I remember Sonny used to be a very active member here once... where has he been lately? I have not seen him post in quite a while.

Sonny pops in from time to time. I suppose his business has been keeping him busy of late.

It's too bad he doesn't come around more often. I respect his computer knowledge and is certainly seemed like a gentleman.

>Sonny pops in from time to time. I suppose his business has
>been keeping him busy of late.

Hi Shelly,

I know I am a worrier but I was just going to as of last night post about Sonny because I think there is cause for more concern here.

If I have this right, I am showing that Sonny has not posted since October 3rd.. that will be two months tomorrow... and the thing that concerns me even more so is that Sonny has not turned in a work unit for UD since October 6th. I find that a bit odd that his posting and the UD both stopped around the same time... If he was busy with his job as committed to UD that Sonny was, I feel he would still be crunching during this time and perhaps just too busy to post.

I would hope that maybe someone could contact Sonny or at least prove me wrong... but I am concerned and have been thinking this just doesn't seem right. *sigh*

OK, I'll send him an e-mail.

I sent him an e-mail, I'll report back if I receive a reply.

Um...This doesn't look good. My message was returned with

Permanent Failure: 554_This_mailbox_is_full.__Please_try_again_later._

I have no other way to contact him.

Shelly,was that his earthlink addy that was returned?

-----------------------------------------------------
Edit:
I guess it was,mine was returned also.x(

There could be a number of reasons that people disappear from here. I know of bunches who have, and we can only wish them well. When it comes to relationships, Internet communities are more fluid than real life.

ukmitch was a another regular who appears to have vanished. :-)

Mitch posted as recently as Dec 1st.

http://www.pcqanda.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=2&topic_id=336307&mesg_id=336307&listing_type=search#336327

>Um...This doesn't look good. My message was returned with
>
>Permanent Failure:
>554_This_mailbox_is_full.__Please_try_again_later._
>
>I have no other way to contact him.

Well Shelly that is too bad... *sigh* I don't like the sounds of this at all. :-(

http://www.pcqanda.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=2&topic_id=337024&mesg_id=337064&page= :-(

From now on, we need to try to track our members (that have been away for awhile) better. I do remember him posting during that mad period when 3 or 4 hurrican's hit the FL area. So many people were affected by it, that I'm not surprised he got lost in the shuffle.

I propose we create a Check-In/Check-Out thread. This would especially be helpful during times like hurricanes where we can expect members to be off-line for a certain amount of time. The concept is very simple: check-out when you plan on being away for while (for example during a hurricane, or you're going in for surgery). Check back in when you're safe so we know you're alive and well. We could even make it a sticky during hurricane's so it would be convenient to keep track of several members at once.

I doubt you would have very good cooperation on something like that. People have private lives and we have no right to ask them to give up their privacy. I have had a few major surgeries that no one here knew about until well after I discovered that I was still alive.

Nicely said, Shelly. I've had a surgery like that, and my wife has had a couple. Concern for our board members is one thing, but getting involved in their lives is another. I don't know our member Sonny, but I hope he is OK. If not, well..... I think we have to wait for some sign from him or his family. If there isn't such a sign, we just have to move on and wish Sonny and his family the best. It isn't about us; it's about him.

>Nicely said, Shelly. I've had a surgery like that, and my
>wife has had a couple. Concern for our board members is one
>thing, but getting involved in their lives is another.

I can understand that being a rather private person myself. But it doesn't have to be for surgeries. I'm not all suggesting we get nosey and intrude into their personal daily affairs. It's totally voluntary anyway, I never said we should make anyone feel 'obligated' to participate.

I don't see any problem in notifying the other members if a major hurricane is headed your way and you're going to be off-line for a while. I know several members have done so in the past (as they did recently with the last series of hurricanes). As mentioned, I know Sonny did mention he was affected by the hurricanes but I do not ever recall seeing him post after the hurricanes had passed.

I'm new here, and I may have little or no standing to comment on the presence or absence of well-established members like Sonny. But let me say that I don't disagree with anything you said. Even though the more active members of this board may have never seen each other face-to-face, let there be no doubt that there is a bond established, nevertheless. I have a similar bond on other boards in which I participate. So... while I also have a need for privacy, I understand and share your viewpoint about caring for members with whom we have established a special relationship. I wish only the best for Sonny and his friends on this board.

I understand flmcg. I didn't necessarily make my remarks to pick a fight with you. I was just trying to say I didn't mean to make it sound like we should intrude or make people feel 'obligated' to participate in such a thread.

Most of us don't plan on being away from the forum until something happens and we get involved with our lives outside of the forum. That's true in my case.

Hi Marti, good to see you again.

I have found from what I consider a reliable source in Greensboro, that Samuel B. Ryder, III, who passed away during early October, 2004, was indeed our forum's Sonny.

I can only tell you that the person I spoke with was clearly affected by my short story about our forum and the UD project. I provided links to the forum and my name and phone number in case they wish to call back. I did not want to risk further upsetting anyone, including me. When we finished our phone conversation, I was misty-eyed.

