It's been tough, actually very hard on me, missing two of my most endearing friends, not knowing anything about what has happened to them. I've kept all my emails and re-read them from time to time, and even that, like listening to voicemails from people you love, etc., never seems to satisfy. Then you ask yourself, how did we lose touch to begin with? Life happens.

Oregonian (Tanya) and Molly, another set of remarkable people, God, they say, had better plans. I almost met Tanya, as I was in her town on business, and due to the lack of time, was unable to make the connection. Molly on the other hand was not within my vicinity. All lost opportunities, never to come my way again.

Then comes my point... you never know how many opportunities you will be given, do make the most of each one that you do get, to let those you care about know how you much you appreciate them. Kindness is cheap. It costs you nothing. It requires very little effort. Be kind to those you associate with here. They are looking for us to help them as much as you are willing to be helpful. Assume nothing. Expect nothing. Just be kind.

Life is a blink of an eye. Our time here is short. Do good. Display empathy. Smile more.

What wonderful thoughts, Mahvin !
I agree with you, deeply in my heart.
And I thank you for having said explicitely (and in the best possible way) what I think also.
Behind each member there is a "real" person, with his/her blood, her/his soul.
Never forget this is our "mission impossible".

Mahvin, your freely disclosed thoughts have moved me. How much truth in your reflection. The people that you have highlighted did and contributed a lot of benefit in this forum. They not only passed on their knowledge of their great skill in digital art, but also and more importantly they gifted us and taught us their goodness and great spirit of humanity.
Due to living in these technological times, people from all countries of the world can connect and unite our efforts and skills, but we can also share, even without wanting to, much of our way of being and personality. Somehow special people leave an indelible mark making the world a little better.
Mahvin, you made a bond with them even without actually meeting you physically. That is the important thing.

Very well put mahvin. ditto to everything you have said.

Unfortunately, words that we type can often be miscontrued by another because they do not hear any emotion behind them. One of the downfalls of comunicating over the net in forums like this.

Very true what mahvin says ...
And besides Molly and Oregonian I also miss SysTemX ...

@sallyanne, you should also remember that for many members, English isn't their native language.
Expressing yourself as you would like is not always easy.
And don't rely totally on "Google translate".
Translations are not always completely correct.
Sometimes they are funny, but misunderstandings can't be excluded due to incorrect translation.

I asked David at GMIC not to remove PhotoComix's settings, I didn't really need to ask, since David had no intention of removing them. I just wanted to be sure that his filters lived on (I still use them and so do many others). Many of us work long hours (just ask Lyle) and we want to keep in touch.

SaulGoode was planning a new website, and then everything stopped. Even GnuTux took ill and GIMP Chat got a little shaky and gimpscripts.com fell off the web. This is why, GnuTux should be encouraged to re-energize his project. Luckily we have very gifted people on our site: Dinasset, MareroQ, Pocholo, Graechan (we're glad to see you back and fixing your old scripts) and also very knowledgeable people like Rich, and our very own path guru (my favorite) Ofnuts. Not to forget offsite, Tran, David, and many others. Do not take these people for granted. It's encouraging to see people learning and spreading that which they learned, everyone making this a better place. That was what Wallace was hoping for. Is GIMP Chat perfect? No. Just don't be rude. Yes, new people can be extremely trying. They are here to learn, not to be mistreated. Every year my students impress me with how they take very small and simple ideas and build them into something totally amazing. If I had started off on the wrong foot with them, would those same ideas have grown? God only knows. I want GIMP Chat to be the place all the noobs talk about when they want to learn a new tutorial, and perhaps become coders and keep building onto what we started.

Do not forget Kevin. He's a whirlwind of info and knows much of what's going on behind the scenes with GIMP. Lean on him when you need to know about bugs and scripts. He'll steer you straight and gently remind you if your bug report might be off-kilter. You are all UNIQUE!

Kind words mahvin. It's fascinating how attached you can become with people you might never meet physically, or how important online community can be to any of us.
I'm not that oldie, but I remember PhotoComix was still active couple years ago when we played with the SculptGen Program,
and he showed how to add custom textures into it. I wondered what happened with him, he was cool.

PhotoComix was indeed, COOL and colorful!

Saulgoode was like a Professor of Scheme.

There is no shortage of cool and smart here on GC. We have plenty. It's just that the older you get, the more you take stock of what matters to you, and what doesn't.

I have always appreciated how Wallace was the glue that kept up Gimp chat for quite a while after Gnu Tux had to leave and we ended up with an absentee landlord. I’m really glad he now has some help with moderating. GC members really do appreciate those who put so much energy into The Gimp community, both here and other sites.

You are so right, 2-ton. I'm heartened that so many members have remained, with lots of members giving their time, skills and expertise to help others.

It's sad that many have passed or just disappeared without a trace. Life moves fast, with twists and turns that you can't predict. One thing for sure; "You don't know what you've got until it's gone".

Cool to see you post again, Tux. Saw that at work earlier today but just now thought to respond. lol

I too appreciate the effort of many here at GIMPChat to keep it still relevant. Don't really post much now (work busy and no inspiration), but do look (well lurk) daily. lol

Really cool song GnuTux, thanks for posting.