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.
     
  2. Offline

    ArsenArsen

    Cant bellive... But, Life Is A Life, We all have to move on from one to another...
    How I Started... (open)
    Bukkit is a Huge Deal in my life... I started programming with it... Before i doscovered Bukkit, I was only kid that was void-headed, but after Bukkit, I Got My Good Side Of Life! I have to say,

    Thanks for being with us, For this long time, helping us, and helping me TnT
    P.S. (open)

    Bukkit Is Staying Forever, Its Timeless!
     
    TnT likes this.
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    ZeusAllMighty11

    Thank you for "fathering" Bukkit. Appreciate all you have done, thank you.
     
    AnorZaken, JOPHESTUS and TnT like this.
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    ChipDev

    Cya.
     
    AleksaSavic likes this.
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    gronnmann

    Thank you for everything you have done to the project!
     
  6. Offline

    Waterpicker

    "All good things must end eventually, but the next experience awaits."
    -Unknown

    Good luck with the future. With love from Waterpicker of the spout community!
     
    Inscrutable likes this.
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    Pr07o7yp3

    So, will bukkit stop work or just some admins left?
     
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    TWSSYesterday

    RIP in peace, thanks for all the hard work. :)
     
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    chasechocolate

    You will be missed :( Have fun with your daughter!
     
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    LEOcab

    I really liked you as a mod, TnT . You were always a fair and reasonable guy. I will never forget that time I posted something expecting it to be deleted but you saw the merit hidden within my argument and then actually stood up for it. Stay awesome, best of luck in your future endeavors, and of course, enjoy your little girl. Do svidanija, tovarišč.

    Wait what? Did he say Bukkit got canelled? Dafuq...? I'm gonna go to bed and when I wake up, everything will be alright. Right?

    EDIT by Moderator: merged posts, please use the edit button instead of double posting.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 9, 2016
  11. Offline

    VinexAx789

    I'll Buy Bukkit! This needs to stay alive
     
    bwfcwalshy, jthort and KingFaris11 like this.
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    thepotatisbulle

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    Chiller

    No, he said bukkit got bought out by Mojang... Mojang is overseeing the project now. Mojang probably had no need for these two admins...
     
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    Lildirt

    What the hell is going on this week though? Seems like the world is just beginning to shit itself.
     
    ChipDev likes this.
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    AoH_Ruthless

    You will be sorely missed, TnT . Thank you for all the hard work you have put into this amazing project. I never knew you personally, but I wish you all the best with raising your child :)
     
  16. Offline

    GodsDead

    Good luck in future projects.
    From the PirateCraft Team.
     
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    obscurehero

    thanks TnT; You were my favourite team member.
     
  18. Offline

    sfxworks

    So it begins.
     
  19. Offline

    Codygreen3

    Goodbye, buddy.
     
  20. Offline

    Adriani6

    Love you for all your help, and the fun times :)
    Good luck with life ;)
     
  21. Offline

    Gravity

    If there's one person who deserves some peace and quiet it's TnT. TnT loves this community and this project -- he's proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt for any of you who know him, have gotten to work with him, or have just seen his avatar in the "Staff Online Now" box at ungodly hours of the night. Not only has he dedicated thousands if not hundreds of thousands (not an exaggeration) of hours to the various teams and organizations within Bukkit, helping to organize, oversee, and manage this beast of a project with many moving parts, he has done so while already plating a full time job, a marriage, and now a beautiful baby girl. There was every reason, at multiple points in time, for TnT to hang up his hat and decide to step down from his administrative duties in order to have more time to spend with his family. Instead, he continued to pour his heart into this project for the good of the community. I'm lucky to call TnT my friend. Thank you for the advice, the humor, and the mentoring you have given me over the years, I wish you the very best of luck.
     
  22. Offline

    TomWolf

    I've been a long time on and off user of Bukkit but never been connected to the community here. This post alone makes me regret that. After reading this text alone I can understand why your role were elevated.
    I just logged on for the first time in a long time to say good luck in life and with your daughter. Thanks for your service to the community, I hope that Mojang gives you the appreciation you deserve.


    I hope that Bukkit will stay around and get worked on as a community run project with further help from Mojang in the future. Bukkit has been a big reason why I've played Minecraft at all and without it I don't see myself playing much at all in the future.

    Warm regards

    TomWolf
     
  23. Offline

    Doge

    much sadness

    much wow

    much bukkit
     
  24. Offline

    grid21

    But according to DinnerBone he said he would update Bukkit to 1.8? What is going to happen? Is Mojang taking over the project? Can someone please explain to me exactly what all this means when Jeb_ and DinnerBone tweeted about Bukkit being owned by mojang?
     
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    Peter25715

    Thank you TnT and all of the Bukkit staff,
    I wish that Mojang will do the same job and more better..
    Thanks for all you've did!
     
  26. You'll be missed :'(
     
  27. Offline

    MasterDoctor

    [diamond] Thanks for all you've done,[diamond]
    You will be missed. :'(
     
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    justcool393

    You'll be missed TnT. I saw you almost everywhere on these forums, moderating to the best of your ability. We've had some different opinions on policy, but you were still an integral part of the Bukkit project.

    Have fun.
     
  29. Offline

    Mike1022

    TnT will be missed.

    I guess with the two head dudes gone, the project likely won't survive past 1.8. This is just another nail in the coffin. I think the best thing to do to keep it alive is to try to make a new platform for server owners. One that holds to the quality and standards of the Bukkit project.
     
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    alzdoesmc

    That might be the case. Hopefully Spigot will bust out of the woodwork and try to make their own "1.8" version of Bukkit, or they could still update every now and then just like Bukkit did. I hope this doesn't turn into the next hMod.
     
  31. Offline

    Caxtor

    Your doing the right thing.............



    See u
     
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