An apology and change in direction.

[andrewmd5]

Building and creating software has always been my passion. I left school at 15 to do it full time and since then, have been improving myself as a developer and still seeking out new challenges. Back in 2014, I created Borderless Gaming and was fortunate to have it become widely popular thanks to the support of communities on Reddit and other internet circles. The influx of contributors the project received was nothing short of amazing, and the praise that was received was a welcomed change from past projects.

The trust the community placed in me to create utilities like Borderless Gaming was something I didn't quite grasp a few years ago; after all most teenagers are happy to get 15 minutes of fame. However, in the past two years, I have fractured that trust severely. From the GPL -> MPL incident to the recent ad modal controversy, I've time and time again fumbled and in some way and undermined the trust given to me by users of my software. I can no longer ignore the deep-seated feelings in the community some hold.

When these events occurred the vitriol I was reading was bewildering. Ignorance was attributed to malice, my behavior becoming fuel for the fire. I dug in; I refused to hear other perspectives, I shut down conversations and wiped my nose at the outrage before finally reversing course. The damage was done, permeant marks on my reputation and only I am too blame. I am 23 now and to be honest; I'm quite embarrassed looking back on all this.

Through my unprofessional behavior, I've not only let the users of this and my other projects down but the many contributors over time as well. I was unable to admit I had screwed up on multiple occasions and forgot the most fundamental thing about being a software developer, remembering the user. Ultimately, by being unable to separate my ego from the product, I acted in a way that doesn't align with the person I want to be.

Being able to take a step back and reflect on one's actions can be increasingly uncomfortable, especially when confronted with ugly truths; however, it is necessary to grow as an individual. So to the community, I am genuinely sorry. I will actively work to improve myself and set the bar high in what I create.

I would like to step away as the primary maintainer of this project. Partly because of my past actions which have damaged trust between users and myself and on the other hand I just no longer have time these days. I feel the project would be better off in someone else's hands so I can focus on my company and being a better person.

If you are interested, please email me: [email protected]

[Uriei]

I don't know about everyone else, but I'm more than happy with how this software is handled, yes, people make mistakes, but if they can be fixed, and afterward are indeed fixed, I see no problem with keeping it this way, mistakes is how we truly learn, you can learn many things, but you can also forget them, but if it was from a mistake? Woah, I doubt you'll forget that one, specially when it seems that affected you so hard to get to this point.

TL;DR: I have no issues at all, everyone makes mistakes, I'm happy how this is going and I wouldn't want it to change.

[s-thom]

I can't remember how I found Borderless Gaming 3 years ago, but I'm so glad I did. It even ended up being one of my first contributions to open source software, because I wanted a way to match the different versions of Minecraft so I didn't need to add a new favourite for each version.

While I haven't been active at all in this project since then, I have been keeping an eye on the project, including when the dramas were happening. I'm glad that you've been able to take a step back, realise what happened, and have taken steps to fix the mistakes that happened. I know that it's not easy to own your past actions, and I think what you've said is difficult to say, and I respect you for that.

I hope this project goes to a maintainer that cares for the project, and is willing to take it to the next level, wherever that may be.

[pointydev]

This software has helped so much over the time that I've been using it (2 years now?), and it's kinda sad to see the primary maintainer have to deal with controversy like this. I hope you go on to better things mate, keep doing what you do.

[DevelDoe]

Don't resign, you learned from your mistakes, hard to find people like that

[Rab-C]

Thanks for the hard work! It's a really helpful little app you've brought into the world. Drama comes with youth - Hell, 23 is still very young in the greater scheme of things- and it's not like people were paying you & entered into a contract for your time & effort. So although self analysis, criticism & improvement are always great, don't run yourself down too far, mate! You gave away part of your life for free...

[KarlOfDuty]

I also agree, I was surprised at the rainway advert back in the day, but I have not exactly lost any confidence in you.

[shani-ace]

I didn't even know about the connection between Rainway and Borderless Gaming - I actually knew about Rainway long before discovering this lovely tool - and never heard of any of the aforementioned issues.

So while I don't see the need to step down because of those issues - Borderless Gaming is still a great tool, after all - it feels more like you're stepping down to focus more on Rainway.

[twistedsanity]

To be honest, I wasn't around to know the history, and can only go on the present. Finding someone who admits they have done wrong in the past and is striving to do better is a wonderful attribute, and I truly commend you for it. Thanks for a great project which makes my gaming experience better. Either way I hope this project flourishes as there is nothing quite like it and I would struggle without it.

[DailytheNoob]

I've been using this software for a few years now and have no clue what is going on, but the software has been working great every time

[jarquafelmu]

Thank you Codeusa for your honesty and sincerity.

