January 31st will be my last day with Novell. I've given it a great deal of thought, and decided that it's time to move on.
With the openSUSE Conference wrapped up, 11.2 launched, the major projects I've been working on are completed and I feel like this is a good parting point. It wasn't an easy decision, but I had some time to refocus over the holidays and I know that it is time to move on. One of the most important responsibilities any employee has -- especially a community manager -- is to know when to move on, and not remain in a role just for the sake of having a job.
Working with Novell and the openSUSE community has been a great experience. I've worked with some of the nicest, talented, and most dedicated people you'd want to meet, inside and outside of Novell, and learned a lot along the way. I can't possibly hope to name each and every person that has been awesome to work with, but I can't overstate how much I have enjoyed knowing the people I've been working with, and I hope those relationships will continue. I hope that my contribution to openSUSE and the community has been as beneficial for the community as the experience has been for me.
What comes next? For now, I'll be freelancing and looking for my next major challenge. I'm looking for a company or organization that will be good fit for the next 10 years or more. I'll also be writing more, and look forward to that.
I'm also looking forward to being off the road for a while and establishing a routine that doesn't involve quite so many airports. Seeing the world, attending events, and meeting the openSUSE users and contributors has been fantastic, but after a while a body just wants to be home for a stretch longer than two or three weeks at a time.
This week I'll be trying to tie up loose ends and make sure my manager knows what needs looking after in the interim. Michael Loeffler and Andreas Jaeger are also good points of contact, and they are always happy to help contributors solve problems.
I am, however, only leaving Novell, and not dropping off the planet. So, if something does come up after January 31st I'll still be happy to try to answer questions and so on to try to assure a smooth transition.
44 Comments
Hello ,
Well its really a sad news , but just want to say that Good luck for your future and enjoyed a lot working with you really had a great time.Though i am unable to contribute now but have always been in touch with yours and openSUSE 's recent updates. So have a great time ahead . All the best !
Its been great working with you. You'll be missed. Wish you all the best on your new journey and challenges.
Zonker, you're a class act and I know your shoes will be hard to fill. Best of luck in your next challenge!
Thank you very much for your 2-year-long effort to improve openSUSE project and community. You really did a great job ! I wish you a bright future and hope we will be bosom buddies forever !
SAD
All the best
Sorry to see you go, Zonker. It's been great fun to work with you and talk with you over the past few years. Best of luck in the future!
Thanks Joe. You'll be missed.
Thanks for being with community. I wish you all the best in your next challenge.
Best of luck in the future! Is was great getting to meet you back stage at Brainshare a few years back, and with my work on IceCore, I always pointed at you as the way to keep a community active and growing.
I am sure wherever you land, you'll be a success, and I know Novell will have a tough time finding a replacement!
Well, Joe, it's been really good having you lead and transform such a great community. I know your legacy will be felt for years to come in the openSUSE community.
I hope to see you soon doing amazing things (as you always have) in the free and open source community
We'll miss you, pal.
Clint
Best wishes on your new adventures! You've done a fabulous job with the openSUSE community and are a valued member of the open source community as a whole. I'm looking forward to seeing what you'll do next. Stay in touch!
We'll miss you. I'm sure you'll enjoy what comes next, though!
Joe:
Good luck on your next adventure.
Thanks for all the work you've done with the F/LOSS community. openSuSE, and the community at large have benefitted from your involvement.
Zonker, it was a great time working with you! Thanks for all the discussions, encouragement, ideas, reviews etc! You'll be missed!
Hope you find soon a great new challenge!
Good luck in your new adventures, hope to still see you around the linux conference circuit!
Joe,
Join the ranks of many of us who have left Novell recently. Good luck with the freelance work.
Zonker, I am really sad to hear that you are leaving. It was great working with you!
All the best for your future!
Best wishes for the future, Joe!
Joe,
Have enjoyed following your work with openSUSE over the past few years.
Best of luck to you in the future.
With Kindest Regards,
Dietrich T. Schmitz
All the very best. And many thanks for all the hard work and valuable contributions to openSUSE.
