As you can see from his last #tincan Hubski post, JakobVirgil had made progress on #tincan. I had been in regular communication with him (email and chat), and then shortly after this last post, he disappeared.
The last chat I had with him, maybe a few days after that post, he expressed guilt for not being done with the app yet. I haven't been able to contact him since (about 1 month now).
I haven't met him face-to-face, but thenewgreen has, and he seems a good guy.
I have Tin-Can stickers, but JakobVirgil is gone.
We raised $1800 for Tin-Can. I gave 10% to steve for making an awesome video, and gave JakobVirgil the rest. After Kickstarter and Amazon Payments took their cut, he got somewhere near $1300. $100 of that was a pledge from me.
I am quite certain that JV was actually working on it, and I know that he communicated with some people from the Serval Project, and got some technical help from them. For most of the time he seemed genuinely excited about it.
I've done everything I can to contact him, and to give him the benefit of the doubt. I know that he was struggling with some real world issues. However, at this point, I personally have lost hope that Tin-Can will be completed.
It's a damn shame. Not only did we lose Tin-Can, and we lost a good Hubskier. I considered JV a friend.
This really sucks, and I am sorry for being a part of this. I put my real name on it, and he didn't.
Maybe he will resurface.
I always felt that tincan was very ambitious and technically complex... there's a reason it hasn't really been done before. In my limited interaction with JV, I got the impression he didn't really appreciate this, but I expect he has gradually come to realize it. I'd guess he's just avoiding you and the site out of guilt or anxiety. Seeing this post isn't likely to help matters.
I agree. Trust me, I didn't want to post this. But, people are asking about it, and I really have no choice but to let people know what's going on. It was ambitious, and he did joke about how he had underestimated it. I do hope that he returns, because I've had a couple of people mention that they would be interested in helping him complete it. Also, he's a good guy. I really feel bad about this whole thing.I'd guess he's just avoiding you and the site out of guilt or anxiety. Seeing this post isn't likely to help matters.
I imagine if that conversation had been had in person it would have been accompanied with nervous laughter. I agree with minimum_wage. Sounds like he bit off more than he can chew and now he's nervous about the money side of things. There's skin in the game now and he probably feels morally obligated to deliver. If it's just a kick-around project then there's no real concern about it tailing off and scrapping it, but the money is a game changer. Hopefully he reaches out and discusses concerns.he did joke about how he had underestimated it
Even if that is the case, it doesn't really give him reason to abandon it without a word. I know that it's scary to admit defeat or need help, it is better than having assumptions made about your capabilities, courage, or personality. Especially with real money involved, it is always worse to ignore and hide from the problems and issues in front of you. Because once you start ignoring and hiding, you have a whole new set of issues in addition to the original set. JakobVirgil if you see this - give some explanation. I think we're all fairly understanding individuals and I think we're mostly worried about YOU at this point, not the project. This is a legit chance to stand up and man up, after this I don't know how many people will still have faith. "I fucked up and I don't know what to do" isn't going to bring a rain of hate but staying silent might.
Even if that is the case, it doesn't really give him reason to abandon it without a word. I know that it's scary to admit defeat or need help, it is better than having assumptions made about your capabilities, courage, or personality.
I just remembered the time a young guy who was working on making a 2D version of The Ocarina of Time pretended to have died so that he could abandon the project without that kind of fallout.
As mk mentioned, I have met JV a few times. He lives in North Carolina about 2.5 hours from where I do. When I am in his neck of the woods, I would grab a bite to eat with him and discuss Hubski, family, the Internet etc. He's a really bright guy, an artist and musician. In fact, he gave me a painting of his that I have hanging in my office. Anyways, my guess is that he is having troubles of a personal nature.
This is super strange. Are you suggesting something might be wrong? Like in danger? Or do you think he just bolted with the money? Or is it pointless to speculate? He hasn't been active on Facebook since May 1.Not only did we lose Tin-Can, and we lost a good Hubskier.
This is a very weird situation. If you look at the Facebook, it doesn't seem like infrequent updates are out of the ordinary.
I can see why you posted this, it's important to let those vested in the idea know what is going on. JV, if you read this, we all dig you and hope you are safe and return with or without a completed TinCan.
Except for adding a spoke to the pinwheel, I can't really do anything. I'll cross my fingers, too, I guess.
To add to onehunna and some more personality to the story. It was an idea that was conceived and massaged into a real flesh-and-blood idea on hubski, with a large amount of dedication by mk. I saw it as (correct me if I'm wrong anyone) mk's baby. Jakob, a skilled programmer with balls of steel and aspirations and skills came to help raise it into a successful adult. The kickstarter was established to basically pay Jakob for his time so he could focus on Tin-Can rather than have to balance a real life, other paying jobs, and Tin-Can at the same time. Most of the money came from hubski users who believed and had faith and wanted to see the product made. Unfortunately, Jakob has seemed to drop of the face of the planet (even though going away for short periods of time isn't completely out of the ordinary) and it's gotten to the point where mk wants to publicly update the supporters as well as reach out to Jakob, hence this post, because he hasn't heard anything from Jakob and exhausted all other methods of communication. I think from the post you can see his thoughts. Disclaimer: This is just my understanding of the situation based on reading the threads over the last months. My understanding of certain details may be wrong, and I can only say for certain what I know and think and feel, not what other people know/think/feel. Right now, I know I feel disappointed about the status of a promising project but moreso I am worried about Jakob and whatever is going on in his life that has led to this situation. Personally, I would rather see Jakob reappear and try help him get through this situation - or whatever is going on outside of this situation - in whatever way I could. I know it's the internet, but hey. People need people - alone against the shit life throws at us is a bad place to be. But I would also like to see Tin-Can move forward, whether it's with or without Jakob at the helm. So I'm torn, and based on the comments I think other's feel similarly.
Tin-Can is a phone-to-phone text messaging app, that is, it doesn't require the internet or cellular network to transmit messages. It was successfully backed on Kickstarter (as I've linked).