Sal_vager is leaving to travel the world.

[Vanamonde]

It is with sad feelings for ourselves but happy thoughts for him that we must announce that our Sal_vager is leaving Squad and the forum. He's set forth on an adventure to explore Europe and Asia, and hasn't decided yet where he will settle down when his roaming ends. 

Some of you know Sal_vager as one of the forum's more active moderators. Some of you know him as a helpful person who is good at diagnosing problems players are having with the game's software, and giving advice for fixes and workarounds. Some of you know him as one of the QA testers who helps find, diagnose, and fix game bugs for Squad. Many of you will recognize him as the guy who collects and posts Threads of the Month. 

But those are only his most visible roles. Some of you who look more closely will have noticed that he's also one of our forum admins who finds and fixes problems with the forum software. He collected the Common Suggestions thread. He wrote the Challenge Submission Guide. He wrote the Good Conduct Guide. And several other helpful stickies and announcements. 

But what the public cannot see is that Sal_vager has also been one of our most senior and most dedicated moderators since the early days of the forum. He's the guy who recruited many members of the moderation team, and taught us how to moderate, and he frequently started discussions within the team about how we can better serve the community. He has maintained, updated, and just plain personally written a significant proportion of the forum rules. He's been our institutional memory of what has already been tried and worked or didn't work. When we moderators disagreed among ourselves, Sal was the tie-breaker. He was the experienced old hand to whom we handed off our thorniest moderation issues, knowing he'd come back to us with advice and/or a ruling which made sense and was in the interests of the community. We always knew that when things got bad on the forum, he had our backs. 

It's no exaggeration to say that when Sal_vager leaves, it will take three or four of us to keep up with all that he has been doing by himself. 

And as for myself personally, Sal_vager was the person who good-naturedly bugged and cajoled me into joining the moderation team. I am not a very assertive person and I'm troubled by clashes and confrontations, so I was resistant to the idea of being a moderator. But after Sal dragged me, kicking and screaming, onto the team, it has turned out to be one of the best experiences I've ever had. Helping on the forum has been one of my primary pastimes for the last three years, and the other moderators have become a circle of friends with whom I chat and joke every day. And one of those friends is Sal_vager, who I have bugged with questions, argued with, teased, and played games with. I personally will miss you terribly, Sal, and the KSP forum will never be the same without you, but you've made this a better place, and we wish you well as you head off to new adventures.

In recognition of your efforts here, though, your name will not be removed from the list of moderators. You will remain an honorary moderator as long as this forum exists. I can't bring myself to say goodbye, so instead I will say have fun and be safe on your travels. We look forward to updates on your adventures, when you can send them. 

The world can be a better place, if we make it be one. 
-- Sal_vager 

[sal_vager]

I have one simple rule that guided me throughout moderation, "how much harm does this do to the community", that's it.

People make mistakes, they forget, they don't mean any harm, so a tap on the shoulder is enough.

Others come here to make trouble.

Go with your gut, it's not hard, treat our friends as they would treat us, a reminder is enough.

[regex]

o7

Safe travels!

[sjwt]

2 minutes ago, regex said:

o7

Safe travels!

Its been a pleasure working with you sal, I now formally accept the title of "Person silly enough to sticking around longest on the moderation team"..
You have been a very welcome asset to the community for a long time, and your shoes both very large and very smelly to fill
 

Good luck man, hoep to catch you around. 

[Bill Phil]

*salutes*

Fare thee well, @sal_vager, and enjoy your travels. Spread the news of KSP to all places, far and wide. Or don't, it's completely up to you, after all.

[fourfa]

This place is a much nicer place to hang out than most of the internet because of people like you.  Thank you.

[LordFerret]

Heh... I just went and checked... you were my first 'warning', and first private message. Pretty much makes you my first 'personal' contact here.

 

Have fun in your travels! There's a lot to see out there, so take your time and enjoy it!

[theJesuit]

@sal_vager Have a great time exploring the world.  One hopes that you'll meet some of the ksp players across the globe who are also forum users!

Peace. 

 

[Streetwind]

But but but... the post count!

[Curveball Anders]

12 hours ago, Vanamonde said:

Sal_vager is leaving Squad and the forum

So now it's up to us to rise to the occasion and Sal_vage the situation

[Red Iron Crown]

I don't think there is any other person who has done so much for so long for our community here, and at such a consistently high standard. As I moved into smaller and smaller circles in the KSP world (regular member, exps tester, moderator, admin, QA person) I have been amazed how each new layer revealed still more that sal was doing. "Thank you" seems like far too small a phrase to convey the debt this corner of the internet owes you.

All the best to you, and thanks for everything.

[eddiew]

Best of luck @sal_vager, hope you enjoy your travels   And maybe check in with us once in a while  

[Urses]

Out firefighter takes a (hopefully only) a time out....

Good Health and many nice new acquaintances!

Godspeed and hopefully untill a comeback (you know you will miss us MDU's)

Urses

[Poodmund]

Sal_vager, you have been incredibly helpful, even if only indirectly, in various issues that have had over the past few years with KSP and your wealth of knowledge will be missed.

I wish you luck and all the best in your ventures. Bon Voyage!

Edited April 1, 2017 by Poodmund

[Just Jim]

Wow..... Sal, I've lost count how many times you've helped me out, (or put up with me ranting).... it's not going to be the same when you're gone.

But I can't fault anyone for wanting to see the world! Have fun and enjoy and be safe.... and check in every now and then and let us know how you are doing!!! 

[Hypercosmic]

I haven't met him much, but I am pretty sure he is a good moderator. He almost always appear when anybody ask about Squad, and even I, back to KSP for less than a month, got to know him. I wish I could've learn more, but let's just say good bye.

Stay safe, and step forward.

[worir4]

Have fun on your travel! I hope you see lots of amazing things. Thanks for being a great moderator.

Before you go, change your avatar to the smiling face again. =)

[Firemetal]

Good luck, Sal. Enjoy your travels!

Fire

[The Aziz]

I wish to believe it's an April Fools joke, but it seems not.
Oh well then, Time to go comes for everyone. Good luck on your future things, whatever you'll be doing.

[Just Jim]

Sal... if you ever find yourself in the States near Disney (Florida) during your travels, drop me a line, and we'll do lunch!!!  

[IllyrianTheGreat]

April 1st?

[Toastie_Buns]

16 hours ago, Vanamonde said:

It's no exaggeration to say that when Sal_vager leaves, it will take three or four of us to keep up with all that he has been doing by himself. 

CALLING DIBS ON HIS POSITION

Hahaha, can't believe nobody else thought of this. Playground rules, suckers.

[Ultimate Steve]

(Original Post deleted because it is not an April Fools prank)

 

Well, then! If it had been an AF prank, I would have been completely fooled!

 

Best of luck on your travels! Enjoy the world!

Edited April 2, 2017 by Ultimate Steve

[Red Iron Crown]

This is not an April Fools thing, unfortunately. The timing is entirely coincidental.

[kBob]

Very sad, I hope Sal misses us and KSP after he settles down wherever and comes back all nice and refreshed.  Besides we need to get those likes/reputation up a bit higher, @sal_vager you need to set a goal, like 200,000 likes before you completely retire  .