A datadump for those just joining us:
Discourse blew monkey tits, and we migrated off of it. One form of said tit monkey is the fucking insane "database" "structure" used for storing data, and the butt-fuckery involved in turning that stored data into useful information. No one at Inedo could or WOULD try to wade through that intestine-soup.
Enter @ben_lubar. When Ben first joined the forums "Over 1 days ago", he went through the fire like any other new member to any forum. He was, shall we say, extremely enthusiastic for his esoteric hobbies, like Dwarf Fortress and translating arbitrary pieces of English to Lojban, and raving about Go (the programming language, not the fun one). It was-- different. But along with that, came a young man who is extremely smart, talented, insightful and has a surprisingly sharp wit. Despite the forum-standard jokes at his expense, he did fit in admirably. He can hold his own in most any technical discussion, provide interesting and insightful commentary, and can come out with a joke from left field that makes it impossible to not hit the like heart upvote button. And he selflessly volunteers his time at a local animal shelter to boot.
Say what you will about Ben-- and we certainly have said it all more than once-- someone who is smart enough to pick up new languages-- programming or spoken-- for fun-- someone who can stand toe-to-toe with the acerbic members of the forum-- someone who can analyze and criticize highly technical topics-- someone who can wrap their head around a massively complicated game like DF-- and someone who still finds time to give his time to charity-- yeah. That is admirable in every regard. Us "old timers" are always bitching about the next generation-- about entitlement, about laziness, about lack of compassion, about lack of drive, of desire, of intelligence. And then comes along someone like Ben who makes you goddamn PROUD of the next generation who are going to inherit the IT world we're building.
So when it came time to migrate away from dicksauce onto Literally Anything Else-- a thankless and shitty task that PAID PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMMERS WORKING AT A REAL ACTUAL INCORPORATED ENTITY wouldn't touch, Ben stepped up. Sure, he was hired on to set up NodeBB for TDWTF/Inedo-- but the migration itself was a Herculean task so far above-and-beyond the stated requirements. And when you really, really think about it, it didn't NEED to be done. The easier and saner solution would be to burn it all down and start from scratch.
But that wouldn't have been the better solution. Or the right solution. Or the solution that was right for the community.
Ben set out to work on that. He figured out the datastructures of THREE esoteric fucktardian data storage schemas (Community Server, Dipsore, and NodeBB). He learned about how they ran, how they processed, and what was needed to exchange data. This wasn't just INSERT INTO (SELECT FROM). This went to a level that literally no one else was brave enough to even think about touching. And he did it to keep this community alive. To keep continuity in our discussions. To preserve our topics and jokes and flamewars and usernames and sig-abuse. He did it all for US, for The Daily WTF, for this community. Our second home. Our hangout with friends. Our watercooler. Our pub.
Because that's what this forum really is. A community. One that Ben has become part of. And I think I can speak for us all when I say, we're are fucking lucky to have him. Because underneath all the quirks-- all the DF and Go and Lojban-- there's an amazing, talented guy there. Actually fuck that. Not "despite" those quirks. BECAUSE of them. It's what makes Ben who he is, and I wouldn't change a thing about that.
So as all of us were making dick jokes and calling each other assholes for various raisins, Ben was-- well, also making dick jokes and calling people assholes-- but also working on the migration. For months. And it paid off. Sure, there were bumps in the road-- but name me one project of this size that doesn't have them. And for that, everyone here is very grateful.
We got together in a private thread-- that ceased to exist because E_SANEREASON_NOTFOUND-- and then in a private chat. We discussed ways of being able to say thank you and show our gratitude. Ben went so far above and beyond, we wanted to do the same in our thanks. We wanted it to be something special, meaningful to him and the community. So we came up with three things, and worked together to make it happen:
- Cupcakes! Cupcakes are a cause of celebration in these parts. And Ben's original avatar is a cat (lion?) cupcake. So I baked him a batch of THANK YOU cupcakes, iced them to reproduce his avatar, and sent them his way.
- A trophy. Migrating off Discourse is a victory, and trophies are the best! There were a lot of hands in that pie, so please everyone who designed and ordered it mention themselves in the reply (long chats are a bitch to sift through on NodeBB). Ben, can you take a good pic of it to post? Try in soft, ambient light, and from an angle to avoid glare.
- All of the above costs money, so we passed the hat around and collected a bunch of it. All the leftovers went to a donation in Ben's name to the animal shelter he volunteers at. Keep up the good work there, Ben.
So on behalf of everyone here-- and everyone who will reap the benefits of your hard work for years to come-- thank you, Ben!