Subj : FidoNews 34:11 [02/07]: General Articles To : All From : FidoNews Robot Date : Mon Mar 13 2017 01:00:27 ================================================================= GENERAL ARTICLES ================================================================= Helmut Hullen and the root of "Crowd Funding" Ward Dossche - 2:292/854 Helmut Hullen passed away September 19th 2016 -- already nearly 6 months ago. For a while I wondered if his death should be commemorated in Fidonews -- or not -- if there's nothing good to be said, maybe it's better to stay quiet. A while ago however I stumbled across some messages in German chatgroups where his name popped-up and although the same person, they described someone completely different than how we have known him in Fidonet. For me Helmut was the source of much controversy in R24 (and beyond). He took me as Z2C to court in 2002 over his excommunication and he lost basically on 2 points: 1) The Fidonet *C-structure as a group of individual people are well within their rights in a non-profit environment if they desire not to communicate with a person 2) Due process as described by the internal rules (i.e. P4) was not followed by skipping a level and thereby forfeiting any right to appeal at a higher level. But unintended Helmut Hullen caused, what I believe is, the very first crowd funding campaign in the networked world. The cost was pretty high and Udo Zaydowicz, of 2:2426/1111, who in the meantime is not in Fidonet anymore, started a campaign and raised more -- way more, than needed to cover my legal expenses. It made my day -- it's nice to reminisce today of what Fidonet was capable of in those days. The people who were involved in that very first crowd funding campaign ever, and who as such unknowingly wrote history, are: 7 x anonym !! Bashe Robert Beelitz Frank !! Bomanns Heinz-Josef Capito Andreas !! Cichy Adolf Dossche Ward (R29) !! Dresdner DFUe-Verein Dukelsky Michael (R50) !! Dueker Sven Dworak Werner !! Ellermann Carsten Flier Hans-Joachim !! Friedrich Falk Grimm Oliver !! Haensch Stefan Iburg Carsten !! Kannegiesser Andreas Koeppen Klaus !! Konezna Walter Mandel Peter !! Marx Sebastian Mothes Ralph !! Muehlbacher Torsten Neut Herman (R28) !! Olsen Kaare (R23) Ott Hartmut !! Paulsen Frank Petz Michael !! Point 21 Pose Peter !! Richter Kai Rima Sean (R26) !! Rudolph Gisbert Schroeter Ulrich !! Seiffert Thomas Sievers Joerg !! Troeger Gerd Weihgold Jochen !! Woick Alex Zaydowicz Udo !! Zosel Thomas Several of these names have in the meantime also faded away, even in real life -- Gisbert -- Helmut several years later privately requested to be reinstated and was informed he had to refund the legal costs which he caused. He complied and entered the nodelist again. The monies were returned to the original donors if they could be traced and if not, or when refund with international money transfer was too expensive, donated to "Docters Without Borders" who had no clue who or what Fidonet was. Then September 19th 2016 occurred. I cannot say a very dear friend of mine passed away but his passing was a loss to someone and therefore worth a few moments. If there's something that can be said about Helmut Hullen and Fidonet is that he definitely left his mark and faded into Fidonet-lore way before he physically faded away. He was not an easy person to be confronted with, not just in Fido but also for his employer and others, but I also discovered another facet of a complicated man, someone totally different than the one I came to know via a lawsuit. Helmut Hullen was an educator who loved to teach when he wasn't suing and was well respected and liked by his peers as well as his pupils. I read very friendly comments about him related to the "Braunschweiger Linuxtage" where he was described as "a person full of humor well known for his teamspirit and problem solving attitude". As with a lot of people, you probably had to learn to know him away from the keyboard, face-to-face, breaking bread and sharing a beer before condemning him into eternity. Helmut is mourned by his wife, his son and other next of kin. It is a loss to them, therefore it is a loss to us. For those who like riddles, the announcement of his passing away in the local newspaper carried the following message: 01010100011100110110001101101000111111001101111100100001 One last note to Helmut: don't forget to pay the ferryman when you cross the Styx, we don't want you to wander around . . . 8-) Ward Dossche Z2C - Fidonet ----------------------------------------------------------------- --- Azure/NewsPrep 3.0 * Origin: Home of the Fidonews (2:2/2.0) .