The Yocto Project mourns Scott Rifenbark

[Posted January 31, 2020 by jake]

The longtime tech writer for the Yocto Project, Scott Rifenbark, has died after a battle with cancer. Project architect Richard Purdie announced the sad news on the yocto mailing list; he also reflected on Rifenbark and his impact: "I remember interviewing Scott over 10 years ago when forming a team at Intel to work on what became the Yocto Project, he was with it from the start. He warned me he wasn't an entirely traditional tech writer but I warned we weren't aiming to be a traditional project either. It was a great match. He stayed with the project ever since in one way or another, he enjoyed working on the project and we enjoyed working with him. The concept of having a tech writer as part of the team was a decision I'm proud of and it shows in the material supporting the project today but that success belongs to Scott and his approach to it. Someone else put that best, 'He would first try the procedure or instructions before documenting it, I was really impressed'. He was hands on and wanted things to be understandable and correct, a huge challenge with some of the complexities we deal with."

The Yocto Project mourns Scott Rifenbark

Posted Feb 1, 2020 3:55 UTC (Sat) by tlw (guest, #31237) [Link] (1 responses)

Thank you, RP, that was lovely; I was fortunate to have met Scott a couple years back at an ELC and agree with everything you've said (in addition to having worked with him online here and there).

My condolences to those he left behind.

The Yocto Project mourns Scott Rifenbark

Posted Feb 1, 2020 9:30 UTC (Sat) by BlueLightning (subscriber, #38978) [Link]

I worked closely with Scott on the YP documentation over many years - we built up a partnership, I would send him the raw material and he would turn it into readable documentation. He was always friendly and easy to work with. A true legend who we will all miss very deeply. Rest in peace Scott.

The Yocto Project mourns Scott Rifenbark

Posted Feb 1, 2020 9:22 UTC (Sat) by mckoan (guest, #135718) [Link]

My deepest sympathies go out to his family.
--
Marco Cavallini

The Yocto Project mourns Scott Rifenbark

Posted Feb 3, 2020 15:27 UTC (Mon) by stephano (guest, #92690) [Link]

Scott exemplified a key aspect of the Yocto Project: the people. Never in my career have I had the privilege to work in a community with such a wide variety of interests, backgrounds, personalities, and passions. Scott was a true gem of a human being, easy going, hard working, and ready with a humorous aside when the meeting became needlessly serious. Undoubtably he will live in our memories, and I will think of him each time I type `make pdf`.

The Yocto Project mourns Scott Rifenbark

Posted Feb 4, 2020 5:45 UTC (Tue) by nitinkamble (guest, #23421) [Link]

Sad to hear the news. The world lost a nice man.

The Yocto Project mourns Scott Rifenbark

Posted Feb 4, 2020 14:54 UTC (Tue) by karim (subscriber, #114) [Link]

I had the chance to work with Scott about 3 years ago. I had received his reference through a common contact. At the time I didn't know anything about Scott (like his authorship of the Yocto documentation) and had never met him. When Scott came onboard the project delivery was behind schedule and it needed a strong caliber person to bring back on track. Scott took on the challenge and did a fantastic job. I was happy to have discovered a very talented and professional tech writer, and an amazing human being. While I didn't get the chance to work with Scott again, I had kept him as part of my "key contacts". It's very sad to see his life shortened by a health issue such as this. My most heartfelt condolences to his family.

The Yocto Project mourns Scott Rifenbark

Posted Feb 8, 2020 5:58 UTC (Sat) by todor (guest, #93160) [Link]

So sad to hear the news. I too had the pleasure of working with Scott a few years ago.
He was always easy going and passionate about his work. This statement is so true:
'He would first try the procedure or instructions before documenting it, I was really impressed'

Last time we spoke, a couple of years ago, we joked that next time I'll see him at Scotty's Bar and Grill in Belize.

Rest In Peace, Scott :(

The Yocto Project mourns Scott Rifenbark

Posted Feb 11, 2020 19:15 UTC (Tue) by aehs29 (guest, #137212) [Link]

Never had the chance to meet Scott in person, but when I started working on the Yocto Project, one of the things that stuck me was how well documented it was.

I did have the pleasure of working closely with Scott a couple of times and I can say he was always friendly, always trying to help and get things done right, he was hands on and tried everything himself before writing about it.

He will be missed but also remembered, his contributions to the project made a huge impact.

Rest in peace Scott.