Ralf Mindermann (Racoon), the German scener from Neuss known across the C64 underground by a handful of handles including Ralf, Mad Butcher, Mr. Bit, Lapoon, Doko, and Lee, passed away on the 15th of June 2026, aged 55. A coder, cracker, diskmag editor, organiser, original supplier, and tireless swapper, he wore many hats during his long years on the scene — and wore each of them well. His dedication to keeping software moving through the warez networks of the 1990s made him one of the most dependable names behind the scenes of an era defined by late-night phone lines and stuffed jiffy bags.

Racoon’s scene journey took him through an impressive roster of crews. He first appeared with Triad in the spring of 1991, staying until September of that year before moving onward through the scene’s shifting alliances. By the mid-nineties he had found a productive home with Hitmen, one of the C64 scene’s most respected cracking groups, where he contributed both original supply and actual cracking work on a wide range of releases. He also had stints with Vision, Motiv 8, Wartec, Lepsi De, Alpha Flight, and Excess, demonstrating a loyalty to the scene as a whole rather than to any single flag.

As an original supplier and swapper, Racoon was the kind of scener that cracking groups lived and died by. Without reliable suppliers to get originals into crackers’ hands, the whole machine ground to a halt — and Racoon kept it running. Throughout 1997 and 1998 especially, his name appears on an extraordinary volume of releases: titles like Super Pacman +8, Penny +8CP, The Brave African Huntress +, Star Merchant +, Girltris +2, and dozens more all passed through his hands before reaching the public. He also contributed cracking work directly on releases such as Dominoes, Reversi, Pac It Preview, and Massacre Preview.

Racoon wound down his scene activities in the early 2000s, as the Commodore 64 underground gradually gave way to the internet age that made many of its rituals obsolete. Yet the records he left behind on CSDb tell the story of a man who gave generously of his time and energy to a community he clearly loved. He was one of the quiet engines of the scene — not always the name on the marquee, but always part of the reason the lights stayed on. The scene remembers him fondly.