I agree, Bob is a passionate creator and an amicable personality. I have met him personally. It's now clear to us that he was in charge of the designing, not the leadership in the company (or was he at some point? we may never know). However, the fact is, for the two years or so I have been following the TA forums, Bob has appeared to me the sole lifeblood of Trinity, the legitimate decision maker for all practical purposes. That's from his multiple posts about timelines, future directions, kickstarters, fundraisings etc. When timelines started slipping, promises not kept, some were skeptical, while others (including me at times) defended Bob. Many felt they were in good hands, and nothing disastrous would happen, Bob wouldn't allow it. Then at some point (probably last year), Bob was removed from his role in these forums, and he slipped away without a word! These were the diehard supporters that not only supported Trinity, but Bob personally as well. Couldn't Bob at least notify them that he won't be in charge of answering for Trinity any more. His last post on Head-fi was on April 12, 2017. There was still time then to get refunds for preorders. Or, was it the idea, to not tell anyone that the lifeblood of the company has been sidelined? That must have had spooked some of the customers who had hung around out of ardent faith for Bob, despite all that was happening with the order support. That might have triggered an onslaught of refund requests which had to be prevented at all cost by hiding the truth? Again, we may never know. However, I can't stop feeling that Bob knowingly allowed Trinity to defraud it's customers, even if he didn't do or approve of it himself. When the boat started sinking, he quietly departed leaving hundreds of faithful customers in the dark. Its only when he finally left Trinity, we got to know from an official announcement, but by that time it was too late.
If Bob was merely the head designer and not the ultimate decision maker in the company, where was that information during the heyday at Trinity, when there were credits to be earned for offering quality products at low costs. Why are we being told this only when it comes to sharing blames for bungling what was once a respectable boutique company that appeared to value it's customers? Again, we may never know, and personally I don't condone throwing insults at Bob, but if someone says, its all Joe Watts, leave Bob out of this, that's a pipe dream.
I respect him as an engineer who doesn't want to compromise quality for profit, and if he is ever part of a stable organization designing products, I will happily purchase his offerings. However, Bob as the lead person in a small farm or a one man show in anything is not my cup of tea any longer.