So long, and thanks for all the fish

Discussion in 'Staff Goodbyes' started by TnT, Aug 21, 2014.

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    TnT

    With a heavy heart, I must say goodbye to Bukkit. Bukkit has been a huge part of my life for the past 3 and a half years, and one chapter I am sad to close. My start with Bukkit was as a regular community member seeking out a server mod to use to replace hMod, so I could run my own small private server (I think all I wanted was Teleportation at the time, which hMod allowed). This evolved into writing tutorials on running a CraftBukkit server (as there were very few at the time), and spending countless hours in Bukkit Help spreading my knowledge to those Server Admins who needed support getting their server running, or diagnosing their problems. Bukkit Help became my personal stomping ground as I became intimately aware of all changes going on with CraftBukkit from a Server Admin point of view. Those interactions led me to want to take a more active role in assisting the community, eventually leading up to being approached by EvilSeph to take on a moderator role.

    Fast forward a year, and I can proudly call all the Bukkit Staff, including EvilSeph, friends. When Mojang hired the original team, the question was posed about who should be project lead should EvilSeph step down, as a succession plan is very important to sustaining any project, Bukkit included. The question was put to a vote, and my name was presented as the candidate of choice. I’ll admit, this completely blew me away, but I was honored to be chosen. Luckily, EvilSeph continued to remain on as the primary lead of the project, while I proceeded to handle the day to day tasks. Bukkit Help matured along with the project, requiring less personal attention, so I branched out into every aspect of Bukkit, with the exception of handling any development (I think I made a javadoc update once though). I am proud to say I had a hand in creating the PR Handling process, managing BukkitDev, managing forum staff and making sure I was available in every aspect of the project - from helping to write our announcements, to bringing on new staff members when needed and so much more.

    What is often misunderstood about Bukkit was how the organization was ran. There has never been a decision made that was not made via a committee. There has always been a group consensus on all aspects - from handling BukkitDev approvals to forum rules and finally, yes, shutting down the project. This was truly a community run project. The core team was all formed from the existing community. The forum staff was all made up of community members. BukkitDev approvals were all handled by community members. Volunteers ran the project in every aspect, and as a team, we decided how to best proceed with decisions. As for Mojang’s involvement, not once in my time as a Bukkit Administrator did I hear from Mojang, or felt I could reach out to them for assistance when required and it came as a complete surprise that Mojang was willing to step up and help out. In the over two years that Mojang has claimed to own Bukkit, the original core developers hired by Mojang and Mojang itself was not present when we needed them most with the exception of EvilSeph himself continuing to pour countless hours into the project, at risk to his own personal health. Perhaps Bukkit wouldn’t have been shut down, or had such a difficult time maintaining the project had we known we could work closer with Mojang, as well as avoiding this whole EULA confusion.

    The decision to keep the acquisition of the Bukkit codebase a secret was made between Mojang and Curse, which only recently came to light. I was completely unaware that I had spent the last two years of my life as a Bukkit Administrator, and successor to the project lead, under the illusion that the project was independently ran. Had I known back then perhaps my choice would have been different, perhaps not. It’s easy to speculate on what might have been, but unless faced head on with the choice, the decision is not always clear.

    What I do know is the recent events has not changed the inevitable decision I have came to today, and its one that has been long coming. I am now the proud father of a beautiful 4 month old baby girl, who lights up my life, while also consuming my free time. I no longer have the countless evenings and weekends available to spend working on new processes, smoothing out issues, and responding to forum posts. I hung on this long only because I couldn’t leave knowing the project was hurting for volunteers, and I couldn’t just walk away given the current state. Bukkit has grown to be an extremely large project, and is incredibly time consuming to manage. I felt that I was abandoning the community of which I have grown so fond, as well as EvilSeph himself. I could not come to make that decision, it didn’t feel right.

    Now that Mojang has assumed control of all aspects of Bukkit, that gut wrenching decision is more palatable. Not because I harbor any ill will toward Mojang or the Bukkit community, but because I know Mojang has the resources available to really improve Bukkit. They can work with Curse to ensure BukkitDev has adequate staffing to handle the rigorous approval process - which has an incredible track record for keeping the community safe from those less savory elements of human nature. They can help when we have bugs that should be fixed in Minecraft itself. They can ensure whatever community contributions added to Bukkit can be taken into the Minecraft codebase itself. Now, more than ever, our community can actively contribute to Minecraft in a very real, direct way. You should submit your PR’s now, your code may very well contribute to the base game itself, an aspect which makes me want to dust off my 13 year old Java books and start developing again. In any event, should Mojang want any help in transitioning over the project to their control, I will gladly provide assistance where I can.

    I would personally like to thank all the volunteers who have contributed to Bukkit over the years. Our forum moderators have done wonders keeping this a welcoming, warm community. Our developers who repeatedly spend hours updating Minecraft, adding API and improving the codebase. Our many other unsung volunteers handling aspects from PR handling, to advice. Last but definitely not least, our BukkitDev staff who have spent countless hours keeping the community safe, as one of the most thankless tasks we have.

    I am extremely excited to see what Mojang can do with their vast resources to help the very community where some of its most prominent developers had their roots. This is exciting news for the Minecraft community in general, and perhaps when my daughter is old enough to play, I will meet up with you again on one of your fantastic servers, enjoying the features of one of your cool plugins. For now though, my family and my daughter comes first for my attention, as well as my heart.
     
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    Goblom

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    railguy_

    Thank you for everything you have done for the Bukkit Community, it won't be the same without you.
     
