Can't say I was shocked the first time I heard Heinz mulling in private about retiring and looking to pass CEONSS on to someone else awhile back, considering the numerous stressful times that have come and gone for him at the helm of the server. Initially it'd just be him venting some pent up frustration that would later subside and we'd be back to talking all kinds of shop again in the Admin section, but when it reared its nasty head once more, it took some time off the server
officially before his spirits would get patched up to a more upbeat outlook. I knew that being an entire community's sole n' semi-constant problem solver can take its toll on anyone but Heinz seemed to be handling things fine again. And then the bombshell that he's looking for successors, only this time for real, dropped in the staff forum early this year anyway.
I've had some time to process this and accept that Heinz wanting out was bound to happen eventually, the exact timeframe being just pointless debating I'd get into with myself in my head, probably with some selfish motives in tow. As the time drew nearer, and with the specifics about the changeover progressing from being hashed out to getting finalized to just waiting for the date to arrive, however, I found my initial sadness gradually getting replaced by something else. There's no point feeling bad about CEONSS, considering everyone who's still around and supporting it, but there's every reason to be happy about Heinz making a choice that will be good for him and the coming part of his life as a person (and a UT player!). So yeah, basically that's what all this is to me: being happy for someone I've come to consider a friend taking the next step. I'm also very grateful too.
One of the (few) benefits of being as wordy as I tend to get is that sometimes all you need to do when you're trying to make a point is dig a bit back to find where you feel you did that right before and simply hold it up again. So when I think about Heinz and everything that got us to this point, perhaps sharing this bit from a private conversation I had late last year with a generous member of this community will do the trick:
[...]I've been around this place for (lemme check) more than 4 years now and I can assure you the resources and dedication Heinz puts into CEONSS that ppl can publicly read about are merely the tip of the iceberg compared to the full picture that includes numerous hardware upgrades, host changes, cross-continent shipping of hardware and more. Hell, just the sheer amount of time and effort he's invested into researching & troubleshooting OS issues, assembling new rigs, testing loads of net experience-affecting variables, hashing out walls of policy-related text with me (still WIP!), toiling and discussing together each and every roster change so it'll be consistent with our principles and standards, internally planning and doing map edits and a shit load of other stuff I'm unfortunately forgetting right now... well, let's just say IMO he's probably contributed more to the game than any other UT server admin I've ever met or known - and there have been several of those - to the point where he's more of a hero to me and a pillar to the game[type] than just a hobby colleague.[...]
CEONSS may've started out back in 2009 in a defiant mood and knowing what kind of ONS server it didn't want to be rather than having any other, more profound or affirming ideology in mind, but that soon changed. Thanks to Heinz' tireless work across about a dozen different server rigs and as many different ISP/host combos, his inquisitive and ever-learning personality, his inclusive, collaborative management style and his more tolerant, laid back but mature demeanor as a leader, CEONSS rose through the ranks to become a top tier ONS server, but - equally importantly - it also managed to grow a healthy, friendly and vibrant community which we all still enjoy even into the game's twilight years.
On a more personal note, the fact that Heinz always had the patience and willingness to entertain the stream of constantly evolving theories, principles and evaluation standards I'd cobble together across dozens of wordwall rants regarding the server's equally growing ideology, mission statement and the yardsticks we should use to size up the content we'd come across to see if it aligned with our goals, offered me the unique chance, and the encouragement, to continue looking deeper into Onslaught's constituent parts and try to understand what lies at the core of its gameplay and how that could help improve CEONSS - and ONS. Later on he even indulged me in some more practical, hands-on contributions and further experimenting with that put me down the path of delving a lot more seriously into yet another facet of UT from which I'd like to think I've come out a lot more experienced and with further insight into its inner workings. For all those opportunities, the trust and confidence Heinz placed in me, and for 4+ years of smooth n' respectful collaboration on a project that's been his brainchild, I am deeply honoured and grateful to you, man.
As the former boss well observed, CEONSS' successful course isn't the result of just one or two individuals' work. Our community has been fortunate to have had competent and generous people rise to staff positions here from its ranks that have substantially contributed to the server's ongoing smooth operation and helped maintain its good name as a fair n' friendly place to frag - hell, that's where our new boss even comes from. Besides the staff though, content contributors past n' present, server and msg.board members who offer their thoughts and input regularly (donations too!), as well as external affiliates and friends in other servers have all done their part to get us here and they deserve recognition and our thanks for it. If CEONSS is a success, it's because of the support you all continue to show it and, to my mind, that's the only way it can ever be. To reel this closer to the subject at hand though, the fact that this all started from one man's idea and is now being passed on as a full-grown community of hundreds of people and a server with dozens of regular players, I think speaks volumes of Heinz' achievement as a creator and a leader. And even though I know our days of tinkering with new toys n' ideas behind the curtain to share with the whole world are probably over, were I ever presented with the chance to work with you on something again in the future, I'd snap it up in a heartbeat
.
To wrap up yet another tome-of-a-post, as Cat continues to be instructed by Heinz on the various facets of running the place with a mind to finally assume administrative responsibilities across the board soon, and down the road from there, the rest of the staff, myself included, will stick around and continue to help out as much as we can from our posts. So if anyone's worried about whether there'll be a CEONSS around tomorrow or after the weekend, don't worry, we got you covered
. What our new course will be and how it might vary compared to how things have run up until now will be for the new Boss to decide, but I know he'll have our full support.
As for Heinz, I know he's earned every last bit of the peace of mind and relaxation he's looking forward to upon becoming just another player among us, and, like I said, I'm perfectly happy for him. Outside this little online game's realm though, I think I'd rather not wish him good luck in his next steps. I've seen him set his mind on something and bring in damn good results with hard work, so he's more than capable of making his own luck. What I'd rather wish him instead is to have an easy time finding another thing in life to feel as passionate and driven about as has been the case for him with CEONSS, and I'll be happy to hear about it when that happens.
Rest easy, Heinz - you deserve it.
Hmm, I wonder if Pete Townshend's quip about the new Boss will apply
. Speaking of which, where
is that cat anyway
?
Edit: oh, there he is! Hey, Boss!
Also, that all of our current staff members are going to fully support him.
