Editing Russ Nelson

{{Short description|American computer programmer}}
{{other people||Russell Nelson (disambiguation)}}
{{Redir|Crynwr|the Quakers|Crynwyr}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|image = File:Russ Nelson.jpg
|caption = Russ Nelson in 2005
|occupation = [[Software developer]]
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1958|3|21|mf=y}}<ref>{{cite web | url = http://russnelson.com/ | title = Russ Nelson's Home Page | access-date = 2011-04-01 | last = Nelson | first = Russ | work = russnelson.com}}</ref>
|office = Board of Directors, [[Open Source Initiative]]
|term_start = February 1998<ref>{{cite web | url = https://opensource.org/history | title = History of the OSI | date = 19 September 2006 | access-date = 2022-04-09 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070912050859/https://opensource.org/history | archive-date = 2007-09-12}}</ref>
|term_end = April 6, 2011<ref name="boardleave">{{cite web | url = https://opensource.org/minutes20110406 | title = OSI Board Meeting Minutes, Wednesday, April 6, 2011 | date = 10 June 2011 | access-date = 2022-04-09 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111212092505/https://opensource.org/minutes20110406 | archive-date = 2011-12-12}}</ref>
|successor = [[Jim Jagielski]]<ref name="boardleave"/>
|office2 = President, [[Open Source Initiative]]
|predecessor2 = [[Eric S. Raymond]]<ref name="lamonica"/>
|successor2 = [[Michael Tiemann]]<ref name="racism"/>
|term_start2 = February 1, 2005<ref name="appointedpresident">{{cite web | url = https://lwn.net/Articles/121685/ | title = Interview: OSI's new president | last = Corbet | first = Jon | access-date = 2022-04-08 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080908030837/https://lwn.net/Articles/121685/ | archive-date = 2008-09-08}}</ref>
|term_end2 = February 23, 2005<ref name="racism"/><ref name="resignedpresident">{{cite web |url = https://www.eweek.com/servers/new-osi-president-steps-down/ | title = New OSI President Steps Down | last = Vaughan-Nichols | first = Stephen | date = 4 March 2005 | access-date = 2022-04-09 | quote = Russ Nelson, the newly elected president of the Open Source Initiative, resigned his office retroactively to Feb. 23}}</ref>
|known_for = Board member and former president of [[Open Source Initiative]]<ref name="osi"/>
|website = http://russnelson.com/
|party = [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian Party]]<ref name="OS2">{{cite book| chapter = List of Contributors | editor=Chris DiBona | editor-link=Chris DiBona |editor2=Danese Cooper |editor2-link=Danese Cooper |editor3=Mark Stone|title=Open sources 2.0: the continuing evolution|url=https://archive.org/details/opensources2.000diborich| quote = Libertarian. |access-date=1 April 2011|date=1 November 2005|publisher=O'Reilly Media, Inc.|isbn=978-0-596-00802-4|pages=xix}}</ref>
}}

'''Russell Nelson''' (born March 21, 1958) is an American [[computer programmer]]. He was a founding board member of the [[Open Source Initiative]] and briefly served as its president in 2005.<ref>[http://opensource.org/pressreleases/expansion.php OPEN SOURCE INITIATIVE (OSI) ANNOUNCES EXPANDED PROGRAMS, COUNSEL, AND BOARD]</ref>

==Career==
In 1983, Nelson and [[Patrick Naughton]] wrote Painter's Apprentice, a [[MacPaint]] [[Clone (computing)|clone]].<ref>{{cite book | author = Patrick Naughton | author-link = Patrick Naughton | title = Java Handbook | publisher = Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited | year=1997 | asin= B007ITC4G4 }}</ref> Nelson was the author of [[Freemacs]] (a variant of [[Emacs]] used by [[FreeDOS]]).<ref name="fdos">{{cite web | url = http://www.freedos.org/cgi-bin/lsm.cgi?mode=lsm&lsm=edit/emacs.lsm | title = EMACS | work = FreeDOS - Software List | publisher = freedos.org | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070915223837/http://www.freedos.org/cgi-bin/lsm.cgi?mode=lsm&lsm=edit%2Femacs.lsm | archive-date = 2007-09-15 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

