Afraid I don't really have Stryker stories. He wasn't much involved at the office while I was there, I think he'd moved his family out to Utah at that point. My recollection is that he was charismatic in the ways typical of technical founders who'd achieved some success. He autographed his book, Think a Little, for me -- teenage me thought superdemocracy sounded great but with 25+ years of hindsight I see his vision of utopia as more of a dystopian nightmare.
I posted this on my Facebook when MBBSEmu came up here a few months back:
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How'd I never hear of this before? My first "real" job was with Galacticomm and their software is probably most directly responsible for me becoming the computer geek I am today.
Story time: I ran a Major BBS in high school. My longest-time friends ought to remember 'cause it's probably the biggest catalyst for us becoming lifelong friends. My dad financed it with dreams of making Rusty-N-Edie money but I don't think it ever paid its own phone bill.
Pops saw in the paper that Galacticomm was going to make a big announcement at a local business conference. Maybe it was MBBS 6.25, or the first showing of Worldgroup, I don't recall exactly. But the key part is that I was under 18 and not welcome to attend said conference.
I was displeased. I let Galacticomm know of my displeasure.
And... Scott Brinker reached out personally to invite me to their offices for a demo. By him. Maybe Tim Stryker was also in the room, I don't remember it all. But Scott, a very young CEO or President at the time, took the time out of his life to make sure this younger, perhaps a bit entitled, fellow geek with a similar geeky backstory was not excluded.
It's such a little thing, but for me, it really mattered. Galacticomm and their people have always had an outsized place in my heart.
And now I'm crying 'cause I wish I could talk to my dad.
I posted this on my Facebook when MBBSEmu came up here a few months back:
---
How'd I never hear of this before? My first "real" job was with Galacticomm and their software is probably most directly responsible for me becoming the computer geek I am today.
Story time: I ran a Major BBS in high school. My longest-time friends ought to remember 'cause it's probably the biggest catalyst for us becoming lifelong friends. My dad financed it with dreams of making Rusty-N-Edie money but I don't think it ever paid its own phone bill.
Pops saw in the paper that Galacticomm was going to make a big announcement at a local business conference. Maybe it was MBBS 6.25, or the first showing of Worldgroup, I don't recall exactly. But the key part is that I was under 18 and not welcome to attend said conference.
I was displeased. I let Galacticomm know of my displeasure.
And... Scott Brinker reached out personally to invite me to their offices for a demo. By him. Maybe Tim Stryker was also in the room, I don't remember it all. But Scott, a very young CEO or President at the time, took the time out of his life to make sure this younger, perhaps a bit entitled, fellow geek with a similar geeky backstory was not excluded.
It's such a little thing, but for me, it really mattered. Galacticomm and their people have always had an outsized place in my heart.
And now I'm crying 'cause I wish I could talk to my dad.