I’ve been working on the Joystiq network (currently comprising Big Download, Joystiq, Massively, and WoW.com) for four and a half years now, back when WoW.com was WoW Insider and we got as much traffic in a month as we now do in a day. (For laughs, check out my first post on the site, about patch 1.10.) In my time on the network, I’ve written 928,077 words in 2454 posts. I’ve learned more than I can reasonably explain in a simple blog post and I’ve worn more different hats than I can count. It’s longer than I’ve ever stayed in one place before and, no matter how difficult it’s been at times, there’s a comfortable familiarity to it that makes it hard to imagine leaving. But leaving I am, at the end of the month. It’s been a wild ride and I don’t regret a moment of the time I’ve spent here, but gaming has turned into more work than play and it’s time for a change.
I will, however, miss the team I’m walking away from, especially the WoW.com team which I’ve taken great pains to assemble over the years. I imagine life without our team chat will be a much quieter affair, with fewer random descents into laughter. I emailed yesterday to let everyone know that I was leaving and have been absolutely floored by the responses I’ve gotten — “floored” in a good way, mind you — which have ranged from:
Was it Khan? Are you leaving because of Khan? I’m just going to pretend you are.
KHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNN!
To:
I have no words, just ellipses with many dots (tears?) ……………
Truly:
… out of fairness I should point out that wherever you’re going isn’t half as awesome as us.
A haiku:
we will miss you liz
and not just for our paychecks
your future is bright
Obviously:
Thank you for making everything sane and making sure I knew what the heck I was doing when I got into this thing. And the Doctor Who rabid commentary.
From Twitter:
A @wowdotcom without @Faience is like a @mikesacco without long hair
And a few lolcats, which are our regular conversational currency.
The phrase is overused, but all can say is that it’s been an honor and a privilege to be part of this team. I’ll especially miss Brad Hill, whose calm presence never fails to impress me; Chris Grant, whose ability to turn brilliant ideas into tangible realities is nothing short of amazing; and Dan O’Halloran, who will be taking over for me as WoW.com Editor-in-Chief and has taught me a heck of a lot. (There was a time, back when he first started, that I very nearly fired him — and WoW.com would be a different place today if I had.)
But new challenges: I’ll be rejoining the indomitable Barb Dybwad, who first hired me at AOL, at Tecca. I can’t really say much about what we’re doing there except that it sounds like fun and we’re hunting for talented folks. Change is always a bit scary, and I can’t deny being anxiety-ridden over the jump. But I do think it’s time, perhaps even past time, for something new.
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