Sonny was one of the reasons I became so interested in PC911 and PCQ&A, which have proven to be great sources of learning for many. Sonny's desire to educate and assist others truly helped this forum grow.

I have missed his helpful posts and enthusiasm for the forum, support for United Devices, and those great animations in his sigs. I think my favorite animation was "dancing Snoopy." I'll never again see Snoopy without thinking of Sonny and the positive outlook he projected.

Thanks for the update Ally, sadly we seem to have lost a very good man.

I am very sad to hear this, I very much liked Sonny. We will miss him.

Thanks for finding out, Allyn.

Not good. I was holding onto a small chance that it was not our Sonny. I'm very sorry to hear this... I am at a loss for words right nw. Allyn, thank you so much for putting forth the effort to find out. It's obvious you were deeply affected. Personally, I did not get a chance to know him very well... but reasonablly well enough to know the positive and kind spirit that he was.

God bless your soul Sonny - this forum won't be the same w/out you.

Where ever you are, I hope you're busily typing away at your keyboard.

Thank you Allyn for letting us know... I had truly hoped this wasn't the news we were going to receive but was certainly worried that we might...as I knew Sonny would be here if he was able. *sigh*

RIP Sonny, you will be missed.

Is there ANY chance that Samuel isn't our Sonny? Is there anyway we can confirm 100% before jumping the gun because this is a pretty serious matter (just holding out for a miracle) :-(

Allyn spoke with a relative of Sonny's. That is about the best we can do.

Then I think a sticky post remembering him to pay our respects is in order.


I will always remember the blinking D'oh! in his sig.

He left us with 12,005 posts of wisdom and friendship. I will miss him.


I am at a loss for words.

Thanks shelly, I didn't realize it was a relative he talked to. Sonny will be sorely missed for years to come. RIP

Thank you Allyn.

Sonny may have done his last "D'oh!" in this world, but I will always remember him.

Sonny was one of the very first people to ever help me with a computer problem. He was very kind and patient. I am so very sorry to read this news, leaves me speechless.

Sonny know as Butch to his family was my cousin. And sad to say yes he has passed. His father died and we tried to call Sonny to let him know and we could not get in touch with him. My daughter and myself went to his home and could not get an answer to the door. His car was in the driveway and I talked to the neighbors, they had not seen him in several days. Not to speak bad of the dead, but he had a bad drinking problem and we thought he was passed out and didn't hear us, it was not unsual not to hear from him for several weeks at a time when he was drinking, and again I am not speaking bad of him, this is just how it was. I called my sisters and they came over and when we tried again to get into the home we smelled and odor coming from inside and made the decision to call the police. We had to break in and sorry to say that we did find him, he had been dead for one to two weeks. We still do not know how he died, but they did tell us that it look like it was from natural causes. When we found him it appeared that he had laid down on the sofa and went to sleep.
After reading all of your concers about him, I felt that you would want to know for sure, and it is nice to know that he was doing something that seemed to be helping so many people.

Thank you, Diane. We are really going to miss Sonny.

Thank you Diane.

Sonny shall be sorely missed and he had many friends on the internet some of us from other forums.

He was a great loyal friend who brightened my day many times.

RIP Sonny

thank you Diane for posting,as you can see, he was admired for his knowledge and kindess..what a sad thing..R.I.P. , Sonny, you will be sorely missed

Thank you Diane for letting us know. Condolences to you and your family. Sonny will be missed here. I was glad to hear that it appears as if he went peacefully (you said it looked as though he fell asleep on the sofa.)

Rest in peace Sonny

Edit: spelling

Diane, thank you for posting here. Please express our condolences to the rest of Sonny's family. He was admired here for his years of help and friendship, and he will be missed.

Thank you Diane.

He had helped me. Truely was blessed with patience.
Sonny shall be sorely missed.


RIP Sonny

Hi Diane,

Thank you for talking the time to post here. My condolences to you and your family.

Sonny was one of the "good guys," and we will miss his presence on the forum.

Diane1 Thank you for telling us the news. Sonny was a great influence around here. He gave wonderful advice and had a good sense of humor. I will miss him. My he rest in peace. Sorry for your loss. Take care

Thank you Dianne.

How tragic! I'm also appreciative of you letting us know. All to often in the online world others are left wondering about the missing. It's good that you have gone to the trouble of getting the word out.

Thank you Diane . My heartfelt condolences to you and Sonny's family. He will be missed by many .

Nothing that I can add. At least we have some of the knowledge he shared with us.

:-( if someone can upload them to here they will not be lost...and the snoopy too if anyone can find it..to be seen as a reminder of one of our best....RIP Sonny

>
>
>
>
>
> :-( if someone can upload them to here they will not be
>lost...and the snoopy too if anyone can find it..to be seen as
>a reminder of one of our best....RIP Sonny

I'll always associate Snoopy with Sonny.

