In 1998 , it was revealed that Stephens had falsely claimed to have received a Ph.D. from Stanford University and to have been employed as a professor there . Stanford 's administration stated that while Stephens had been a teaching assistant and had pursued course work toward a doctoral degree , he had never held a professorship nor had he been awarded the degree . Stephens then stated that while he had received a master 's degree from the department of Communications and completed the classes and tests required for the Ph.D. , he acknowledged that he failed to complete his dissertation . Asked about the resulting controversy , Stephens told a reporter : " A new fact has now become painfully clear to me : you do n't say you have the Ph.D. unless you '' really '' have the Ph.D. " Beginning on September 29 , 2015 , Stephens and his three sons ran a Kickstarter project to produce the Mineserver , a $ 99 custom Minecraft server . The funding period ran until October 21 , 2015 with a goal of raising $ 15,000 . Stephens , as Cringely , promoted the project on his popular I , Cringely blog and it raised more than double its goal , reaching $ 35,452 coming from 388 backers . The Mineservers were reportedly ready to ship , once parts were ordered and assembled , but a series of delays meant the devices were not shipped in time for Christmas and in fact , as of June 2 , 2017 ( More than a year and a half from the date the project was funded and more than six months since the last Kickstarter update ) , backers were still waiting for their rewards and promised updates . On May 22 , 2017 , Stephens published an update on his personal blog claiming that he had run out of money and had decided to turn the project into a startup . On January 2 , 2018 , Cringely announced that , while the Mineservers had been burned along with his home during the October 2017 Northern California wildfires , there would be " a spec update and a new shipping schedule in a couple more weeks . " In a comment on his personal blog dated May 21 , 2018 , Cringely announced that " every supporter will get their Mineserver before the end of this year . " As of Jan 1 , 2019 , backers of the Kickstarter project were still complaining of no Mineserver , and no further communication from Stephens . On January 28 , 2019 , Stephens wrote that he was trying to find an investor to revive the Mineserver business , but that potential investors have been scared away by " townspeople with pitchforks demanding my head " . He went on to suggest that by not complaining , backers might get their Mineserver or their money back : " So if you want your Mineserver or your money back , please STOP bitching and help us find a solution . "
October 2017 Northern California wildfires
October 2017 Northern California wildfires
Robert X. Cringely