Goodbye World!
This will be the second and final everyone ping in this server, preceded by the opening of the server.
Since its inception, Hello World! was carefully planned to be a server Blizzy and I would own relating to general programming topics. We wanted to create a lively space free for everyone to talk in that wasn't toxic like we experienced in other communities when asking for help.
Throughout the 500+ days of Hello World! we've certainly achieved many of our goals. However, one of the ones we did not do well was creating an active space. After summer 2022, Blizzy and I started getting exponentially more work on other projects including school which resulted in us dedicating less time to Hello World!, and drawing activity down.
By now, you can probably see where this announcement is going. Hello World's last day and Bit's last operating day, will be Saturday, 15 July 2023 16:00 (in 7 days). Exactly 546 days after its opening on Saturday, 15 January 2022 16:00. We are not open to amending or cancelling this.
Goodbye World! @net-tech- & @Blizzy
Just a quick word from me - to put some growth in perspective:
When I help co-found this server over 500 days ago with Net, I was a stressed out pre-law major who hated his career path. Thanks to all of you, especially for renewing my passions, I am already in the process of applying for my PhD in Intelligent Systems and Data Science. I'm attending an NLP conference next week. I'm creating new ways of reasoning in GPT models, unheard of by and from the world's largest research consortiums, as an individual student researcher. And I promise you, that's just the start. Hello World hallmarked a new era of pursuing my dreams - and that is 100% thanks to all of you.
Net and I have started new projects together as well in that time, from Bit to non-profits, communities to games, we've done a lot more because of some of the lessons we've learned from this server and its members. We're throwing in the towel as owners, but I sincerely hope we can remain friends with all of you - helping each other through one bug at a time.
Peter Dale Wimbrow Sr., in his piece The Man in the Glass, states "the fellow who's verdict counts most in your life / is the one staring back in the glass." For a long time, I had no clue what that meant, but various teams, people, and places have reaffirmed this image of myself and I now feel more confident starting my young career than ever. Hello World is largely to thank for that.
Thank you to everyone who I personally had the privilege to meet, help, and hopefully inspire. Feel free to keep in touch and share your victories with me and each other!