Oh boy... where to start. I do have some updates and information from both Jhoang and Exclusive, though I'm a bit unsure if proper to broadcast. However, I feel like we are all in this together, so I think it's best to share. There is no doubt that it's is a complicated situation at this point and I'm still sorting out what I think of it all. I'll try to lay out what I know and we can discuss. My utmost hope is that Jhoang joins us in the discussion because as I've encouraged him directly, short of him being involved with us in public on GH, all we can do is speculate and wonder and trade shards of information.
I exchanged some messages with Jhoang yesterday on Facebook. I've tried via Geekhack and email a few times with no success, so decided to try Facebook. I did have a nice series of responses from him there. I learned that E8-V1 should start shipping next week as he has plates and badges back from Exclusive. That's excellent news- I can't wait to see that board! Just a note here- when I have had responses from Jhoang, they have been pleasant and in my opinion, he means well. I do not believe Jhoang is scamming us. That is just my personal feeling (maybe mixed in with my pathological optimism and trust for other humans), but I think he wants to make keyboards, not run off with our money.
The less good news is that his PayPal is very frozen, as you might expect with the amount of contested charges on the E8-V1. (FWIW, I don't fault anyone for contesting that either- we have been left in the dark with no or wrong information again and again.) Due to that, Exclusive has yet to be paid for the E6-V2 project. Here, I am really confused. Exclusive has shared that he's making the E6 for Chinese GB anyway, so he can make the E6 for us too. I have paid for my E6-V2 and to be honest, I don't want or care about any drama or who does what, I just want the frigging board- it's stunning. So, I am considering contesting that payment and re-paying Exclusive directly for the board. However, Jhoang has said that he is the designer of the boards and Exclusive is the manufacturer. I hesitate to share this, because it's all really unclear to me. I've asked some additional questions around this... In some ways, it would make sense to reorganize the buy with Exclusive based on the communication history of Jhoang vs. Exclusive. But if Jhoang is the designer, then we need him, I think??
I for one am still very willing to trust Jhoang on both buys. Call me crazy, but I am. He has not run the buys well, again, just my opinion, but when you look at Revo, Kin, Yuktsi, LZ, Duck (via Elton)- other boards at similar price points, I also expect some professionalism from the runners (though no one is immune to GB bumps). It would be hard to argue that we have seen a steady hand in leading the buy to date from Jhoang, but heck, I want to see him get there and do better and I'm willing to leave my money in his hands as a sign of faith I trust him to improve those aspects of keyboard making/ selling. Everyone should make their own call regarding that decision and my personal caveat there is that I need to hear from Jhoang in public channels to hold on to any of my faith and keep my money. Without his re-reappearance, I'm afraid I'm out too and will either look to work with Exclusive directly or move on to the next board.
Sorry if I've shared too much opinion or rambled, but I hope it helps everyone understand where I believe these buys are currently at.
Your turn, Jhoang.