It's a welcome change to see members of the community willing to take a step back. Evaluate actions, and then earnestly strive to learn from them. In the spirit of Uriel and s-thom messages, I to want to reiterate that we all make mistakes, it’s something that will happen. What defines you as a person is what you do after those mistakes happen.

The fact that you are willing to take a step back and look at what has happened and worked to see where you could have improved or done better tells me that you are a very honest individual, and this only increases my trust and faith in you.

Admitting mistakes and weakness is not failure. It takes strength and courage to admit to others when you were wrong and apologize for it. Because of that I think you are perfect person to continue leading this project.

I can appreciate that you want to step down and hand the reigns over to someone else because you want to focus on building yourself. I hope that the person who takes up the reigns is as passionate, or more, about Borderless Gaming as you are.

I don't remember when I first started using Borderless Gaming. It was many years ago. Probably close to when it first went public. This program has been an answer to almost all of my woes with using software with multiple monitors. For the vast majority of games, it just works. When it came to Steam I bought a copy from it there to support you, even though I knew I could get it for free from here. I have also sung its praises to anyone who uses multiple monitors and suffered from the same issues I had.

I'll admit that I wasn't a big fan of the Rainway fiasco. Mostly because I had no prior warning that it would happen, so I was quite surprised it did.

My knee jerk reaction told me that a piece of malware or other malicious software had installed it on my computer. In response my goal was to kill it and then find what caused it and kill that. When I traced it back to Borderless Gaming I wasn't happy. Because of that I did uninstall Borderless Gaming as, yes, my trust had been violated.

Had I been notified ahead of it being deployed and then given the opportunity to choose to install it or not, I probably would have had a much more positive response.

What brought me back was the fact that no other program on the market that I could find did the job as well as yours does. It's simple, lightweight and, to me, intuitive. When I came back I found options to not install Rainway. That helped to mend my trust and since then, nothing has been done to break that trust again. I continue to sing the praises of this amazing program.

Your willingness to come here and take responsibility for your actions and to apologize reaffirms to me that I was right to come back and trust again. Even if you no longer lead this project, I do hope that you will always lend and ear to it and be on the wings or at least in the community. You have done great work here and, in my opinion, have created something as required to have on a computer as Steam.

[Pathduck]

Thanks for this post and for the heartfelt apology, appreciated.

For me this program is really useful and has saved me from frustration in games many times, so thanks a million for your effort and work on this excellent software.

Hopefully you (before you leave) or the new maintainers will be able to change what has been my major niggles over the last years, specifically the lack of a non-admin and portable version. Crossing fingers and I will try to help if I can by testing, but am not a coder.

[OMG-Abaddon]

This has been the greatest tool I've ever had. I never understood why full-fledged gfx engines couldn't handle a god damn borderless fullscreen setting for years, which this app seemed to handle flawlessly so long ago as an external app.

I've been using it since it was beta IIRC, it sometimes malfunctioned back then, but soon became my go-to tool for windowed game fixing.

I don't know if I'm thinking about the same thing as you when you say you "made mistakes", for me the ones I know were pretty much minor and a fair decision... it's easy to backseat while someone else has to make an influential decision. It might not have been the smoothest way to pull it off, but it wasn't the end of the world.

Whatever happens in the end, thank you for this awesome software.

[Starayo]

I think I probably quit using this software about five or six times, due to various missteps by Codeusa. I had been a fairly evangelical user of borderless gaming for a long time, raved about it to all my friends. Then things like the move to steam and removal of binaries from github, general behaviour of Codeusa, etc, moves and actions I saw as vehemently anti-user, anti-freedom, and complete anathema to my own principles, made me uninstall time and time again. It would only persist for a few weeks to months at a time before it was clear there was no alternative that worked as well or as reliably for me, so I'd cave and reinstall it or a fork, but never happy about it.

I am though totally happy to accept this apology. Knowing the sort of hate the internet would throw at you, at that age? I completely understand your reaction, not to mention the sort of clarity and reflection a few years can bring. I'm sure I'll be looking back at myself a few years from now and find plenty of faults in my current self, too. I'm glad you're trying to grow beyond it.

[draeath]

Any trust with me you've lost, you've just regained.

I would not be unhappy if you continued maintaining it yourself.

[cheatfreak47]

Hey @Codeusa I was one of the first people to vehemently disagree with your decisions and frankly- If you understand precisely the reasons people are/were dissatisfied with the approach to handling of this software and have learned from them and are trying to make things better, than I see no reason not to accept your apology. And so I do.

I'm perfectly fine with you continuing to maintain the project yourself, after all, and no-one can dispute this: This is the best software for enabling borderless windowed mode in games that don't support it.

People can say what they want about your mistakes but the reason people actually cared enough to voice their opinions directly to you, vitriolic or not- is because the software you make is good enough that it warrants people going out of their way to let you know when you're making a mistake.

