Thanks to CK
This past weekend I was saddened to accept the resignation of CK MacLeod as both an Ordinary Times Senior Editor and our resident WordPress Guru.
Other than Erik Kain, I’d be hard pressed to think of anyone who has had a bigger impact on this site’s layout and technical underbelly. As many have noted, CK’s contributions to OT have been nothing short of sublime. His many additions have made browsing the site easier for casual readers and stalwart commenters alike. His skill has also helped most of us on the writing end; even the tiny things he implemented or taught us have been invaluable. 1 I don’t think we really knew just how much we needed a CK until we had one of our very own.
Unfortunately, CK’s long-term plans are branching off in a different direction from ours. He will continue on as a writing contributor.
Because of this news, I have two requests of the commentariate:
First, if you have benefited from the changes CK has made to the site, I would invite you to feel free to express such in the threads below.
Second, I am going to ask for your patience. CK’s needs require he leave the tech end of our site immediately. Will Truman will be picking up the slack, but it’s possible that there will be some glitches in the weeks ahead while we bring ourselves up to speed with a CK-less CK-level site.
Thanks, everyone.
I’ll give a special, hearty thanks to CK for all the amazing work he’s done: Thank you, CK!! The format of this site is absolutely amazing and the functionality is like no other site I’ve seen. And I’m super glad to hear he’s gonna remain a contributor – you had me worried there for a bit. Even tho he and I get into it sometimes, I wanna unequivocally express how much I value his contributions as a poster as well as commenter. Having him around is a big check-mark in the plus category, and I hope he stays for a long while.Report
CK has definitely done some awesome work behind the scenes. The site looks and feels great. His expertise in the tech area will surely be missed; hopefully his written work won’t be departing as well!Report
CK, thank you very much.
You consistently made the site better and even things that I once thought silly (the scroll to the top button) quickly became indispensable parts of my experience here. And that’s not even touching on the awesome stuff like “State of the Discussion” (perfect for when you’re on the PS4 but still want to keep your thumb on the pulse of the site!), the Ordinary Store, and all of the little things when it comes to the ease of making posts in the first place.
Thanks for everything.Report
Dude… you were anti-Scroll-to-the-top-button? What kind of monster are you?Report
I PRESSED THE “HOME” BUTTON ON MY KEYBOARD THANK YOU VERY MUCHReport
Ohhhh… Mr. Hoity with his full sized keyboard houses in his McMansion built up on the hills!Report
Mr. Hoity with his full sized keyboard houses in his McMansion built up on the hills!
That is definitely not in the city.Report
I agree. CK. Nice work! The site’s improved quite a bit and it’s very noticeable. Congrats and good luck!Report
Definitely a big thanks is in order. Thank you, CK.Report
Among other things CK has done for us:
– “State of the Discussion” page and front page column.
– Commenter archives.
– Editable comments.
– Format buttons in combox.
– Superior comment nesting.
– Photograph search and insertion.
– Enhanced navbar.
– Musical Recommendation feature.
– Twitter feed.
– Amazon store (have you bought from it lately?).
– Auto-promotion of new posts in social media.
– Rotating blogroll.
I could go on, but you all get the idea.
Best of luck in your future endeavors, CK!Report
The comment editing, especially, was such a natural feature that, once it was added, I forgot it had ever been missing.Report
Many thanks CK. Looking forward to more of your writings.Report
The site has become almost unrecognizably better since CK starting improving it. Thank you, CK.Report
CK, I really appreciate all you’ve done for the site, and the things you’ve taught me about how to do stuff. I also appreciate having gotten to know you a little better over the last few months.
Wishing you all the best.Report
CK: your work on the site’s infrastructure has been absolutely sublime; almost as good as the distinct themes you add to the community from your particular point of view. Thank you sincerely for both.Report
Many thanks, the site now positively sparkles with liberaltarian bons mots.Report
I’ve been reading this site for years, following through the RSS feed and occasionally reading discussions. I don’t normally comment, but I thought I’d chime in. This site has been, and continues to be, a great place to learn. Thank you for everything you’ve done to make this place what it is. It means something to me.
Thanks for all the great work you’ve done, and best wishes for your future projects!Report
Definitely gonna have to comment more now that we know you’re here!Report
CK, you were much more than OK.Report
Thanks CK! I have really enjoyed the features you’ve added, seriously.
Good luck on what you are up to next.Report
This will sound like peculiar praise, but speaks to the hidden quality of CK’s work… I am stubborn and arrogant and believe that text on the Web should be displayed in the fonts and sizes and spacings of my choosing. To that end, I run every page that loads from all but a couple of sites through my own Javascript program that reformats the text. Despite all of the active elements at OT, I have less than 30 lines of OT-specific code in my program, and half of that is taking out the two different kinds of redaction. It’s a lot of work to produce pages with a consistent structure and naming conventions that makes it that easy for me to handle. Well done, indeed!Report
As someone who’s been reading this site every day for the past eight years, CK, the level at which you’ve revolutionized this place is just staggering. It’s night and day from what it used to be, and I mean that as the highest praise possible. I certainly hope you don’t go anywhere as a commenter and contributer, you’re one of the folks that make this place what it is. Even though I disagree with you like ninety percent of the time, I wouldn’t have it any other way, you’re like a human sharpening rod, and again, I mean that as a compliment. I hope you make it to Leaguefest this year, brother, cuz I owe you a drink and you probably owe me a punch in the mouth. 😉Report
Good show CK! And good luck on the new endeavor!Report
Thanks, CK.Report
I would like to post that meme of Obama hoisting a pint at you, CK. Unfortunately, my love-hate relationship with memes dictates that I mention it, but not actually post it.Report
Glad to hear he’ll still be writing.Report
Posted a “you’re welcome, right backatcha” post at my blog, but it’s taking forever for the hinky pingback to turn up, and I’m not sure it ever will (not one of the more efficient and dependable ol’ web tools, sorry to say). So, I want to be sure you all get the message: You’re welcome, and thank you all, too, for your kind words and encouragement above as all along, and for all your feedback.Report
Are you coming to Leaguefest this year, by the way? I really would like to buy you that drink.Report
@zac:
You make the prospect more enticing, and I do like Portland quite a bit, or did when I last visited (I believe the settlement belonged to Russia at the time). It’s not in my current plans to venture so far outside my home zip code. I’ll have to see how the north 40 is coming in about when the final go/no-go decision has to be made.Report
CK, thank you very much for your great work here. We’ll miss your technical prowess, but I’m very glad you’ll still be around.Report
CK, I have nothing inventive to add to what has already been said, but nonetheless, the improvements to the site are superlative – dare I say, yuuuge.
I am very glad that you will continue to write here, and I both thank and curse you for giving me yet another must-follow site (i.e. yours).Report
Of the many improvements you’ve made to this site CL, I think the “New Comments” functionality is my favourite. Thank you for all the good you’ve done here.Report
Thanks for all your hard work, CK!Report
Best wishes for a pleasant road ahead.Report