Howdy!

Zoiks!

Ben.

Weeee! :)

Test.

[ Edited by: tulsatv on 2002-03-24 17:30 ]

By the way, TikiBen is the programming wizard who helped me install MySQL (database engine) and the BB software (the fourms we're posting on)!

THANKS BEN!

:drink: :drink: :drink:

With all this talk of tiki (and TC) going underground again and quality posts being fewer and farther between, I thought I'd crawl around in the dusty, cobwebby TC basement and dredge up a quality post to hold as a high standard for what we should all strive for when posting. With more threads like this, noone in their right mind would move on to other things.

EDIT: Uh, oops. It seems that Monkeyman had the same idea two days ago by bumping an old post. (Note to self: read before posting.) Well, just goes to show that great minds think alike.

[ Edited by: GatorRob 2006-07-07 08:41 ]

Welcome to TC Tikiben, we're sure glad to have you hangin around. With a name like yours, you gotta be a great guy!!

On 2002-03-23 18:42, TikiBen wrote:
Zoiks!

Ben.

I believe TikiBen has left the building! :wink:

There's a touching story about TikiBen ...

TikiBen is the user name of Ben Fuller, a longtime friend of mine and computer super genius who was my mentor for all things technological. Ben was simply a brilliant computer programmer who worked on a variety of cool projects, most notably the very first versions of Macromedia Dreamweaver, and the ReplayTV DVR (both of which I worked on with him). In 1998 he was a huge Wiki supporter and was programming with XML -- at least five years before these noww-common technologies came into vogue.

Back before Tiki Central was located here on tikicentral.com, it was part of Yahoo Clubs. It was a booming community with just shy of 700 members, but then Yahoo changed all the "clubs" into "groups" and in the process gave us a simply horrible user experience. Missing posts, wacky word-wrapping, annoying ads, bugs, glitches, and slowness.

TC members were not happy.

I was complaining about this to TikiBen and telling him I didn't know what to do, and he encouraged me to check out phpBB, which was a relatively unknown open-source Web Forum program. I was worried because I didn't know what I was doing and had ZERO web programming experience. After all, if Yahoo can't run a forum without glitches, how was I going to? I didn't think I could do it.

TikiBen was incredibly supportive and told me that I could do it. He walked me through the installation of phpBB, and answered all my PHP programming questions. Thanks to his help I got Tiki Central up and running over a weekend. Before I announced it to the Yahoo group, I invited him to check it out, which is when he created his TikiBen user-name and posted this thread.

Shortly after launching this site, Tiki Central had new legs. There were new members and a lot of great information unlike anything that ever happened on Yahoo. To say that Yahoo Groups was holding us back is an understatement. Thanks to the encouragement of TikiBen and to his unending help, I had started on a new quest -- learning PHP programming and running a forum that today I'm quite proud of. Shortly after that I programmed my own Paypal automated payment notification and tracking system, completely from scratch. TikiBen had set me on a path that changed my life.

On September 11th, 2002, just six months after launching the new Tiki Central, I recieved the shocking news that Ben Fuller had unexpectedly passed away. He was a brilliant individual whose life was cut way too short. He was in his mid 30s. I felt depressed and lost for quite some time, because I really didn't know how I was going to continue without his guidence. But I have managed to do so. While I still miss him dearly, I can always look back to the amazing things in my life like Tiki Central that TikiBen had a huge influence in. I would not be the same person I am today without him. He was a great friend.

Ben's Father purchased the Grand Membership for the TikiBen account in 2006, and I'm going to continue to keep it up to date. I am sure that if Ben can see what I've been able to accomplish here and great friendships people have made beause of it, he is extremely proud.

~Hanford

Thanks for sharing that, HL. So, in a significant way, we have Ben to thank for salvaging TC. Never knew that, it is appreciated. Cheers to Ben, eh?

midnite

Wow Hanford,

Thats a very interesting but unfortunately sad story. Those are the kind of posts that have real meat to them and are enriching to read.

Thanks for sharing.

Hanford - Wow. It seems my half-hearted attempt at humor by bumping up this thread triggered a very emotional memory for you. Obviously, I had no idea. Thanks for sharing that story with us.

Thanks Hanford, for letting us know a little inside history.
What a touching story

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. It's been a while now and I have only happy memories of Ben, I thought the ressurection of this thread was a great way to let everyone know who he was, since a lot of people have probably seen his name at the top of the Memberlist!

Hanford I am sure he would be proud of what has been created here. And that is the best way to remember and honour a friend.

Wow, I had no idea! I merely meant that he no longer was a part of TC when I made that reference. :(

My condolences.

This is another reason why we should never hesitate to let those that have meant so much in our lives know how valuable they have been to us. I have a friend I've known for about 15 years who also inspired and helped me to improve my life. We have worked at 2 jobs together where he continually pushed me to seek new skills and realize a fuller potential for myself. (By the way, he LOVES Dreamweaver! I always wondered if it was named after the Gary Wright song from the 70s.) Anyway, while my friend is still around, I have not hesitated to let him know as we've both moved on to new opportunities how much his guidance has helped my life.

Hats off to TikiBen and you Hanford for giving us all a place to meet new friends and chat with old ones! You guys have created something wonderful! Thank you! Glad I read this post!

That's a great story, Vintagegirl.

On 2006-07-11 19:22, vintagegirl wrote:
(By the way, he LOVES Dreamweaver! I always wondered if it was named after the Gary Wright song from the 70s.)

I worked with Ben at a small company called iBand. I was not there very long because I wanted to get into video games, but before I left I had designed the first draft UI of a new program they were making. Less than a year later the 10-person company was purchased by Macromedia for $35 million, and the program evolved into Dreamweaver, which has been their #1 moneymaker (even over Flash) up until they merged with Adobe. None of my options were vested. :roll:

Several other software titles have been derived from Dreamweaver, including Macromedia Contribute, which came out shortly after Ben's passing. If you read the scrolling text of the About dialog in Contribute 1.0, this will eventually come up:

He is remembered fondly by many.

What a great place this is!!!! I stumbled on it by accident. (searching for info on Wallach's Music City) and wonder now how I managed to get by without this place. Greetings From Carmichael (Sacramento). Hopefullly my wife and I will be able to atttend some of the great things going on here...and yes I have a tiki bar...and I'm not afraid to use it!

Moondog, if you are still looking for info on Wallach's Music City PM me.

That's a great story Hanford. I'm really glad I have that insight. Thanks for sharing it and thanks for unfolding more history. BTW, you're doing just fine. :)

I miss you Ben.

Thanks for everything.

:(