Jonathan Riddell, best known as the founder of Kubuntu and a long-time KDE contributor, has announced his departure after 25 years.
In a candid and emotional farewell blog post titled “Adios Chicos, 25 Years of KDE,” while reflecting on the successes of projects like Kubuntu and KDE neon, he also voiced disappointment over missed opportunities, fractured ties, and the struggles that marked his final years in the community.
As I mentioned, Riddell’s most visible contribution came with Kubuntu, the KDE-based variant of Ubuntu. He worked to bring KDE into Ubuntu’s ecosystem, spending roughly a decade leading the distro’s development, making it probably the best Ubuntu flavor.
Under his watch, the project was adopted by institutions such as Google, the City of Munich, and Weta Digital. After Canonical withdrew funding for Kubuntu, Riddell and others continued their work under Blue Systems, which later backed the creation of KDE neon.
Neon was designed to give KDE more direct control over how its software reached users, using continuous integration to deliver Plasma and applications quickly. However, Riddell admits the system was not always as stable as it needed to be, with occasional broken updates affecting users.
Additionally, the final years brought new complications. According to Riddell, Blue Systems shut down (which I don’t think is entirely accurate), and some of its KDE-related work moved under a new company, Tech Paladin.
Riddell says he pushed for a cooperative model with equal ownership and rights, but was sidelined. He describes being excluded from discussions, losing contact with long-time colleagues, and growing concerned about the lack of proper workers’ rights. This, he wrote, ultimately led to his decision to step away.
Riddell’s farewell makes clear that the ending was painful. “I lost my friends, my colleagues, my job, my career, and my family,” he wrote, reflecting on the personal toll. So, honestly, I don’t know what else to add after such a sharing.
The departure is clearly painful. It’s also likely that much happened behind the scenes—things we may never know, but are hinted at in the Riddle’s post—that influenced his decision. But as he concludes:
“For now, if you want me, you can find me surfing the endless wave whenever the sun sets over my digital nomad coliving paddleshack at the end of the world.“
So, we wish him nothing but smooth sailing, and once the dust settles… who knows? Maybe we’ll see him back under the KDE banner. Either way, we owe Jonathan Riddell our deepest thanks for everything he’s given to open source—he’s one of those countless unsung heroes we should never forget to appreciate.
