Scott, et al-

Here's the letter from Tim reposted:

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From: Tim Strike
To: All
Date: 2005-04-17 21:57:14
Subject: Hello

Hello everyone.

I realize Scott is probably waiting for a reply from me, and so is Michael

Yadron -- and with things the way they are, I'm not sure if I'd be able
to find 
their messages anymore to dig up the original context.  FWIW, I'm
no longer 
using a DOS/Windows based PC and have adopted a Powerbook as my
only computer 
-- but some of my mail has yet to be converted from my old
PC and as message 
formats age, finding conversion tools is getting harder
and harder.

So, hello everyone.  I don't anticipate that I'll be a regular here, but I

thought I would drop in while I could and leave a message, before life
gets 
hectic again (tomorrow).

I know of the many questions that have come and gone (and off the top of my

head Scott, this is about what I remember from our brief email exchange)
-- 
1) What happened to Tim? 
2) What happened to Telegard? 
3) What happened to Forbidden Knights (my BBS)? 
4) What does the future hold for Telegard?

I'm fairly certain that none of the answers that I could provide would be

sufficient for other people to either necessarily understand, nor do I
think 
they would provide any specific closure.  So I'll answer them
briefly, and 
understand that I will probably raise other questions, etc.

#1) For the last couple of years, probably since you last heard from me,
I've 
been working for various startup companies in Toronto and Montreal,
primarily 
during the boom and post-bust of the technology sector.  After
tiring of the 
ups-and-downs related to those (expanding and firing 75% of
your staff (going 
from 5 to 20 to 45 to 11 to 0), taking no salary for 9
months, getting bought 
out, watching it all fall apart a second time
(from 100 this time!), etc.) I 
decided to become an independent
consultant.  I now work with various small and 
large companies in Canada,
the US and abroad primarily in strategic technology 
projects in the
advertising or marketing verticals.  I still work too hard, but 
life
moves forward and at least I control my environment a little better now. 

I'm no longer a developer as I just don't enjoy the challenge anymore.

#2) Somewhere in all these transitions, I lost access to Fidonet and with
it 
the primary conduit to Telegard.  In addition, the time that I had
access to 
the Internet severely diminished and I was left without the
communication 
channels that I had started to foster while the Internet
was starting to take 
hold (email, web, IIRC, etc.).  This unfortunately
left me without the touch 
points that had became so familiar over the
years, and this led to a gradual 
withdrawal that was more subconscious
than conscious.  I was overwhelmed with 
responsibilities that I'd both
created and adopted, and I had difficulty 
juggling all the balls.  The
next thing that I knew, I'd disappeared from 
Telegard -- and I knew
exactly where I was.  I think that regrets kept me away 
after that, as I
felt that I had let many of you down by disappearing and for 
not
completing things that I had obviously intended to finish -- and perhaps

for not recognizing what was happening and not finding a way to exit
gracefully 
and determine a transition strategy.  Telegard as a result
limbered in no mans 
land -- and for that I can only apologize, utmost
sincere.

#3) Forbidden Knights suffered the same fate; it limped into non-existence
and 
was shut down to my recollection without much feedback from me -- the
next 
thing I had known it was down, and had been for a few months.  It
wasn't going 
to be recovered.  R.I.P Forbidden Knights, 1991-2000.  The
days of rushing home 
3 hours in the middle of the night to get it back up
and running seemed to end 
with the same withdrawal of its' daily
interaction.  Forbidden Knights came to 
a end with thanks to all its
users and those who kept it running for the 9 
years that it did -- even
if it was left unsaid.

Before I answer #4, let me tell you that my days as the author of Telegard,

working with its many users and most especially the alpha and beta sites
that 
made up a fabulous team, were some of the most rewarding days of my
early 
career.  I also know that I sacrificed a lot for Telegard but
hindsight only 
gives you the privilege of making virtual changes without
knowing what the 
final outcome would be -- and so I've long since made
peace that I made the 
best decisions at the time that I made them, with
the best information and 
guidance that I had.  I don't regret anything
that we all accomplished with 
each other, and I don't think I'd trade the
experiences for anything else 
either.  Everything I learned in those days
has fashioned my principles, moral 
guides and habits that I still rely on
today.  As a foundation, Telegard and 
all that it brought to me was
unparalleled.

#4) I'm not sure where Telegard can go from here -- I'm not sure that the
PC 
that has all the source code can boot, nor am I sure that I have all
the 
compilers and tool chains that would be required to revitalize the
project.  I 
also know that I don't have the time, or the will, to
continue the project 
myself.  I don't remember what state it was left in,
as time and age have not 
likely been kind to the project.  Off the top of
my head, I don't know what 
code can be open-sourced, and wouldn't move
the project that way without the 
consent of the other authors of the
project (and yes, as much as I rewrote 
there are still contributions and
copyrights that are owned by other 
individuals).  I realize this leaves
it open ended, and I suspect for the next 
little while that's where it'll
have to stay with my apologies -- and with your 
understanding.

Thank you everyone for the kind words you've said over the years, and I
wish 
all of you the best.  My email address tstrike{at}telegard.net is still
active -- 
I promise that I'll read your email, and I'll do my utmost best
to respond as 
well but with volume and other considerations it may not be
possible that each 
of you get a personalized response.

Please do not write me asking for the source code, for new fixes, etc.
since if 
you've read this far, the answers are already buried in the
text.

Tim Strike
tstrike{at}telegard.net

-!- Telegard/2 v3.09.g2-sp4/mL
 ! Origin: Outpost BBS - Kennesaw, GA - outpostbbs.net (1:18/200)
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Later,
Sean

// sean{at}outpostbbs.net | http://outpostbbs.net | ICQ: 19965647

--- Telegard/2 v3.09.g2-sp4/mL