To all: This is the email re: Chuck's departure that I did not have the time to crank out this weekend. Believe me I tried!
First and foremost I am personally sad to see Chuck leaving. I know he is doing what he is doing for the right reasons, but that does not make his departure any more palatable. Chuck has been here from the beginning of OpenSRS and was at the old ISP while we were building the Tucows content business so I have known him for six years now which is a long time in the Internet and a long time in life. Next, we will not be hiring someone to "replace" Chuck in the formal sense. There will be a new person in Product Management, but the role will not be the same. Chuck's presence on the list and his contribution here was unique and spanned many different departments. He was neither fish nor fowl. There was a sprinkle of product management, a large helping of technical support, a dash of marcom and a huge dose of community. It is that last bit that will be hardest to replace and, unfortunately, is next to impossible to hire for. Forget about how you deal with it in a job description. Much like when you lose a big scorer, you look for everyone to pick up their game a bit and fill the gap. We also need to use this as a great opportunity to look at additional means of addressing community and I hope to have more on that soon (next week if I am lucky). I also want to note that this Friday any Toronto area resellers (or folks who happen to be in town) are welcome to join us after work at Shoeless Joe's at the corner of King and Mowat (one block East of King and Dufferin) for a sendoff for Chuck. Lastly, I take solace in the fact that influencing young minds is a more noble aspiration than assuaging unhappy resellers, much as I am loathe to admit it. Go gently into that great good night. Regards Elliot Noss Tucows inc. 416-538-5494
