My name is Raffaele and most of you don't know me, but you've probably used (and maybe enjoyed!) some of the features, improvements and bugfixes I've added to OGRE over the years. I have been using OGRE since the beginning of my career (almost 15 years ago 
): first with version 1.x and then switching to version 2.x. OGRE has therefore been a constant in my working life and has played an important role in my professional growth. But like everything in life, sooner or later, there comes an end: in the last months the economic crisis triggered by both the COVID-19 pandemic and the brutal russian aggression against Ukraine has also affected my company; there have been some layoffs which, unfortunately, have also involved me. I was therefore forced to find a new job which, sadly, no longer involves using OGRE.
I would like to use this post to say goodbye and thank the whole community, I will miss you. And I will also miss OGRE; despite sometimes I spent days yelling at it trying to fix that (fucking!) bug, I really loved every moment with it. I learned a lot and became a better programmer thanks to OGRE. A very special thanks goes to Matias. The work you have done with OGRE is incredible and I hope it gets the recognition it deserves. Thanks for everything you have taught me, it is precious and invaluable; I hope my (small) contribution to OGRE has paid off, at least a little, for your efforts. And sorry if I've been a PITA now and then, but you have to admit it: I was right sometimes 
. Wish you all the best, really (and please, keep pushing with OGRE!).
I will definitely continue to follow the development of OGRE hoping, one day, to have the opportunity to work with it again. Ciao 
!
