Editor's Note: Canadian Makin'

"I suppose the 'like a Band-Aid' approach is best: I am leaving The Escapist." On the eve of her departure, The Escapist's founding Editor-in-Chief, Julianne Greer, shares memories, sends thanks and reminds us of the ideals upon which The Escapist was founded.

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You will be missed.

As Editor-in-Chief, I can't even begin to imagine the extent you would have had on the articles published here, most of which are of the utmost quality. I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide to pursue now.

Also, hell yes toilet paper rolling over rather than under.

It's a sad news to hear that you're leaving, but, if it must be done, then it must be done.
Looking forward to your ocasional articles. Good luck with the career you wish to follow.

On a related not: Congratulations, Russ. You'll do a great job as the new Editor-in-Chief.

Fare thee well in thy future endeavours. I'll be sure to grab the sparklers to welcome Russ in.

Can't somebody die/leave for at least one day :(
Good luck in your future career and see you on the other side of the rainbow.
Good luck and congratulation also to Russ with his new position.

Thank you for helping to start my favorite website of all time, (It's my homepage.) and good luck in any future endeavors. Also congrats Russ.

Damn...sorry to hear that. I can't blame ya'll for focusing on the web videos but it's sad to see the text portions slowly be relegated to personality columns. The numbers may be staggeringly better for Yahtzee, Unskippable, and the other webisodes but snark can only do so much. Actually, it doesn't really do much of anything but that's another argument.

I'm sure Pitts will guide the new Escapist well, I'm always curious to see what new show he has put together. Best wishes and good luck in all future endeavors.

Congrats and good luck!

It's a shame to see you go Ms. Greer and your presence and editorial approach will be missed, thankfully Mr. Pitts is a worthy successor who has already infused the site with his unique personality and I'm excited to see the direction in which he takes the site.

Good luck to the both of you,
- Pedro Steckecilo.

Thanks for playing what appears to be a big part in making this site what it is from its humble beginnings. While I've only read articles on the site for the last couple of years, I've immensely enjoyed my time here reading the various articles. You have my respect for being involved in determining this site's general direction, as I am a big fan of it's general approach of the games industry. Best of luck in your future career.

And I thank you Julianne! You more than proved yourself!

Thank you Julianne - you've done a fantastic job in making The Escapist into what we know and love. Of course we'll be sorry to see you go, but I wish you the very best of luck in the future.

And so the Russ Pitts era begins. I, for one, am very scared.

...nah. Congratulations sir, there couldn't be a better person for the job!

A huge thank-you to Julianne. Not only for her work, but for providing me a link to the original "magazine" style format of the early issues of The Escapist. That's what drew me here so long ago, when I was looking for examples of something that could be published both on the web and in print format and look good in both.

Sadly, I still feel the magazine lost something when it moved away from that format -- the feel that the articles were something special has been watered down. I know that format just doesn't work with the multi-media direction you guys have been taking the magazine, and I'm certainly not one to argue with success.. just get a little wistful sometimes.

At any rate, Julianne, do you have any idea what endeavour you're headed to next, or is it all still largely uncharted waters ahead?

And congrats to Russ, it's taken a while, but you've stuck to your guns and it looks like you've got the helm now. I take it we're going to be seeing more shift to the multimedia content again? Seeing as you've been in talks with the folks G4, would I be terribly wrong expecting that it won't be very long before we see the beginnings of The Escapist on TV as well? Heh.. who says opportunity only knocks once. Maybe you'll finally have your chance to show'em how it *should* be done. :)

I say, in probably the most sincerest use of the meme on the web... kthxbai o/

You will be greatly missed, as will your antics alongside Russ on TES.

You put together something unexpected, and are leaving a sweet mean driving machine. Sounds like Mission Accomplished to me, and I hope your next project bears even more fruit!
The Escapist became my homepage what doesn't seem all that long ago, but I already feel part of the family. So...turn away, I don't want you to see me cry. *sniff*

Later: And now, we present to you, Russ Pitts! May all the practical jokes on the new boss be tasteful, respectful, and kept in line. HAH! Noogy Time!