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    Steam Engines

    Thank you, and everyone on the bukkit team! Also, congradulations on the baby girl :3
     
    TnT likes this.
  5. Thanks and good luck with your life TnT
     
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    catbox01

    It would appear that not all the decisions were made by committee, huh? You have to be one of the few people that didn't understand, even after the defection of a couple of bukkit developers, that the bukkit core code was actually already in the hands of Mojang. I feel sorry for you, but perhaps it's better this way; Mojang has begun behaving badly, like a little Microsoft, and frankly, that makes it a good time to leave.​
    So much for the vision of Notch, huh?​
     
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    YepImRobbie

    A beautiful ending! I hope Mojang does good.
     
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    AronTheGamer

    Goodbye. [tnt]
     
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    SirFaizdat

    I hope what he said about Mojang having the resources to give BukkitDev adequate staffing to strengthen the approval process is true, because my plugin has been waiting for at least 4-7 days now and still no sign of any approval or disapproval. However, I am saddened to see you go TnT, you have contributed so much to what Bukkit is today.
     
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    MrCodeMiner

    It's sad to see you go, but fully understandable. Thanks so much for all you've done for this community TnT ! :D
     
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    jthort

    The TNT has fallen out of the Bukkit :(

    Thanks for everything you've contributed towards the community.
     
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    Waffles87

    Now I wish I had gotten more involved, sooner. All the best!
     
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    inventorman101

    Thank you TnT so much for making Bukkit a wonderful place :)
     
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    ActimelPL

    I was learning from your tutorials, posts, answers to others questions. Without them I wouldn't be able to have such a knowledge of Bukkit. These helped me a lot when I had problems with my servers, and it was a real pleasure to read them. I wish you the best, because you've already shown that you deserve it.
     
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    RainoBoy97

    Goodbye, TnT!

    “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.” ― Dr. Seuss
     
    JOPHESTUS and TnT like this.
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    Mamayadesu

    The End, not good end.
     
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    DinosParkour

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    legodude192

    Yep, good job minecraft, You've dug ANOTHER hole that you won't make it out of. Why Notch, why?
     
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    MiniDigger

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    Mike Primm

    TnT - congrats on the new member of your family: it's amazing how much that little girl will alter your take on life, and it sounds like you're approaching things with the right priority :) It's been a pleasure working with you over the years - even as my own interest and involvement with the Bukkit project faded, you've always been one of the folks I will remember fondly. Hopefully, we'll all get a better idea how these ongoing events will shake out over time, and what involvement we may choose to have in the future, but we all need to do as you've done, and keep our priorities in life straight.
     
    Hoolean, slipcor, Inscrutable and 2 others like this.
  21. TnT... I really wish you wouldn't go, but the time has come.. I love you like a brother (No Homo) even though we do not talk much, you are awesome.. I wish you ALL the best in your upcoming adventures in life..
    Have fun.. Keep programming.. Goodbye :)

    - Noah Coleman (Techno)
     
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    ShadowWizardMC

    Thanks everyone for putting me where I am today, I promised that I wasn't gonna cry *sniffle* but its a little more than I can handle. It's been great working with each and everyone of the Bukkit Staff and Community.

    I hope you all best wishes for the future. :'(
     
    TnT likes this.

  23. The feels.. Are here.. Your so so so so so so so so right.
     
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  24. Offline

    Dubehh

    Code:java
    1. if(Bukkit.getModerator("TnT") instanceof Awesome){
    2.  
    3. Awesome TnT = (Awesome) Bukkit.getModerator("TnT");
    4.  
    5. if(TnT.isLeaving(){
    6.  
    7. Bukkit.getPlayer("Dubehh").cry();
    8.  
    9. }
    10.  
    11. }


    Never knew you that well, but all the best in the future! Thanks for everything!
     
    BensDaMan, Techno, imN8 and 1 other person like this.
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    Jaaakee224

    Ugh, the only community I care about, is gone.
    TnT you will be very missed. Thank for for helping shape Bukkit as to what it is today.
    I always thought you were a great staff member here on Bukkit. I still can't believe this is happening :'(
     
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  26. I tend to see things from their positive perspective. First of all, I wish you luck TnT with the rest of your life, and thank you for keeping this amazing Bukkit project alive. I personally learned Java just because of Bukkit, and for me that was something special. It got me involved in books, and such and I was amazed when I realized how easy it was to bring my thoughts in real minecraft. I even started my own minecraft server, I remember by that time, I was searching for plugins when I finally got involved into this magic world of programming.

    I understand that it is very difficult for you, however your beautiful daughter is another whole thing. Don't be sad or disappointed, because Bukkit is more than an API!

    Best wishes.
     
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    ReeseNator

    TnT Your an amazing person, kept the community alive for so many years, and so many more to come. It's really sad to see you go, but I hope later on if Bukkit is still around you can look back and see what successful community you helped build from the ground up. All of us developers here respect for you and want to say big thank you and farewell as you leave the Bukkit community. Thank you for all your outstanding work and help.

    - Reese
     
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    Clancy

    We will miss you greatly TnT :(
     
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    Dirtypotato101

    We'll miss you!!! :'( Thank you for all your help!
     
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    Relicum

    i won't pretend we liked each other that would just be fake. But i will knowledge the years worth or hard work by yourself have only improved Bukkit to what it is today. Good luck in the future. Thanks
     
    TnT likes this.
  31. Offline

    AronTheGamer

    You mean out of the bucket? :D
     
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