Ryan Gordon’s Departure From MyBB - Whats the real reason?

[Dragapult]

As others have said, he probably either wants to start his own board software or he got a job with another corporation.

I really don't think it's a big deal, developers leave various projects on a fairly recent basis. And, unlike Ikonboard, I highly doubt MyBB is going to die because of the loss of Ryan. I used it quite a while ago and was quite impressed with it, although I believe some of the earliest releases were found to be using copyrighted vB code.

 

[FreshFroot]

I believe some of the earliest releases were found to be using copyrighted vB code.

ya they did for some parts, and that staff member was fired that did it. They had to remove all of what he used and recode it.

 

[Carlos]

What idiot copies another company's code?

 

[FreshFroot]

What idiot copies another company's code?

Don't know.. I mean they least he coulda done is UNDERSTAND what the code does and create his own version. But copying word for word or the exact design/structure is lame.

I guess it just saved him extra work?

 

[Ryan Ashbrook]

I would tend to believe Ryan Gordon's blog. However, I believe there is more to it than he lets on. Having known him for several years, and worked with him at MyBB, I can tell you that as his tenure grew, so did his ego as well as his overall attitude towards not only staff, but the user base. Which was the main reason I resigned from MyBB in 2007.

So, I doubt it was a mere disagreement, more like Ryan simply didn't want to listen and Chris wasn't having it.

 

[AnthonyCea]

You got it right on Ryan, I had similar problems with him and I was just a member there, a young guy with a giant ego was his main problem.

One day I was stomping on some MyBB forum trolls real bad, I guess they reported my posts to Ryan, he then deleted every post I made on the forum over the years, after I sent Chris a PM he went back and restored them, one thing I hate more than anything is a censor who ruins the editorial integrity of a forum.

 

[Shamil]

Wow, just seen this. I remember Ryan from my MyBB year.

 

[Vincent]

Why do you have to search a reason behind his departure? Can't the guy just be tired of working for free? ^^

Maybe we'll see him here at XenForo.com soon

 

[AnthonyCea]

Keep dreaming man !!

Not as a coder, but I'm sure we are all waiting for him to respond in this thread for sure !!

 

[HannahP]

From Ryan Gordon's blog:

I appreciate the concern that some have expressed over my leaving MyBB, but I want to assure you that my motives were purely personal. As for my immediate plans, I am establishing a honey bee farm in the high desert and fully intend to produce and promote my own line of honey and related products. I understand this is not in keeping with what you might expect from a developer of my stature, but one can only tap away at a keyboard for so long.

A bee colony is a microcosm of civilization in general, and if you can master bees you can master humans. Of this I am confident. Once the bee farm is successful and self-sustaining, I will be recruiting followers to live with the bees and I in the desert, to work toward a new world that we can all be proud of.

Thanks again for your wishes, and I hope to see you all very soon.

 

[Mark.B]

LOL he could call it "HoneyBB".


I'll get me coat.

 

[Kaiser]

From Ryan Gordon's blog:

LOL mjp you really are something

 

[Tim B.]

Hi all,
Sorry for the late reply, I was only just made aware of this thread, I would like to say a few words on behalf of the MyBB group and also Ryan.

Firstly we are very sad to see Ryan leave but at the same time grateful for all of his work over the past five years. I am personally happy for Ryan as he has made this decision for himself and he very much deserves to do so after so many years of giving up so much for everyone else.

To clear up the situation regarding Chris and Ryan: there was certainly nothing dramatic like many of you would like to believe. I can assure you that the discussion Ryan refers to in his blog was not the cause of his resignation; rather I suspect it was a catalyst that made Ryan consider where he saw his future. The discussion was about 2.0 development and the stage we are at with 2.0 development represented a point where Ryan could make a relatively painless departure before having to commit to another release cycle of at least two years. Ryan and the team are still on great terms, I have spoken to him today and I’m sure the friendship many of the staff have forged with Ryan will be maintained.

To bust a few myths from this thread, Ryan has definitely not been offered a job by IPB or VB (or XenForo) but I’m sure he would be flattered that people have proposed this idea. I also can’t see him entering the forum software game for himself; his dwindling interest in the forum software industry was a significant reason for his decision to leave. I know he has been doing some very cool things with Robots and the Microsoft Kinect so I suspect that will consume a lot of his programming interest. Finally, MyBB will certainly always be free so you don’t need to worry about that.

In response to Ryan Ashbrook and AnthonyCea, I think it’s unfair to pass judgement on Ryan’s character based on your experiences when he was younger. A few years makes a huge difference from when someone was 13 or 15. In my experience he has been mature, level headed and above all ready to take on whatever challenge he decides to peruse.

