Law and Software

Remember Sun Microsystems? I’ll always have fond memories. But not for Solaris, graphics workstations, Java and all the other wonderful work done at Garcia Ave, and then at SunQuentin by the bridge. The fondness comes from the Mr Protocol column in the old Sun Expert magazine. You can find a sample here .

What I loved most about Mike O’Brien’s pseudonymous column is the sheer lack of pretentiousness in his writing. And the line he always ended the author bio with:

Mr. Protocol refuses to divulge his qualifications and may, in fact, have none whatsoever.

And that was what computer science was all about in those days. People came in from all other fields. It was all new. Archaeologists worked with biologists worked with english lit majors worked with young kids not out of high school. You were what you did. Mr Protocol’s column stood on its own. These truths are self-evident. He didn’t need any external reputation, only the reputation of Mr. Protocol. That was the egalitarian dream of the internet and the power of pseudonymity.

Thank you Mr. Protocol.