Never Can Say Goodbye - A Farewell Tribute to Danny "Ralsu" Gourley - Page 2

Tags: in

Posted Fri, Jul 31, 2009 by Shayalyn

And while Danny has made a dedicated and hard-working Ten Ton Hammer staff member, it has been his

Ralsu's Runes of Magic character says, "I'm on a horse!" Take a good hard look.

dedication to the community that always shone through. I couldn't ask the entire Ten Ton Hammer community to send me their thoughts on Danny, so I sent private messages to a handful of our prominent community members asking them to share their thoughts and experiences:

JenSweet appreciates Danny's one-two punch of wit and valuable insight:

Danny is awesome and I'm going to be sad to see him go. I hope he keeps his promise to still frequent Ten Ton Hammer and grace us with his witty remarks! I think he is hysterical and always looked forward to his imput on things.

Kitsunegirl appreciates Danny's patience:

I liked Ralsu because hes patient, or at least long-suffering. Numerous times I posted complaints after not winning a contest. His replies didn't come off sounding trollish or abusive, which I think says something great about his character. Just not sure what that is really... does he have daughters? lol

Quoth young Danny, "Whoopdee-freakin'-do, a yellow ribbon."

Kralle, one of our forum friends in Germany and a supporter from back in the early days of our Vanguard community site, had plenty to say:

All the things Danny wrote here at Ten Ton Hammer speak about his passion for MMO gaming and his patience for the gamers involved. You need patience if you post something that the "unified gamer" is supposed to read AND get new information--or, even better, new impulses--out of. Passion and patience, competence and insight--that sums up what I have to say about Ralsus posts and articles.

As we played Vanguard together, I grew stronger on my impression that Danny has an open mind and welcomes people with a friendly attidude. Overall, and to summarize it, he is mucho sympatico. For me he has been one of the major pillars that holds Ten Ton Hammer upright in a sea of mediocre MMO communities.

Danny's Top 10 Free-to-Play Games feature was a hit with some community members, including AngryBeaver:

I always liked and miss Ralsu's top ten free to play games list. The site was never the same when he stopped doing them.

And Beerkeg adds:

Ralsu, eh? Is he not that creepy old hermit guy who lives under the forum stairs, randomly popping out to give away prizes that he stole from passing game developers? If so, then he is truly an amazing guy! Always helpful and full of inspiration for those of us who are heart broke when they do not win any of his prizes. He's been a loyal community member and a great person in all. I'm going to miss him when he leaves his job. (Though Ten Ton Hammer is like a bad itch that just won't go away, and feels SO good when you scratch it!)

All the best, Danny! Whereever life takes you, always remember that you're welcome at Ten Ton Hammer (though as a member, so now were free to ridicule you!)

I speak for the Ten Ton Hammer staff when I say that along with his written contributions we're going to miss things like Danny's willingness to help, his dedication to the network, and his dry humor in our internal email communications. And I think I speak for the entire Ten Ton Hammer community when I say that we're all hoping to continue seeing him on our forums, even if he's in "civilian" clothes.

Personally, I'm proud to have been the one to bring Danny into the Ten Ton Hammer fold. During his tenure here, I've had the opportunity to write fanfic-style quest journals with him (even though the only fans we managed to attract were ourselves), raz him, enjoy him razzing others (way more than once), and call him friend.

Good luck, Danny! Don't be a stranger. And may every roll of life's 20-sided dice bring you nothing but good things.