[SPG_Active_Members] Your letter of 29th July

[Paula Newman]

Just to note that two different matters are probably involved.  Focusing on
one,  the potential donation and curation of a major LISP collection, by
people eminently qualified to do so, should not be treated casually.

Paula

> [Original Message]
> From: Richard P. Gabriel <rpg at dreamsongs.com>
> To: Len Shustek <len at shustek.com>; Henry Gladney <hgladney at gmail.com>;
<mowens at computerhistory.org>
> Cc: CHM SCC <scc_active at computerhistory.org>
> Date: 8/21/2009 10:57:28 AM
> Subject: Re: [SPG_Active_Members] Your letter of 29th July
>
> I want to second Henry's comments. I just completed a disappointing 
> series of interactions with Ms Jabloner and some others regarding the 
> donation of a major Lisp collection, including code, photographs, and 
> documents by a friend of mine in Germany who is retiring. The 
> collection was part of a Lisp History museum he maintained at 
> Erlangen.
>
> In his proposal to CHM he requested that Guy Steele and I be special 
> curators to oversee the cataloging and preservation of the materials. 
> We had agreed to this. I will without humility state that Steele and 
> I are the most qualified people in the world to understand what is in 
> this collection and to assist a professional archivist to catalog the 
> material. Steele and I wrote the definitive history of Lisp, have 
> been involved with its development for 40+ years, and I have worked 
> with John McCarthy for about 30 years. We also put together a 90 
> minute joint talk on the history of programming languages which is 
> regarded by many as the best computer science talk ever delivered.
>
> In her emails to me, Ms Jabloner hinted that the CHM would be able to 
> find capable local volunteers to handle the material, and she 
> apparently made no effort to investigate the merit of having two 
> world-class volunteers at her disposal.
>
> The donor and I therefore looked long and hard for another 
> institution to donate the material to, and in the end, because he was 
> retiring from his University, he finally agreed to donate his 
> material tothe  CHM.
>
> I found the crudity of my interactions with the CHM to be absurd and 
> in concert with what Henry has indicated.
>
> 			-rpg-
>
> At 10:36 AM -0700 8/21/09, Len Shustek wrote:
> >I'm sorry you feel that way, Henry.  We do, in fact, invest 
> >considerable effort in preserving software.  I think we are the only 
> >institution in the world to have a full time software curator on 
> >staff.  We have collected many gigabytes of code, and hundreds of 
> >thousands of pages of documents.  I am personally involved in 
> >working with companies like IBM and Apple to release restrictions on 
> >source code so that we may make them publicly accessible, and in 
> >getting them to help us find software that has been "lost".  We do 
> >oral histories of software pioneers.  We have experimented with an 
> >exhibit on software ("Mastering the Game: A History of Computer 
> >Chess"). We are including the software story in the big exhibit we 
> >are working on.  We have inducted software innovators as Fellows of 
> >the museum.
> >
> >I think we are doing our part.  There is certainly more that could 
> >be done.  I'm sorry you think our efforts are insufficient. I look 
> >forward to welcoming you back as a member when you wish to help us 
> >make progress.
> >
> >Regards,
> >Len Shustek
> >Chairman, Computer History Museum
> >
> >
> >
> >At 09:43 AM 8/21/2009, Henry Gladney wrote:
> >
> >>Thank you very much for your invitation to renew my CHM membership.
> >>
> >>I regret having to inform you that, for the time being at least, I 
> >>will not renew.
> >>
> >>This is because I am disappointed that CHM some time ago quit 
> >>credible interest in preserving software, which I regard as of 
> >>commensurate importance to the areas that it is investing in.  This 
> >>happened notwithstanding the fact that there are clear ways of 
> >>achieving this relatively inexpensively and the efforts of the 
> >>now-suspended volunteer Software Preservation Group.
> >>
> >>I will reconsider membership if/when this policy decision is 
> >>reviewed and CHM displays plausible interest and promising activity 
> >>in the area.  I trust that you will inform me if and when this 
> >>happens.
> >>
> >>Best wishes, Henry
> >>
> >>H.M. Gladney, Ph.D.     <http://home.pacbell.net/hgladney/> 
> >>http://home.pacbell.net/hgladney/   (408)867-3933
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> >>SCC_active at computerhistory.org
> >>  http://mail.computerhistory.org/mailman/listinfo/scc_active
> >>
> >
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