Post by farceur on Sept 10, 2015 13:07:31 GMT
By now most of you would have heard that one of our moderators has passed away.
Joe Philley, a long time maps addict, aircraft enthusiast, cat rescuer and family man found in Keyhole, Inc, a place where all his interests came together in one and could share them all with the world.
Regular members of what eventually came to be the GEC never did hear much about his private life, his family or his jobs but when it came to his hobbies and his love of the world and its wonders he would be more than happy to share his knowledge and stories about them.
His knowledge, imagination and technical ability together with being one of the original subscribers to Keyhole was to launch him into the world of a GEC moderator at which he excelled.
By the time I joined the GEC, Google and an eclectic team of moderators, which included Joe, had taken a small online community and turned it into an integral part of Google Earth with its own layer.
I can remember once when the old BBS forums went into meltdown (which it often did) I contacted Joe who was parked on the side of a desert highway with his laptops open trying to work out what was going on while answering frantic members who could not log on at that time. I probably spent a good hour chatting to him about all he found good with the world. I think he found solace being out in the desert on those moonlit nights by himself.
He also once gave me a challenge by giving me an aircraft he found on GE and said, "Make a puzzle out of that". Suspicious I asked why. He said he didn't have time and that's what I did best.
Well I made a right hash of it but its one of those memories that remind me of his generosity and encouragement.
When he moved across to Niantic he told me that he "Loved the job, the team he was with and that he was the luckiest man in the world to land a job like that with his friends". Ingress seemed to be his utopia even though it had its hiccups and glitches.
With it he became a persona larger than life but he remained grounded by promoting the game as a social panacea even though it is based on war. He loved to socialize. The people, just like in the the GEC, were what made him happy.
He loved the people. We loved him. We will miss him dearly.
Condolences to his family who must now try to deal with their tragedy. We are thinking of you and of him.
Take care everyone and hold those dear to you closely as life is such a fragile thing.
Joe Philley, a long time maps addict, aircraft enthusiast, cat rescuer and family man found in Keyhole, Inc, a place where all his interests came together in one and could share them all with the world.
Regular members of what eventually came to be the GEC never did hear much about his private life, his family or his jobs but when it came to his hobbies and his love of the world and its wonders he would be more than happy to share his knowledge and stories about them.
His knowledge, imagination and technical ability together with being one of the original subscribers to Keyhole was to launch him into the world of a GEC moderator at which he excelled.
By the time I joined the GEC, Google and an eclectic team of moderators, which included Joe, had taken a small online community and turned it into an integral part of Google Earth with its own layer.
I can remember once when the old BBS forums went into meltdown (which it often did) I contacted Joe who was parked on the side of a desert highway with his laptops open trying to work out what was going on while answering frantic members who could not log on at that time. I probably spent a good hour chatting to him about all he found good with the world. I think he found solace being out in the desert on those moonlit nights by himself.
He also once gave me a challenge by giving me an aircraft he found on GE and said, "Make a puzzle out of that". Suspicious I asked why. He said he didn't have time and that's what I did best.
Well I made a right hash of it but its one of those memories that remind me of his generosity and encouragement.
When he moved across to Niantic he told me that he "Loved the job, the team he was with and that he was the luckiest man in the world to land a job like that with his friends". Ingress seemed to be his utopia even though it had its hiccups and glitches.
With it he became a persona larger than life but he remained grounded by promoting the game as a social panacea even though it is based on war. He loved to socialize. The people, just like in the the GEC, were what made him happy.
He loved the people. We loved him. We will miss him dearly.
Condolences to his family who must now try to deal with their tragedy. We are thinking of you and of him.
Take care everyone and hold those dear to you closely as life is such a fragile thing.
