Libera Dreams

Hi all,

It is with a heavy heart that I plan to step down as administrator of Libera Dreams.

I first took on this role almost a decade ago, but for various reasons, including my health the passion of Libera dreams has come to an end.

It's been an incredible journey, along the way, meeting wonderful people and experiencing amazing places, that I may not have had, had I not found Libera.

Its been a very difficult year for most, including myself, and on that note I am realizing that I need to seize and use more productively all my spare time. Even when not visiting or working on Libera dreams, it has always been at the back of my mind. To be honest, it has become a burden that I no longer wish to carry.

An administrator needs to have the passion the skill and the time, lacking any one of those makes for a poor custodian of Libera dreams.

I shall continue to serve as an administrator for a short period of time in the hope someone can fulfil the position, but failing that, it will be only fair to inform the domain owner that I am no longer able to maintain Libera dreams.

Please spread the word, as a new administrator is needed ASAP.

Thanks.

Hello Paul,

Now reading this brings tears to my eyes. For me and certainly not only for me, you have naturally belonged here, and even though you have not been that very active/visible on the outer "face" of Libera Dreams, since I'm here, in my mind you seemed to be here always. You were just the somebody who kept all of this going and who took care. Thank you for all of that!

Your wording leaves me with a heavy heart. Yet, if your feeling tells you that you should cut back, it's a reasonable thing to listen to yourself and to follow. So, I can comprehend your decision. I wish you all the very best. And I really hope that you only give up your role as an administrator and that you stay on with us as a "simple" Libera fan, enjoying the distinctly easier part of being a forum member, so that we can read you here every now and then, which I'll be looking forward to. Still, the most important is your health and this, I very much hope, will turn out and stay good!

All the best for you, I'll miss you. Thank you again!

I second filiarheni 's sentiment. Keeping this forum up and running for so long has been greatly appreciated. I completely understand your concerns and reasons for giving this up. Your health is of utmost importance; and the anxiety, however much in the back of your mind it might be, is still a factor that can’t be ignored. Anyone who has ever been involved in running something used by other people, or even just being in a leadership/management role knows exactly how you feel. You feel as though even when you are taking a break that you should be doing something for the project or organization. This is especially so when your time cannot be segmented in any way and when crashes or problems sneak up on you.

In any case, I wish you the very best of luck and hope that you will continue with us as a fan; and hopefully a replacement administrator can be found!

Hi Paul,

all the best for you & I'm looking forward to hearing from you in the future, even if it is in writing!

Take care,
Manuel

I'm sorry to hear this, Paul. I will be happy to help keep the dream alive and join the search for a new primary admin. I know keeping something like Libera Dreams going is more work than most people realize and I too share your desire that whoever takes over have the skill and the time, and also the passion, or it will be a short time before we are looking yet again for someone to carry the torch.

Steve

Hi Paul

Thanks for all your hard work over the last 10 years. It is completely understandable that you wish to move on to other projects but I do hope you will stay with us and, hopefully, that we will see you at a concert soon.

Stay safe my friend.

Andy

Ten years is a long time to carry this burden, it's understandable that you wish to step back at this time. I'm sure that everyone of us here hope that your health will improve in the future.

I have joined this forum not so long ago, but from the very start of my journey being a member here, to me you have always been the 'force' behind everything and somehow magically make all this happen. Thank you for all the things you've done in the past decade, I hope you all the best, including your health, and I sincerely wish that Libera Dreams has another admin and that you will be back to a 'normal' Libera fan among us so that we can share all the great music (and also all other things come with this great music) together.

I want to thank all the well wishers, this has made my decision even harder as I feel like I have let a lot of members down. I certainly won't be abandoning you, as I do plan to stay on as a member, but someone with the skills and passion needs to be found ASAP. An ideal candidate would be a fan of Libera, who would have the passion, but also must have the skills.

TullyBascombe wrote: ↑<span title="Thu Apr 01, 2021 4:22 am">3 years ago</span> Ten years is a long time to carry this burden, it's understandable that you wish to step back at this time. I'm sure that everyone of us here hope that your health will improve in the future.

It certainly has NOT been a burden for 10 years, for the most part, it has been a labour of love, a passion, an outlet to express my technical skills, and not so great artistic ability. But now my own personal situation has changed, and Libera Dreams has unfortunately become a mental burden, and as a result I have to reprioritise my time and energy.

Good to hear that you'll continue with us as a reading and writing member! I'm sure we all comprehend your reasons and concerns to quit the admin part; please do not feel bad, when we express our regrets. Obviously, you did a very good job!

But now to the practical part: To find someone new, I think It would be helpful to get a better idea of what a forum administration is about (I for my part only have a very wafting one). Such as:

1. Which concrete technical/software skills are required?
2. What tasks does an admin have?
3. Which of them has to be done constantly or regularly and which are rotational or rare?
4. How much time does it require for example every week/month?
5. Are there costs?
6. Is it something a team of perhaps 3 or 4 people could do to split the work load or does it make more sense in your opinion to restrict work and responsibility to one person, together with a "vice" admin?

Such information would make it easier for those who are interested to estimate their own ability and time in a realistic way and make a decision substantiated and long-term.

paul wrote: ↑<span title="Fri Apr 02, 2021 10:56 am">3 years ago</span>
It certainly has NOT been a burden for 10 years, for the most part, it has been a labour of love, a passion, an outlet to express my technical skills, and not so great artistic ability. But now my own personal situation has changed, and Libera Dreams has unfortunately become a mental burden, and as a result I have to reprioritise my time and energy.

OK, uh, I didn't mean it that way. Is there anything we can do for you, other than some of us will put out feelers looking for a replacement?

As sad as it is to lose a good admin I second the request of filiarheni to get the job details.

Many things have changed in a positive prospective for me. It breaks my heart to see this wonderful community falling into the wayside. Updates need to be done for stability and security, I cannot stand by and see the technical backend decline as it currently is.

Libera Dreams has been the go to for all things Libera for more than a decade, I feel it should continue for another decade.

I would whole heartedly like to resume my role in keeping this community confident that Libera Dreams will still be here in the future.

I hope all will welcome me back as a guardian of this great online resource.

Its something I cannot do alone. I have the technical ability, but Libera Dreams needs more. Libera dreams needs a full website with content consisting of the choir present and past, full discography crosslinked to choir members past and present, tours and concerts. This is a lot of work for one person who is currently working 50ish hours a week. We have a lot of very knowledgeable members who could help with this workload.

Firstly, I need to know if you will except me back, then possibly take some suggestions and make some proposals. Finally, we would need to set out a road map on taking Libera dreams from an occasionally visited discussion forum, to a fully fledged first class online resource.

I'm feeling very motivated to get started on work, but the technical side is where my motivation sits currently.

I hope all understands that until recently, the physical world has had to take precedence over the digital domain, but with help, I could dedicate several hours per week.

Thank you all for your understanding, and please except my apologies for leaving you without a full time person to maintain Libera Dreams.

Paul

If it was up to me I'd say sure. Who has been administrator for the past 5 months?

It would appear, nobody. The current required update is almost a year overdue.