Hiya Rick! Such a good decision mate. Once upon a time I started a little website, out of which grew a UBB.Classic - UBB.Threads Forum out of which grew a bleeping great club. I have put thousands of hours into it. I've had a few years with lower activity by myself, but since last year I'm very active again and actually some of my best friends have come out of that Forum. It's amazing. I've very very thankful for that.
I don't think the decision was all that hard for you though: there's been so much nagging on here I can't believe it. I mean, we all knew (should know) you weren't doing this full time, your quality standards are higher than those of many 'larger' (in a way) products. But hey, people nowaddays either want things for free or want things yesterday. So leaving behind a 'baby' (I know how it feels like) is never hard, but I'm pretty sure there's a big weight of your shoulders now. Breathe, my man, breathe! I'm also sure you've made the right decision with the new owner - by which I mean I'm sure he's gone through quite some questioning sessions, you wouldn't have left your baby behind without being certain it was in extremely good hands, and you got to see it again every now and then.
For those that don't realise it: this is actually a GOOD step for the future. Sure, it's going to delay things (or maybe not, as there'll be multiple developers working on it now), but it's become obvious over the last months that Rick didn't have the time nor the energy that Threads deserved. As for the ones that say 'xxx should have been the new owner', well, there's a big difference between developping useful things / inserting new code / understanding the product and actually creating something. I'm sure Rick has considered all options but wanted UBB to raise above its current level, with more users and it becoming a wider known product. Yes, currently most users will experience remarks like "UBB? Don't know it" followed by your own "it's actually pretty good, way way better than ... and user-friendly as well, even for non-tech users". So yes let's all hope the new owner will put a lot of practical effort in development as well as marketing, we'll all benefit from more users = more money = more energy = better and quicker development. In short: Rick's been a gem, he's put everything he had in this, but it's time to move on, both for him and the product.
Rick, all the best to you, don't be a stranger
- time to start a new life!!
