Message from Scott Bowler

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ClassicPress was founded with a simple principle: that all decisions were community led and that a single person couldn’t force through their desires. 
 
My goal with ClassicPress was to create an organisation that could flourish without a figurehead and could continue into the future without relying on a traditional power structure (and to avoid another situation like the Gutenberg fiasco).
 
Although I was the founder, that didn’t grant me any privileges above and beyond being on the initial guiding committee, and as we know, each committee member can’t hold that position forever. 
 
Sadly, about six months into the ClassicPress adventure my life changed. I won’t go into any details as the matters are very personal, but suffice to say, it meant I had to step away from my daily interactions with the ClassicPress experiment.
 
This was not an easy thing to do – I had made promises to the community that I was in it for the long haul and yet in an instant I completely disappeared from the public eye. I pride myself on being a man of my word, and yet here I was breaking those promises. 
 
For this I truly apologise – both for my sudden disappearance and for leaving my fellow committee members short-handed and for breaking personal promises I made to them. 
 
I am also eternally grateful to everyone for rallying behind me – the support I received was incredible. I would like to say a special thank you to Michelle Coe – your kindness helped me significantly through this difficult time. Of course, it goes without saying that I’m also hugely grateful to James, Wade, Tim and all the other committee members for quietly and graciously continuing with ClassicPress in my absence. 
 
ClassicPress has a heart and soul created by the kindness, generosity, honesty and passion of the people who guide it. I’m extremely proud to say that I created ClassicPress – not because we’ve created the first viable fork of WordPress, but instead because of the people who are involved with it. An organisation is only as good as its people, and it’s safe to say that ClassicPress is something truly remarkable because of you – the people involved. 
 
For better or worse my life has continued to change in the past year, and it is with sadness that today I announce my official departure from the project for the foreseeable future.
 
However, there is also an element of pride and excitement – ClassicPress has shown that it IS a community-led project and has continued to grow and flourish. I can’t wait to see where it goes next and I hope that one day I can once again contribute to its future. 
 
~ Scott Bowler,
Founder of ClassicPress
 

Notable Replies

  1. So desperately sorry to hear that. But rather than being sorry, Scott should be proud. He’s given us ClassicPress. He’s also given us hope.

    And I hope we see him back here soon!

  2. While I knew that there had been a personal problem, I didn’t know what it was. The fact that I still don’t is testament to the integrity of the ClassicPress committee. And the community as a whole.

    Scott suddenly disappeared and not many people ever seemed to ask where he had gone or why. The fact that the founder had gone MIA never made it to the media. For something like that to not attract attention from the press or WP die-hards is extraordinary.

    I am glad Scott has made this announcement, before the rumours started. It would not have been an easy decision and shows the humility of the man.

    I wish you all the best Scott and hope that one day you can rejoin the community as the founding father.

  3. I’d realised I’d not seen Scott around for a while, but hadn’t thought much about it as the project carried on with the committee making decisions and taking it forward as it was set up to do.

    I wish Scott all the best.

  4. Avatar for klein klein says:

    Well, good man, you succeeded in that! Take all the time you need, and know you started something beautiful, and the community will carry it for you!

  5. Hello Scott: You and I talked via private message on Twitter long ago and I, periodically, wondered where this nice gentleman had disappeared. While there’s plenty of science that says we need to see people’s faces and body language to truly understand the who of them, there are rare individuals who come along whose value system, personality is immediately discernible. I felt that of you, so I missed getting to know you better.

    That said, if there is anyone here who says they have not had periods in their lives where they felt they were walking through hell, they are lying. :slight_smile: I’m fairly awful at remembering the lyrics to songs but the chorus forever super-glued to my brain is:

    If you’re goin’ through hell keep on going
    Don’t slow down, if you’re scared don’t show it
    You might get out before the devil even knows you’re there
    Yeah if you’re goin’ through hell keep on movin’
    Face that fire walk right through it
    You might get out before the devil even knows you’re there

    You’ve kept going. And on top of that, you did what many humans don’t have the guts to do: own it and make a decision, then say it.

    I’ve been chased by the devil through hell, myself, at various times and I know it’s hard to do the saying it part. Damn hard.

    I’m proud of you.

    Now I believe that those who give, get. You have a universe here of people with their own networks, skills unspoken, faces unseen, resources unknown. My question to you is: Is there anything anyone could do for you that would help you? I bet everyone here would jump to help if there was any help that would be a game-changer for you.

    Next question: Have you considered an emeritus status instead of 100 percent exit? Pull nine toes out and keep one toe connected?

    Final question: As desirable as community driven is – and should be – I’ve lived a long time and come to the conclusion that every group needs a leader. Geese need someone flying in front, dog packs have an alpha, football teams have a top coach, Catholics, well, we have the Pope, lol. I, too, was horrified by the WordPress dictatorlike situation, but that does not mean that some type of leader is not needed (oops for the double negative there). Has that been discussed?

    My best to you, Scott.

Continue the discussion at forums.classicpress.net

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