Oh noes! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed your time as Editor-in-Chief, and that you are looking forward to your time as Escapist Co-Founder...and to life outside The Escapist too ;-D

In case you're wondering, I still have no idea how you got those .pdf issues out the door every week.

And all rolling paper products should be placed so that when pulled, you pull *against* the roll: over or under depends on the height of the dispenser and/or user ;-D

We'll miss you!
Good luck in your future endeavors!

You have done a terrific job, and I am certain that spirit will continue here on the Escapist even with the loss of you. It will be interesting to note the differences. I hope you find your next endeavour as rewarding. What I don't hope for is seeing less of Russ in the videos on the site. D=

Go! Go indulge your dream of finding ancient historical ruins in some long-forgotten corner of the Earth! We promise not to have any house parties.

Haven't read the escapist for more then a year or two but since then I've come here several times a day and read any and all articles, news, reviews that has been posted. Thank you for giving me a worthy startpage for my browser. Good luck in any future endeavours and please come back sometime and give us an article or two. Peace out.

Also, Congratulation Russ! Fill those shoes with more excellent articles!

Congratulations Julianne on what a fine job you have done to the escapist. This is probably the most visited site on my laptop because of how well you staff run it and I hope for it to remain that way. Russ, let's see what you can do.

/applaud

Enjoy your future challenges! And for the record, "over the top" is clearly the winner. :p

Congratulations on all the good work. Hoping you only move onwards and upwards from here on in, you'll be missed.

Best of luck for your future endeavors, and excellent tour of duty!

No shame in quitting while on top. No seriously: Where can it go from here? Really.
Best of luck and so on and so forth..

Thank you so much for co-creating the greatest videogame website (if not the greatest) website ever. You will be missed, thanks again and good luck in the future.

While I can't speak for Julianne, I can tell all of you that I share your sadness at her departure. Julianne has been my friend, my confidant and my mentor for the past three years, and I can never hope to replace her spirit and vision. I would be foolish to try.

I am hopeful for the future, but the weight of the task of filling the Founding Editor-in-Chief's shoes is very real and pressing. I would be lying if I said accepting that challenge wasn't a bit daunting.

That said, I'm confident in the talented team Julianne has put together and in our shared vision for the future. And our successes over the past few years have led us to being what is widely recognized as the leading website of its kind anywhere in the world. I couldn't have asked to take the reins (bad pun, by the way, Ju) at a better time, and I'm excited to explore what's in store for us in the days to come.

L.B. Jeffries:
I can't blame ya'll for focusing on the web videos but it's sad to see the text portions slowly be relegated to personality columns.

This is a criticism I never tire of refuting, L.B. since it's so easy to refute!

While we have rolled out plenty of videos and other types of content in the past few years (including columns), the original foundation of the website, the weekly feature article publish, has remained largely unchanged for the past four years.

Every week we publish the best writing we can find from some of the most insightful and talented writers writing about videogames today and that will not change. Not on my watch, anyway. I got my start in the pages of The Escapist, if you'll recall. I can't imagine what would happen to my eternal writer's soul if I allowed this prestigious institution to expire or diminish.

In fact, far from diminish, the magazine is rapidly approaching Issue 210, our Fourth Anniversary Issue, and we've got some truly exciting surprises in store for that auspicious event. Stay tuned.

Higurashi:
What I don't hope for is seeing less of Russ in the videos on the site. D=

No worries on that front. Very little will change in regards to video at The Escapist. Up to and including how often you'll get to see me being abused on-camera for your enjoyment. :-/

Russ Pitts:
Snipperoo

Cool, wasn't trying to be critical, I enjoy both aspects of the website a lot.

Noo you were the cute one! :)

Well youve had a good run and i can only wish you the best in the future. Thank you for your hard work here and providing us with a ton and a half of great entertainment. Best of luck.

Russ Pitts:
No worries on that front. Very little will change in regards to video at The Escapist. Up to and including how often you'll get to see me being abused on-camera for your enjoyment. :-/

Thought so. I imagine you might be a bit busier, is all. Pimpin' that title now. ^__^
I also have to make good use of this post and say I admire your on-screen presence and being so generous with yourself. And so handsome and charming, of course. Okay, boot-licking aside, I look forward to spotting nuances that might or might not change with this switch.