Saying Goodbye to R Yank

Today is a sad day for the Chatter - we're saying goodbye to the legend that is R Yank (otherwise known as Ryan). And what a legend it is. Ryan started with PayPal almost 8 years ago, and was one of the first "pinks" posting to various discussion boards to answer PayPal questions, address issues, that sort of thing. The ID he commonly used was just his first name and last initial: ryank @ paypal.com. But most people read that the opposite way - R being his first initial and Yank being his last name. To this day, some websites still advise people to contact "Ryan Yank" with any PayPal problems, a nickname we've teased him about mercilessly over the years. But perhaps not as mercilessly as we teased him for the photo to the right (a perfect shot taken at eBay Live! when a member had talked him into wearing the tiara).

After living through PayPal's early days when they consisted largely of card tables in a warehouse, to their acquisition by eBay, to over 3 years with our Community Development team, he's decided it's time to try something new. Not only has he been a fantastic friend and colleague, The Chatter owes him a huge debt. He was the driving force behind bringing The Chatter into the 21st century by turning it from an online newsletter into a blog. He's overseen our Member Spotlight program, and has been our go-to guy for everything pop culture-related (he's our resident Seinfeld guru, my brother-nerd-in-arms for Transformers and Star Wars, and knowledgeable about almost any type of music and movie). The list could go on and on.

So as he rides off into the sunset, we at The Chatter raise a glass and say, "To you, Mr. Yank. May the wind always be at your back, and may you always have a clean Pizza My Heart shirt to wear to work."