Big news! Stay in touch, and let me know if there is anything I can do.
Congratulations, I think.
The good news is that you are leaving "The Evil Empire". My question to you now is this:
Are you leaving to infiltrate some other good FOSS project and subvert it to the dark side or have you had enough of "The Evil Empire" and just can't associate yourself with sociopaths anymore?
Good luck with whatever comes next, Joe - sure you won't have any trouble finding offers!
Well, only got to work with you a short time. Hopefully we can meet at one of the events coming up. If you need anything let me, I don't mind to repay the favor.
Pup
Your shoes will be nearly impossible to fill at Novell, but I hope OpenSUSE replaces you with someone who is as dedicated and committed to FOSS as you are. I'm looking forward to seeing who has the smarts to hire you, and see you soon.
When I first met you, you were working for Linuxmall. Each of your endeavors since has turned out well. I hope the new ones do as well.
Goodbye Zonker, you will surely be missed! May the gecko be with you!
Good luck and happy landings.
Hi Joe,
Thank you for a great job on openSUSE project. Really appreciate with what you have done on openSUSE landscape.
Wish you all the best for the future.
Very sad - and a great loss to the openSUSE project; thanks for all your hard work though !
Joe, it has been great days working with you !!! Greetings from Nicaragua.
Thank you for the help & assistment on our way throught opensuse, it wouldn't be possible without your help !!!
Garrobos 4ever !
I just want to say thanks to everybody who's been so kind. I really appreciate all the warm wishes and support.
Joe,
All respect. For your work and your decision. I won't say it could not have been done without you, but it was you who did it and I thank you for that.
Thanks for your patience in gamely answering my uninformed questions about opensuse at linuxtag! You're a good sport and a great representative / communicator.
Your work with SUSE over the years has been exceptional!
Thanks for all of your contributions to date. Looking forward to what's next for 'Zonker'...
One of the most important responsibilities any employee has -- especially a community manager -- is to know when to move on, and not remain in a role just for the sake of having a job.
What planet do you live on?
Your most important job is to keep your job so you can pay off the house, car and the kids college.
Yes, we all would love to work at jobs taht we love and that make us feel all goosebumpy but thats not reality.
You dont have a responsability to move on, only to do a good job.
Since Im a “Non-Compensated Individual Hobbyist Developer", I of course thought you were wrong to join Novellsoft and a company that promotes extortion.
When my now idol Jeremy Allison was leaving Novell for ethical reasons, you decided to do the opposite and take a PR job defending a company that help create the wedge of 'legal' vs 'non-legal' and non-protected Linux.
I give you credit for not being afraid of a challenge. Like a lawyer deciding to defend tobacco companies (minus the huge fees they make).
I only hope you join a company that isnt reviled in its community.
Maybe Exxon or Union Carbide.
Sad to see you leave as community manager of openSUSE / Novell. Success with the next 'zonker'-challenge! We will keep in touch and love to read more from you on ostatic for instance. Cheers!
Joe,
I look forward to seeing what you'll do in the future. Thanks for your hard work in the Linux Community and for openSUSE as a whole!
Joe,
I'll miss seeing you around and talking about our distros' "potential areas of improvement." Have fun!
@Donnie Thanks! I'll still be around, though - and probably causing trouble, er, trying to find ways to help distros improve. I'm still a Linux guy, just not a one-distro guy any more.
Sorry to see you go Joe. We're losing far too many talented people at Novell these days, but I hope you find the perfect job - after a nice break first of course!
Hey Zonker,
Thank you from a long time suse fan, and good luck with whatever comes next.
Thanks fro all your help.
You are normally never aware of the 'silent majority' that reads your output and is most grateful for it.
Walk tall and do not look back. (a Scots gallows greeting)
Hi Joe, all the best for your new venture, whatever it will be. It was nice meeting you at various events and conferences and I am sure our ways will cross again at some point! Thanks for everything you did for the openSUSE project, it was appreciated.
Take care!
LenZ