| Title | I Tip My Hat to Martyb - a Heartfelt 'Congratulations' | |
| Date | Saturday June 10, @12:51PM | |
| Author | janrinok | |
| Topic | ||
| from the dept. | ||
(Update appears at bottom.)
Most people who have been on the site more than a few months will know Martyb / bytram well. He has filled so many different roles, many simultaneously, and he has been with the site from well before the 'official' opening. He has done as much as anyone, if not more, to create the site we have today. He has worked as an editor, the Editor-in-Chief, bug squasher, QA, coder, and almost anything that he felt he could turn his hand to - and he could do most things.
Marty has always been known for his calm attitude and wisdom in many situations and if anyone needed help or advice Marty could be reliably called upon to assist. Nothing was ever too much trouble. He is a personal friend of mine - even though we have never met face-to-face - and he has also been the friend of every member of staff that he has encountered during the last 9 years or more.
Unfortunately, Marty suffered a severe stroke quite a while back, in fact two major strokes and quite a few 'minor' ones. It has affected his eyesight and his dexterity. If you know anyone who has had a stroke you will know that the recovery is long, slow and at times very disheartening. When Marty had to stand down from his post I stepped in to replace him - a task that I knew I could never really achieve to his standards. I have always told him that I am keeping his seat warm until he can return. He is not quite ready for that yet. However, Marty has achieved an unbelievable number of stories processed from submissions to front page stories - over 11,000 stories. Any editor will tell you that is an enormous amount of effort for anybody.
But Marty had one more objective and aim that has kept him going through much of his recovery to date. He wanted to reach the 11,111 story mark. Because of his current condition he can often only type at a very slow rate, less than 1 character per second and with only 1 hand. That has been furthered hindered by his poor eyesight. He reached that mark in November - and immediately had his milestone snatched away when there was a system crash and several weeks of his work disappeared.
So Marty did what he always does. He gritted his teeth and started again. Yesterday Marty reached the 11,111 story milestone and I am writing this to make sure that as many people as possible are aware of it so that, in the event of another disaster, we will remember what he has achieved. In fact, he has overshot his target and as I type this he stands at 11,112 stories processed, but I can forgive him that.
Marty, I tip my hat to you, and on behalf of this community I offer you our congratulations and best wishes for your continued recovery. Your contribution is unequaled in so many areas, and many of us have learned so much from you. You are also noted for your use of terrible puns - which is not improving at all! That is, I think, a good sign too.
I am still keeping your seat warm...
janrinok
JR: Thank-you so very much for taking the time and making the effort to commemorate this occasion. That said, I do believe that you do NOT give yourself proper credit for all that YOU have contributed to this site!
You tucked me under your wing and taught me, a newbie, all the vagaries of producing a *proper* story. It is not that it is that difficult, but there ARE many moving parts that need to be checked and verified. You were patient beyond measure with this energetic, fearful, and impatient nerd. In other - less capable hands - I would have given up and called it quits!
But that was far from everything that you did. As of this writing, janrinok has single-handedly posted 7,885 stories. This, in addition to all the other things he has done to keep the sight running smoothly. He single-handedly wrote a tool to automatically deal with with "users" who would like nothing better that to create new accountants and use them to spew crap across the site.
There's more -- much MUCH more -- but that gives a brief look at just some of the things he does to help the community! So, again, I say "Thanks Janrinok!
printed from SoylentNews, I Tip My Hat to Martyb - a Heartfelt 'Congratulations' on 2023-06-30 05:38:35