FingrFethr
TMF Poster
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2004
- Messages
- 116
- Points
- 16
I am sorry to inform you all that Jack (Ropejock), erstwhile curator of the most extensive online collection of m/m tickling/cum control fiction and non-fiction, Jack's Male Tickling Rack, passed away a few days ago.
Jack was a personal friend of mine and made use of my collection of hardcopy manuscripts from the pre-internet days in assembling his online collection. He learned HTTP from scratch specifically in order to design his site and worked hard to make it both attractive and practical. He was scrupulous about getting permission from any authors he could locate before posting their stories. And he was adamant that the site would never require users to pay for access, though he always found it difficult to shoulder the operating costs of the site.
He later added a message board to the site, a page that became the main gathering point of m/m ticklefolk for a number of years. He spent an inordinate amount of time moderating the board, trying to keep it free of flamers and spammers, often lamenting to me that he was near to dismantling it because he couldn't keep up with those who had nothing better to do than attack this safe space for our community. Nevertheless, he continued to collect more material which he intended to format and add to the collection. But then his physical and mental health started to deteriorate, more and more rapidly.
Ultimately he was diagnosed with brain cancer and he finally had to close down the site. He had neither the energy nor the financial resources to keep it going. But he was happy to receive the thanks and words of appreciation from this community which I passed on to him when he found it necessary to stop communicating directly with everybody. Through two surgeries, chemo and radiation therapies, he always hoped to beat the cancer and return to health. He fully hoped to reopen his site and expand it further. But that was not to be. And now his struggle is over.
For those who are not aware of it, Jack's Rack was archived online by persons unknown. Most of the links still function and much of the content is still accessible. The URL is:
http://web.archive.org/web/20010205035500/www.ropejock.com/pa/home.html
Here's to you, Jack. I hope everyone who reads this post will take a moment to salute your generous spirit, your skill in designing the Rack, your curatorial choices which made it the essential collection for this small, select audience, and your herculean efforts to bring us together with your message board. Not many people are able to make a difference in the world, even in a small way. I hope you know that you were one who did.
FF
Jack was a personal friend of mine and made use of my collection of hardcopy manuscripts from the pre-internet days in assembling his online collection. He learned HTTP from scratch specifically in order to design his site and worked hard to make it both attractive and practical. He was scrupulous about getting permission from any authors he could locate before posting their stories. And he was adamant that the site would never require users to pay for access, though he always found it difficult to shoulder the operating costs of the site.
He later added a message board to the site, a page that became the main gathering point of m/m ticklefolk for a number of years. He spent an inordinate amount of time moderating the board, trying to keep it free of flamers and spammers, often lamenting to me that he was near to dismantling it because he couldn't keep up with those who had nothing better to do than attack this safe space for our community. Nevertheless, he continued to collect more material which he intended to format and add to the collection. But then his physical and mental health started to deteriorate, more and more rapidly.
Ultimately he was diagnosed with brain cancer and he finally had to close down the site. He had neither the energy nor the financial resources to keep it going. But he was happy to receive the thanks and words of appreciation from this community which I passed on to him when he found it necessary to stop communicating directly with everybody. Through two surgeries, chemo and radiation therapies, he always hoped to beat the cancer and return to health. He fully hoped to reopen his site and expand it further. But that was not to be. And now his struggle is over.
For those who are not aware of it, Jack's Rack was archived online by persons unknown. Most of the links still function and much of the content is still accessible. The URL is:
http://web.archive.org/web/20010205035500/www.ropejock.com/pa/home.html
Here's to you, Jack. I hope everyone who reads this post will take a moment to salute your generous spirit, your skill in designing the Rack, your curatorial choices which made it the essential collection for this small, select audience, and your herculean efforts to bring us together with your message board. Not many people are able to make a difference in the world, even in a small way. I hope you know that you were one who did.
FF