Hello, Diane, and very very sad to hear of Sonny's passing. He was always so nice and quick to help me and so many others with his knowledge and good advice. I will always miss his great sense of humor. He had once lived or been stationed in Hawaii and I liked to tease him about Spam musubi which is popular here in the islands. I had also been worried and had PM'd him with no response. He will really be missed around here. Thank you for letting us all know this sad news and God Bless you and your family.
-Tootie

Been taking a back seat for a while now, so I have just heard the very sad news about Sonny.

The forum response speaks volumes about this kindly and helpful man.

Rest in peace, Sonny.

Diane, as you can tell from the posts here, we're all sorry to hear of your loss. Sonny was a valued member of our forum and we will all miss him. I've added him to our "In Memoriam" page. I used the only photo I could find of him (from an old members collage). If you have a better one you'd like to contribute, feel free to upload it. (If it's too big to upload, let me know. I can edit it down so it's appropriate for the web.)

Diane,
Thank you for letting us know what happened. Sonny will be missed by everyone on this forum.

How terribly sad. God Bless you Sonny.

Kind, patient and always wanting and willing to be helpful. The personification of all that is good at PCQ&A. Newbie or tech geek, Sonny will be missed by everyone here.
RIP Sonny.

Steve

RIP Sonny, you'll be missed.

He posted at BBF occasionally, was a likeable fella.

Sad news to hear :(

To a better place where pain and sorrow are banished. God bless.

I had a lot of fun kidding around with Sonny, but he knew his stuff and was quick to help.
Sorry to hear about it, but it's good to know for sure.
Thanks, Diane, and condolences to your family, as well as to the rest of his family here.

Thank you, Diane, for letting us know of Sonny's passing. My sincere condolences.

I didn't know Sonny, but he was a well liked, and very helpful member of the forum. He will certainly be missed.

R.I.P. Sonny. :(

Sonny is one guy i always hoped i would meet at whatever PCQandA gathering it is that i eventually attend.

i'll miss his debonair sense of humor.

i'm really still in shock- i also feel like one of the good guys is gone.

thanks, Diane, for letting us know. Sonny was one of the pillars around here.

Thankyou Diane for posting and letting us know.

RIP Sonny.

Diane, please accept my condolences also. Sonny always replied to my calls for computer help here at the forum. This is so sad that he is no longer with us. :(

I haven't posted because I didn't really know what to say. Sonny was awesome, he was very smart and had a great sense of humor, and always willing to go the extra mile for people. He was an important part of PCQandA, and has definitely left a void on the forum and for me personally.

As doctormidnight posted, and what I would post has been posted, I can't add anything more.

It is sad not have Sonny around now. I had been missing his posts for a while. I had noticed that he was no longer posting, I had figured he was on vacation or something or maybe just taking a break from the internet.

He posted a LOT and was very knowledgeable with PC's.
I actually used to think that he would become a moderator here at some point.

Well the recent threads about his absence and then the conclusion about his passing are a bit strange to deal with.

Anytime a person passes away it always takes me a little while for it to really sink in. Well

thanks to Allyn and the others who out of concern did a lot to investegate the matter.
thanks to diane1 for showing up to the forum and giving us the final facts first had from Sonny's family.

I would rather know that a friend passed on, then to just never hear from them again and be left wondering.

Sonny was a friend to everybody at this forum.
RIP Sonny!

My feelings, too, DM. I had a felling of a bond with him as another member of the Old F**ts Club. Rest in peace, Sonny.

That is sad.
RIP Sonny.

Man, this is hard to believe. He was the first forum regular to help me back in 99 or 00. He kinda taught me the ropes of this place and we even chated through email and other forums.

My condolences to the family. You're in my prayers.

I check in 'cause I been AWOL fighting my own personal demons only to find out another one of our truly GREAT ONES has passed on to his final reward. While I'll miss him greatly I know he is in a better place and embarrassed by all the accolades. Sonny and Tuff in the same place, you just know it's a happening place. I still feel sorry for those of us who looked forward to his every post, he made me smile more than anyone else here. CIAO, BABY, I HOPE YOU WERE IN HEAVEN AN HOUR BEFORE THE DEVIL KNEW YOU WERE DEAD! (drats) waldo (bumming out)

Truly sad, but there will be friendly help waiting for us in the afterlife!

I will also miss Sonny, he helped me quite a few times in my early times. I should also check in more often too, unfortunately my current work situation does not allow that.:(

I received a PM from Sonny on Christmas Day last year, shortly after I completed my cancer treatments. It really made me feel good that he went out of his way to say hello. I normally would not post the details of a PM, but if Sonny were still with us, I don't think he'd mind. With the loss we all feel with Sonny's passing, I'd like to share what he said. It just shows what a nice guy he really was.

quote:
Hi There:
From: Sonny
Date: Dec 25th 2003


GK - Haven't seen you around for a while. Good you see you. I was sick for a while myself and coudn't contribute, but I'm still lingering and helping out when I can (learning also).

Sonny

I sure do miss Sonny and his D'oh! :(

cheers sonny catch you on the other side!!!!! RIP