On one last note, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the XenForo developers on producing an excellent product and once again rising to the top of the industry they pioneered. We are big fans of XenForo at MyBB and we are proud to be considered a competitor.

Yours Sincirely, Tim B.
-MyBB Product Manager.

 

[AnthonyCea]

OK man, if he was only 13 and you guys gave him that kind of power I guess I can blast the managers at MyBB.

LOL, just kidding Tim, you guys have had multiple issues on your official forum including troll problems that did not involve Ryan, which means you guys are allowing your permanent trolls to attack members simply for posting their views, then closing the threads and deleting posts due to your allowing these trolls to live on your forums.

If you allow trolls to reside, at least let the record stand when they get stomped on instead of deleting posts to save face for your permanent troll members, let them see the errors of their ways stand in the record.

 

[Ryan Gordon]

If you allow trolls to reside, at least let the record stand when they get stomped on instead of deleting posts to save face for your permanent troll members, let them see the errors of their ways stand in the record.

You would be upset that your posts get deleted when you troll and subjugate others but when it comes to other trolls, they should be all be censored and deleted? You are an embodiment of a logical fallacy.

From Ryan Gordon's blog:

I appreciate the concern that some have expressed over my leaving MyBB, but I want to assure you that my motives were purely personal. As for my immediate plans, I am establishing a honey bee farm in the high desert and fully intend to produce and promote my own line of honey and related products. I understand this is not in keeping with what you might expect from a developer of my stature, but one can only tap away at a keyboard for so long.

A bee colony is a microcosm of civilization in general, and if you can master bees you can master humans. Of this I am confident. Once the bee farm is successful and self-sustaining, I will be recruiting followers to live with the bees and I in the desert, to work toward a new world that we can all be proud of.

Thanks again for your wishes, and I hope to see you all very soon.

Stole the words right out of my mouth

 

[Shamil]

/diffuse

 

[TNCclubman]

This reminds me of UFC 124 after the main event.

 

[Mike]

Yeah, if this just turns into an unnecessary back and forth debate over some other forums' moderating practices, this isn't the right place to do it.

Though it looks like we have some of the top MyBB people here, so if you want to ask them anything...

 

[AnthonyCea]

Welcome Ryan Gordon, Mike has already warned us about the back and fourth so I will just close with the fact that I stand on what I said in my last post, and it had to do with the record staying intact so that the editorial integrity of threads and forums are historically accurate.

 

[Jethro]

Hi all,
Sorry for the late reply, I was only just made aware of this thread, I would like to say a few words on behalf of the MyBB group and also Ryan.

Firstly we are very sad to see Ryan leave but at the same time grateful for all of his work over the past five years. I am personally happy for Ryan as he has made this decision for himself and he very much deserves to do so after so many years of giving up so much for everyone else.

To clear up the situation regarding Chris and Ryan: there was certainly nothing dramatic like many of you would like to believe. I can assure you that the discussion Ryan refers to in his blog was not the cause of his resignation; rather I suspect it was a catalyst that made Ryan consider where he saw his future. The discussion was about 2.0 development and the stage we are at with 2.0 development represented a point where Ryan could make a relatively painless departure before having to commit to another release cycle of at least two years. Ryan and the team are still on great terms, I have spoken to him today and I’m sure the friendship many of the staff have forged with Ryan will be maintained.

To bust a few myths from this thread, Ryan has definitely not been offered a job by IPB or VB (or XenForo) but I’m sure he would be flattered that people have proposed this idea. I also can’t see him entering the forum software game for himself; his dwindling interest in the forum software industry was a significant reason for his decision to leave. I know he has been doing some very cool things with Robots and the Microsoft Kinect so I suspect that will consume a lot of his programming interest. Finally, MyBB will certainly always be free so you don’t need to worry about that.

In response to Ryan Ashbrook and AnthonyCea, I think it’s unfair to pass judgement on Ryan’s character based on your experiences when he was younger. A few years makes a huge difference from when someone was 13 or 15. In my experience he has been mature, level headed and above all ready to take on whatever challenge he decides to peruse.

On one last note, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the XenForo developers on producing an excellent product and once again rising to the top of the industry they pioneered. We are big fans of XenForo at MyBB and we are proud to be considered a competitor.

Yours Sincirely, Tim B.
-MyBB Product Manager.

Clearly a management cover up. Betcha they have him in a basement somewhere in Dallas ....