I just received a suggestion to send a note to this address.
I'm looking for people who knew Bill Schelter.
I have been working to create a "Schelter Award", named after Bill
Schelter. I've contacted a number of people to see if the idea had
merit. So far a large number of people have replied and all who have
replied have given a positive response.
So, since I'm advocating this (and, therefore, have volunteered :-) )
the next step is to form a positive plan of action. Several people have
asked some very important questions and there needs to be a plan to
generate answers. I welcome feedback about possible answers.
If you're interested I let you know more as soon as I have a plan.
We need to know:
* How do I get off this list? or add people to this list?
I apologize if this effort doesn't interest you. I realize
that this effort is WAY out of the task list you normally
do. I've sent the note to this list because it was suggested.
On the other hand, if you know of someone who knew Bill
or have a mailing list that includes people who might
have known him please either copy this mail to the person
directly or send me email and I'll ask them if they are
interested.
* What is the reason for the award?
Bill's contribution is clearly widespread and sometimes subtle.
He was doing open source and community based work long before
most people had heard of it. And he has contributed large quantities
of work to projects we've all heard of like GCL, Maxima and Emacs.
Since I only knew Bill in relation to Axiom and AKCL I only know
a small (but impressive) portion of his work. I'm hoping to hear
anecdotes or references to work or referrals to others that I can
use to "integrate" into some statement of his contribution.
I'd like your feedback on this.
* What kind of award do we create?
The primary purpose of the award is remembering Bill by finding
and recognizing people who are doing similar work. Because his
work crossed many fields it is hard to put a name to it (like
Blues music before the label existed). The question has been
raised of whether it is a scholarship (thus benefiting young
people who have done free source work), a grant (thus benefiting
people who clearly have shown their value to the community by
their contributions and helping to support them), a prize
(possibly having less restrictions than a grant) or a prestige
award (thus recognizing a body of work or a lifetime of effort).
I'd like your feedback on this.
* What organization would host the award?
I've had several suggestions on this. The University of Texas
has been suggested because of the years of support and freedom
they gave him to do the work. Gnu.org has been suggested
because of Bill's GPL'd contributions. A group of Computer
Algebra people has been suggested because Bill's contribution
tended to be in the area of computer mathematics. I'm not an
organizational representative of anything, just a "free work"
person so clearly someone will have to step up to the task
of hosting the award. Which organization hosts the award will
likely depend more on who volunteers than on which one is best.
I'd like your feedback on this.
* How often would the award be made?
It depends on too many factors to answer at the moment
but is definitely a planning consideration.
* Who would judge the applicants?
It depends on too many factors to answer at the moment
but is definitely a planning consideration. Likely it
will depend on the definition of his contribution as it
should probably be judged by his peers.
* Is there money attached?
This is NOT an attempt to solicit fund or a funding effort
from any of you. I don't have an opinion about funding but
it would certainly be welcome by anyone who receives the
award. :-) There are other considerations (e.g. would the
hosting organization be able to administer the funding
collection/dispensing?)
* If so, where would it come from?
It depends on too many factors to answer at the moment
but, again, this is NOT an attempt to solicit funds from you.
This is a planning consideration and anyone who knows of
possible funding sources please let me know.
* What can I do?
If you knew Bill and have a story about him I'd like to hear it.
If you knew of Bill's work and have a reference I'd like to hear it.
If you have an idea about any of the above items ....
If you've ever been involved in creating an award ....
If you're willing to help with the planning....
Tim Daly
daly@idsi.net