »

Saddened that the phpBB community is losing such a valuable member but I fully understand your choice.

I wish you the best enjoying your free time and whatever else comes along to fill it.
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Dog Cow
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Re: Goodbye

Post by Dog Cow »

Yes, it is regrettable that you can no longer participate in phpBB, but as you say you have made a long run of it. 20 years!

I concur with some of your observations about phpBB today, as someone who has been a part of community since 2005.


TO EVERYONE who cares about the future success of phpBB: getting an updated style, whether it be Chameleon, or some other style, is a Number One priority. Everyone, from admins to users, will judge phpBB based on its style, appearance, looks.

This cannot be overstated: the success of phpBB in the 2020's depends on its looks!
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