I began contributing to Xiph shortly after Ralph did. He was always thoughtful, always curious, always kind, and his example helped me to become a better version of myself. I wish he was still here to review my patches and untangle the nastier bits of arcana needed to deploy our libraries across a broad ecosystem. I wish he was still here to get tacos with us, and plan world domination. He gave so much to those around him that it does not feel right to complain that he is not around to give us more. I miss him.
Towards the end of my EE degree in the mid-2000s, I hoodwinked Ralph into dropping by my dingy east-Vancouver rental for a tech demo. I was trying to find a home for my thesis research project, which was a very niche-y DSP algorithm that had only the very faintest relevance to Xiph's mission. I was 100% enthusiasm and 0% practical sense.
Ralph was interested and engaged, and when he turned down the project (absolutely the right call) he was beyond gracious about it. It is rare that you can call someone "classy" and "nerdy" at the same time. Ralph was it.
I worked with Ralph when he was at Brave. I fondly remember many long walks in downtown Vancouver with him, getting tea at Matchstick and chatting about Rust and privacy and ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. I still can't believe this. Huge loss.
I'm still mostly without words; I just hear Ralph's voice in my head when I think about his passing. He was a force of warm, kind, friendly enthusiasm. We miss you, rillian.
I am greatly saddened at this news. Ralph, or rillian as I mainly knew him through the Xiph-related IRC channels, was a stalwart "nice guy", always a kind word, a moderating beacon of gentle support and help, and just someone whose presence seemed to make any place a better place. He will be greatly missed.
Seeing the other folks from Xiph commenting here, I can tell that my take on him was not unique. We lost one of the good guys, for sure.
rillian was also instrumental in helping to integrate Rust into Chromium at Brave. I worked with him for a few years; since getting to know him, I started noticing his handle in the contributors list across a surprisingly diverse range of other open source projects. RIP, Ralph.
rillian was so very helpful to me as an early engineer. I was trying to leverage Ghostscript libraries to format prescription labels for thermal printers - over serial or usb+serial connectors and using very questionable printers. It wasn't Ghostscript's problem but he was so kind in directing me to the right people to help and even following up to see if my problem was solved.
let mut msg = r#"
We feel super sad.
Rust in Peace.
Steel dreams compile to dust,
Silent threads unwind.
Memory fades,
Borrowed time returned.
"#;
println!("{}\n{}", mood, msg);
}
Ralph was one of the kindest and most patient people I ever had the pleasure of working with, online or offline. I wish I'd found more excuses to work with him.