>
> O.T: Although I never talked to Walt, I will think of him also - he
> sure seems to have made a difference around here...
>
We've got a few people that "channel" him once in a while. :) Walt's
influence will live on in the lives of everybody who knew him. He had a way
of cutting through the BS and getting to the root of things--as well as
being able to inveigle the conversation with the best of us.
There have been a handful of individuals who really shaped the culture of
this list. One person who we all looked forward to any and every post was
George, from Texas. Shall any of us ever forget his story of getting pecked
by his chickens?
In the real early days of the OM list, there was a preponderance of serious
tech-heads. The engineering brains on the list read like the "Who's Who" of
engineering doctorates. My first year was spent observing and absorbing. (I
was completely out of my league) It was a pretty analytical place.
Eventually, we got the FAQ put together and once we essentially got the OM
system as documented as is humanly possible there was less technical
interest and more human interest. It became less about the cameras and more
about the people.
I distinctly remember my first post. I asked about a big honkin Sigma lens
(50-500, I think) in OM mount and people's opinion of it. The response was
the sound of crickets. Not a solitary answer. It was at least a month, maybe
two before I ever posted again. It was actually our west-coast George
(SUV-driving, Democrat-hating, anti-Greenpeace George) that got me involved
in the list as he helped steer us away from being techno-geeks to being
photographers. Once the list opened up to non-technical issues, it started
to really take on a life of its own. Without that diversification, the list
would have died soon after.
Eventually, Walt joined us and his sheer love of photography and life,
combined with an extremely quick wit and command of the English Language
helped mold the list into something resembling the television show "Cheers".
It was well on its way to that before Walt joined, but he was what we needed
at the time.
Where else can one of us just ask just about any question about any subject
and not only get helpful answers but not get criticized for going off-topic?
Where else can we intermingle the three great taboos (s*x, p*litics,
r*ligion) without causing major rifts? Where else can you have
fighter-bomber pilots and Greenpeace activists hang out without mauling each
other? Granted, we have our moments, but usually it just takes a bit of wit
and sarcasm and we're back to normal again.
This list is extremely abnormal. It is unlike anything else I've ever
encountered on the Internet. Walt, for his years of being with us, helped
mold it into the current form, and most, if not all, of us are better
photographers and humans for knowing him.
AG Schnozz
--
_________________________________________________________________
Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
|