For a long time I have been a huge fan of abo-abo (Oleh Krehel). He wrote the Ivy, Avy, and Swiper packages that are probably my most used Emacs add ins. Eleven years ago I wrote, “When I get tired of blogging I’m going to write some Elisp that everyday will make a post that says, ‘Abo-abo has a great post today. Go read it.’”
A while ago, abo-abo suddenly disappeared. His programs are still being maintained but little has been heard from the man himself. The accepted story was that he had had a son and was devoting his time to being a father.
Now Patient_Chance_3795 over at the Emacs reddit asks what did happen to him? Someone pointed at this comment from abo-abo giving an update on his situation. The TL;DR is that his son is almost 4 years old and that he hopes to get back to maintaining his packages—and presumably writing others—soon.
Along with all his other users, I hope that fatherly duties will allow him to return to full engagement with our community. He is certainly one of our most prolific members and he has been missed. In the mean time, I salute him getting his priorities straight and devoting his time to his son and family.