Re: [orca-list] It is time for me to depart.

[Victor Lawrence <victorelawrence gmail com>]

Hello Luke,

I am sorry to see you go. It is people like you who help keep free and open source software going. If it 
weren’t for the accessibility of such software, I would have been in a lot of trouble. This kind of software 
has been a lifesaver for me. Thank you for all the great work you have done.

I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and I hope that you will return to free and open source 
software development someday.

Thoughts and prayers,

Victor

Sent from my iPhone

> On Nov 7, 2017, at 5:46 PM, Luke Yelavich <themuso vinuxproject org> wrote:
>
> It is with an extremely heavy heart that I write to you all to announce my 
> departure from free and open source software development. GNU/Linux and free 
> and open source software development has been a part of my life for well over 
> a decade, some high points being my employment at Canonical for over 9 years, 
> and the opportunity to maintain a free software project, Speech Dispatcher.
>
> I care very deeply about GNU/Linux accessibility, and free and open source 
> software. I strongly believe that the philosophy behind free software is key 
> to a better future for this world. However, I have lacked motivation of late, 
> and the current state of accessibility on GNU/Linux, as well as the lack of 
> funding for it, has not helped. I also would like to spend more time on other 
> tallants I have, which have been neglected somewhat until recently, and are 
> more likely to bring in a source of income in the future.
>
> I am sure I will return one day, with renewed motivation, enthusiasm, and a 
> desire to contribute again. I am also sure I will be keeping watch on what 
> transpires in this community, and since I will still be using GNU/Linux, I 
> may still submit a bug fix from time to time for anything that I find 
> particularly annoying.
>
> I step down from my positions as Vinux lead developer, and as Speech 
> Dispatcher maintainer with pride and joy at what has been achieved. I am 
> sorry that I have not fully helped to realize a renewed Vinux distribution 
> based on Fedora, but I am sure that no matter what direction the Vinux 
> project chooses to go, it will be lead well, and received well by the 
> community.
>
> I will be closing my patreon campaign. To those who have supported me 
> financially, I thank you deeply. Your support has been much appreciated. You 
> know who you are.
>
> I am so grateful for the time I have spent in this community. I have learnt 
> much, and have shared knowledge with others, and both the learning and 
> sharing have always been a pleasure and a joy. It has also been a pleasure to 
> talk to, and work with the free software community at large, but I would 
> particularly like to thank a few people.
>
> To Rob Whyte, leader of the Vinux project, I owe a particularly heart felt 
> thank you. You have been a rock and confidant when I have needed someone to 
> talk to, as well as someone who I could blow off steam with, when things have 
> been rough. It has been an honour, and a pleasure, to work with, and get to 
> know you. Feel free to contact me any time if you want to chat.
>
> To everybody at Brailcom, particularly Hynek Hanke, Tomas Cerha, and Jan 
> Buchal, I would like to thank for having given me the opportunity to maintain 
> the Speech Dispatcher project. I had many plans to improve Speech Dispatcher, 
> and I am sorry that these were not realized. I am sure the Speech Dispatcher 
> project will still be relevant and developed going forward, and I am sure a 
> maintainer can be found in the community. I wish that maintainer well.
>
> I also have to thank Canonical for giving me a chance and a job. I had the 
> opportunitiy to work with some wonderful people while there, and I am happy 
> to have learnt so much, particularly when it comes to building and developing 
> a GNU/Linux distribution.
>
> Finally, I would like to thank the community. It has been a pleasure talking 
> with you all, bouncing around ideas, discussing functionality, collectively 
> digging into problems and solving them together. This last decade would have 
> been for nothing if it weren't for all of us, whether we be users, 
> developers, helpers, doc writers, etc. For now, I plan to exit for a while, 
> and watch from the sidelines, but I do hope to return as a more active 
> community member again, in the future.
>
> I wish you all well. You will not be forgotten.
>
> With kindest regards and best wishes.
> Luke
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