Thank You Colin

DevCentral is a lot different now from nearly 8 years since when it was a website on a desktop under my desk.  I was a software architect in the Product Development organization and I took on a side project with Jeff Browning to build a platform that software developers could collaborate on F5 APIs.  It grew slowly, first focusing on iControl and then slowly introducing iRules and other design level topics. 

Colin was brought on as the first official member of the “DevCentral Team” and has been a driving force of what has made DevCentral what it is today.  If you’ve ever been to one of his speaking engagements, you’ll know what I mean when I say he is an engaging and insightful person who has a knack for zeroing in on what the audience wants to hear and making learning fun and exciting. 

Through the years he has been a key part of our growth from 0 to over 116,000 community members worldwide.  He has helped the community with over 2,300 posts in the forums, 110’s of tech tips, and well over 250 blog posts. 

He has traveled the world spreading the word on F5 technologies.  So much so that I can’t even count the number of countries and technical presentations he’s done through the years.

DevCentral power user hoolio says it best:

Colin has always shown an intellectual curiosity and drive to learn and to share that knowledge. Since starting at F5 in 2004, Colin has always been a positive force for proselytizing the masses on iRules and F5 extensibility. He’s lead an incalculable number of customer and internal training sessions where he helped make complex concepts easy for newbies and experts alike. It’s great to see him moving to a new role within F5 and we hope he continues to be a force on Devcentral.

If you read the last line in hoolio’s quote, you should know you don’t need to worry about him leaving.  He’s making a move to another group here at F5 that will allow him to get his hands a little more dirty with our technologies and will allow for him to remain active with the community.  He just won’t be sitting next to me anymore.  B-(.

Colin, personally I’d like to thank you for being and awesome partner-in-crime over the years and for everything you’ve contributed to the community.  We’ve been described as an old-married-couple when we present together and I’ll definitely miss the camaraderie between us.  Thanks for everything and best of luck with the new chapter in your professional development. 

In parting, I’d like to share with everyone our first public rocking session with our adaptation of Weezer’s “HashPipe” at the House of Blues in Vancouver, BC.

Keep on rocking buddy!

-Joe