An update on James (Aibohphobia)

Hey all,

I have an important update to share with the community. As of today, James (Aibohphobia) is no longer a part of Minutiae, SFF Network's parent company.

We've been out of contact with James for the better part of half a year but recently got back in touch. Though it's not the outcome we wanted, James is unfortunately not in a place where he can retain his partnership with us, nor will he be for the foreseeable future. Given this, we've decided it's mutually beneficial for him to exit Minutiae.

James' absence from our team has been challenging for us to manage logistically, but it's been the loss of his presence in the community that's hurt most. As I said back in September, James stands out as one of the most influential members of this community. That's still true today.

I am grateful for the time James worked with John and me to build this community. We would not be where we are, or what we are, without him. But it's important to recognize that it's the right time to move on. Though goodbyes are always difficult, I know that today is that time.

To be clear, while James is no longer part of the Minutiae team, he remains very much a part of this community. As fellow enthusiasts, we appreciate him as much as ever.

This is news I bring to you all with a heavy heart. That said, it's important we be transparent about these developments. We'll be revamping a lot of internal operations in response, but can assure you the day-to-day here on SFF Forum and SFF Network will not change.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to John or me.

Thanks all,

- Joshua
 

Phuncz

Lord of the Boards
SFFn Staff
May 9, 2015
5,827
4,902
James, I cared for the conversations we had, the knowledge you passed on, the kind help you offered without a second thought and the projects you have shared with the community. Here's hoping you'll some day be able or willing to return.

My sympathy goes out to John and Joshua who had to pick up the slack and doing it as well as could ever be expected, and beyond. I'm glad you're both still around and I hope you'll both be with us as long as nature (or nukes fired by dictators) allows it.
 

AleksandarK

/dev/null
May 14, 2017
703
774
James is a person who brought much new thing to the community and has greeted us with awesome builds, expert knowledge and a lot of hummor. He is really special and i am down right sad to see him leave.

I wish the best to him and Minutiae media, who kept the quality of content, despite James'es absence.
 

Arboreal

King of Cable Management
Silver Supporter
Oct 11, 2015
805
803
Sorry to hear this news, for all concerned :(
James [Aibo] was the person that brought me here after lurking on [H] and discovering Nova, then Cerberus.
I am very grateful to have been let here and found this excellent community.
Josh, thanks for driving Cerberus/X into production, and both you & John for keeping it all going.
If I can help/contribute, I'd be happy to add my 2p worth
 

confusis

John Morrison. Founder and Team Leader of SFF.N
SFF Network
SFF Workshop
SFFn Staff
Jun 19, 2015
4,129
7,057
sff.network
I just want to pass on my thanks to our community for being understanding and supportive in the months after he became unable to return to the forum in an active way.

It has indeed been a challenge fulfilling both my role, and taking over portions of the role that he was responsible for.

We will continue to push the world of SFF computing, and the tech world in general, you can be assured of that.
 

Necere

Shrink Ray Wielder
NCASE
Feb 22, 2015
1,719
3,281
I've missed James' presence here. His was one of the reasonable and knowledgable voices, and he has been a real asset to the forum and the community.

You know, I don't ever talk about this, but I live with depression and anxiety on a pretty much constant basis, and owing to that I have a history of withdrawing from the world when it becomes too much. I have no idea if that's relevant to James's situation - I'm not privy to the circumstances of his absence - but I can see how it might be. Taking on at least partial responsibility for both running a website/forum (SFF Network), and attempting to get an indie case company off the ground (Kimera) comes with a lot of stress, and doubly so when things don't work out as you'd hoped. I can completely relate to the burden of it all just becoming overwhelming - particularly so when you've already got stress to deal with in other parts of your life, and/or you're not good at dealing with stress to begin with (my case). I can tell you NCASE would never have happened if I had been faced with the prospect of shouldering the burden myself. There are things I'm decent at, but that sure isn't one of them.

Anyway, I do hope James is able to work past whatever he's dealing with, and perhaps, if he still enjoys PCs a hobby, someday return to the community. If any of what I've said rings true for him, then perhaps having had the burden of responsibility for SFFN and Kimera lifted he can get back to sharing ideas, creating, and enjoying this hobby, rather than it being a source of stress, or a reminder of past failures.
 

Pyrath

Average Stuffer
Feb 5, 2016
59
82
James, if you stop by again, know that I'm super grateful for your involvement in the community (and the super sexy Cerberus I finally got my hands on!). Look out for yourself, and I wish you well!

Josh, thanks for the update. I still feel like a bit of an ass for bugging you months ago when the James situation wasn't public. I appreciate your professionalism and honest candor - those two things are difficult to balance and you've done a wonderful job.
 

Andrew.J.Vigil

Average Stuffer
Nov 28, 2017
74
41
We wish James and the rest of the team all the best as they continue on providing such a wonderful Community with help in this incredible culture. It's been such a treat to communicate with so many of these guys here, and it's so sad to see when someone so influential leaves. But I give my regards and I hope everyone will be okay.