grimmy

My real work is at https://keep.imfreedom.org/grim/

Funding Links: https://github.com/sponsors/grimmy

Name: Gary Kramlich
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Kind: user
Followers: 206
Following: 56
Total stars: 4
Repositories count: 31
Created at: 2024-12-08T17:25:43.243Z
Updated at: 2025-02-23T02:32:10.103Z
Last synced at: 2025-02-23T02:32:10.103Z

GitHub Sponsors Profile

Greetings Programs!
My name is Gary Kramlich and I am the current lead developer of Pidgin Instant Messenger.
Background
I got involved in Pidgin all the way back in 2003 when I became a desktop Linux user and needed a chat application. I started by writing a plugin named Guifications and while developing it started learning the Pidgin code base and fixing bugs in it. This was my first major experience in Open Source and I started to dream of being able to work on Open Source full time.
Over the years I continued contributing to Pidgin and finally in 2016 I stepped into the lead developer role. In 2017 I started live streaming Pidgin's development on twitch.tv/rw_grim and continue doing so to this day!
In 2019 I was in a position where I had a sizable amount of savings and decided that it was time to realize the dream of working on Pidgin full time. So I quit my job and went for it while trying to find support via my Twitch channel as well as a Patreon.
Unfortunately neither of those have been able to sustain me but I was able to find a few grants to keep me going. However, that money is starting to dwindle fast, which I why I'm here on GitHub Sponsors.
Contact
You can find ways to contact me on my personal website reaperworld.com which includes shoutout benefits for GitHub Sponsors, Patreon, and Twitch Subscribers.
Press
I've done a few interviews over the years discussing Pidgin's development:

EFF Blog: The Tower of Babel: How Public Interest Internet is Trying to Save Messaging and Banish Big Social Media
Linux Unplugged 410: Ye Olde Linux Distro
FLOSS Weekly 479: Pidgin