Manoj Srivastava resigning

I went on IRC to ask a simple technical question earlier today. I wasn't going to ask it in the #debian-devel channel, since it was a samba question rather than a debian-related one; but since my IRC client was still running, and had that channel active, I couldn't help but notice some discussion about "what-ifs" when there isn't a secretary, and who gets to do what then.

Surely this was idle speculation, I thought? But that can sometimes be fun, so let's look at the backlog, and see...

That's when I found out that this wasn't, in fact, idle speculation.

Oh dear.

Well, that's the end of an era, I guess. Not that it wasn't totally unexpected; when I learned that Neil McGovern had become "assistant secretary", I already suspected that Manoj was going to resign eventually, and he does confirm that suspicion in his resignation email. However, the suddenness of it certainly was unexpected.

Here's a tip of the hat for everything Manoj has done for Debian so far. I can only wish to be at your level.

What does distress me, however, is a part of Manoj's email, in which he mentions some people had been trying to get him kicked from the project:

As to the people who emailed me that they are putting together a petition for the DAM to have me removed from the project, I hear you too. I am going to spend the next few days evaluating how important the project is to me, and whether I should save you the bother or an expulsion process.

Well, Manoj, if my voice means anything to you: ignore those people, and stay a happy Debian Developer. You became project secretary not too long after I became Debian Developer, and over the years I've learned to respect you as a person with great integrity for your work, who would always do what you considered to be "the right thing". Even when I disagreed with you on what "the right thing" is (and there have been cases of this happening, including this particular vote, although I wasn't very active in the discussions), I have never been able to pinpoint our disagreement on you abusing your position as secretary in order to win the argument, or some such. You have been consistent and (where necessary) predictable in performing your duties as project secretary, and that is a great compliment. I can only hope we'll see those same virtues in our next secretary.

As for that expulsion process, please do not tell us who those people were, for I do not like seeing people made utter fools of in public.