On a personal note, while I'm fine with the current state of the software, to my own tastes, I'd still like to see the Rainway plug removed (or maybe moved into the about screen instead) and a return to completely simultaneous Steam/Github releases, and this is coming from someone who owns and uses the steam release.

By all means, continue to maintain the software yourself, and I accept your apology.

[m-alice]

no need to blame yourself. being an individual is good. reputation is nothing, remember the bridge builder.
just be yourself.

[Santiagodraco]

I've been using BG for quite some time. I appreciate the work put into it and find it a valuable tool.

That said I am of two minds here with this thread. First if you don't have time to support it any longer, or simply don't want to, that is perfectly ok. Life happens. Of course it would be good to keep it working should something happen but that's up to you.

On the other hand saying you are walking away from the project because of "past actions" seems... like not taking responsibility for your actions and simply running away to make it easier on yourself. If you really feel you've done something wrong to others the mature thing to do is to run towards the problem and make up for those past actions. By committing more, not less, and showing you care and can change.

Frankly I don't have any personal knowledge of what you'd done wrong in the past or whatever... my reply here is based on your original post and not any other knowledge I have.

Oh and finally... wth aren't you updating this on Steam? If there's ANY problem here it's that. Take responsibility and do the right thing.

[ghost]

I love your software, a lot. I've even bought Borderless Gaming on Steam because I love what you're doing and want to support you.
This apology shows incredible maturity. Sure, you screwed up at the time, but you eventually came around, realized your mistakes, and you're now apologizing for them. I have absolutely no issue with you as the maintainer of this project.
As for lack of time, that's understandable. Honestly I'm fine with you just working on this only occasionally, and I trust you more than some random taking over the project.
However, if you want to step away due to the vitriol of the userbase (because the internet can't be nice, apparently), that's completely understandable, and I'm not sure anyone would blame you for wanting to get away from that. Hell, even Van Rossum stepped down because of that kind of shit.
Regardless of your choice, thank you for your apology, your software, and your time as a maintainer :)

[cheatfreak47]

@chriscarver you want to be in #420
But yes @Codeusa if you're gonna drop off maintenance for Borderless Gaming, at least push the latest update to the steam build first. That update notification is getting on many people's nerves I think.

[andrewmd5]

@cheatfreak47 IIRC everyone getting that message disabled Steam integration so BG thinks its the non-steam version. I will update Steam this week.

To everyone else, thank you all for the kind words. I will take them into consideration.

[Santiagodraco]

Great to hear Codeusa!

[DeathLoveCrymo]

Codeusa - even before I knew about this, I had already changed my bad review on Steam to a good one - because I had realized how much of a difference you had made in development and how useful this tool has become to me ever since those changes were made.

Don't give this product up to someone else, wear it proudly on your sleeve!

[Chaython]

There is better borderless gaming software available...
I feel you mislead customers on steam; selling them the software rather than refering to the git and perhaps a donation hub... Steam allows dlc which are just donation tiers.... You should go more of that route.... You could make just as much if not more, taking donations rather than misleading them into buying a software...

[andrewmd5]

@Chaython Borderless Gaming has been on Steam for years now and the store page has remained exactly the same. Including this large paragraph right on the page.

Clicking "View the manual" even takes people to GitHub. How exactly is this misleading? To your last point, Steam is the hub. As the above image says, when you buy Borderless Gaming you're choosing to support the development.

[Michael-Z-Freeman]

I don't know all the history behind this but your software has always been useful to me. What ever you decide I think you've done well, man ! Many developers would not even be willing to post something like this (or anyone else for that matter). No one is perfect and we're all learning.

[jons-own-stuff]

Don't resign, you learned from your mistakes, hard to find people like that

Yeah. Do you have any idea how much dumb shit I did when I was younger? What I did doesn't matter but what I learned from it does. People forget things very quickly anyway. One presidential tweet and all of the USA is wondering what the "BG" icon is on their taskbar.

Also, this apology does a lot. Very few people would do this because it takes a lot of self-reflection that we often don't want to face (nerd alert: actually physical pain and "being wrong" are processed in the brain right next to each other and in the same way). Getting over that barrier after you've already dug in your heels shows a lot of courage.

[Gitoffthelawn]

I have never heard of this project, nor used it. I stumbled on this issue while searching GitHub.

I want to quickly say how impressed I am with the fine person who wrote the original post, and the kind replies that have followed. It makes me genuinely happy and feel good.

We would all like to never make mistakes, but when we do, I believe the key is to acknowledge them, apologize if appropriate, and no matter what, work towards not repeating them.

[17Orion]

Everyone makes mistakes buddy! Hang in there, ignore the haters!
I continue to use Borderless Gaming on both of my gaming rigs (both paid versions on Steam)
Keep up the good work!