While attending university, Nelson began developing the collection of [[device driver|drivers]] later commercially released as the "Crynwr Collection".<ref>{{cite magazine | author = Bill Machrone and Michael J. Miller | title = 8th Annual Awards for Technical Excellence | publisher = Ziff-Davis Publishing Company | place=New York, NY | date=1991-12-31 | magazine=[[PC Magazine]] | volume=10 | issue=22 | page=136 }}</ref> In 1991, Nelson founded Crynwr Software, a company located in [[Potsdam (town), New York|Potsdam]], [[New York (state)|New York]],<ref>{{cite journal | url = http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/3003 | title = Open Source Software Model | first = Russ | last = Nelson | journal = Linux Journal | date = August 1998 | access-date = 2011-04-01 | number = 52}}</ref> supporting deployment of [[message transfer agent|large-scale e-mail systems]], development of packet drivers, Linux [[loadable kernel module|kernel drivers]],<ref>{{ cite book | access-date=2016-10-31 | date=1995-11-18 | publisher=Linux Documentation Project | author=Paul Gortmaker | url=http://mm.iit.uni-miskolc.hu/Data/texts/Linux/HOWTO/Ethernet-HOWTO-8.html#ss8.2 | title=Linux Ethernet-Howto}}{{ cite book | title=CREDITS | publisher=Linux Foundation | author=Linus Torvalds | url=http://web.mit.edu/linux/kernel/linux-2.1/linux-2.1.122/CREDITS | access-date=2016-10-31 | date=1998-09-16}}</ref> and [[reverse engineering]] of [[embedded system]]s.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://spectrum.ieee.org/mindstorms-not-just-a-kids-toy | title = Mindstorms Not Just a Kid's Toy | author=Paul Wallich | date=2001-09-03 | access-date = 2016-10-31 | publisher = IEEE}}{{cite web | url=http://piki.org/patrick/quickcam/Quickcam_Technical_FAQ.txt | author=Patrick Reynolds | access-date=2016-10-31 | date=1997-12-04 | title=The Connectix Quickcam Technical FAQ}}</ref>

In July 2010, Nelson was working on [[Environmental monitoring#Water quality monitoring|water quality sensors]].<ref>{{cite video |people=Mac Slocum, interviewer |date=23 July 2010 |title=Russ Nelson interviewed at OSCON 2010|work=[[YouTube]]|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHEk7pRXTWU|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/kHEk7pRXTWU| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|publisher=[[O'Reilly Media]]|location= United States |access-date=1 April 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Open Source Initiative===
In 1998, Nelson became one of the six first members of the [[board of directors]] of the Open Source Initiative.<ref name="osi">{{cite web | url = http://opensource.org/history | title = History of the OSI | access-date = 2008-08-22 | last = Tiemann | first =  Michael | author-link = Michael Tiemann | date = 2006-09-19 | publisher = Opensource.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2008/02/12/a-look-back-at-10-years-of-osi.html | title = A Look Back at 10 Years of OSI | first = Federico | last = Biancuzzi | date = 2008-02-12 | access-date= 2011-04-01 | publisher = [[O'Reilly Media|onlamp.com]]}}</ref>

On February 1, 2005, he was named as the new president of the Open Source Initiative, replacing [[Eric S. Raymond]].<ref name="lamonica">{{cite web | title = Open-source leader steps aside at industry group | last = LaMonica | first = Martin | date = 2005-02-01 | url=http://news.cnet.com/Open-source-advocate-leaves-industry-group/2100-7344_3-5558688.html | publisher=[[CNET News]]|access-date = 2009-02-03 }}</ref> On February 7, Nelson published a post to his personal [[blog]] titled "Blacks are lazy", which generated controversy.<ref name="blackslazypost">{{cite web
 |url=http://blog.russnelson.com/economics/.removed/blacks-are-lazy.html
 |title=Blacks are lazy
 |last=Nelson
 |first=Russ
 |date=2005-02-07
 |website=Russ Nelson's personal blog
 |access-date=2022-04-08
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050308034834/http://blog.russnelson.com/economics/.removed/blacks-are-lazy.html
 |archive-date=2005-03-08
 |quote=Black people are lazy in that they work less hard than whites}}</ref><ref name=finlayson>{{cite news |last1=Stuart |first1=Finlayson |title=Open source chief makes swift exit after "racist" gaffe |url=http://idm.net.au/blog/003135open-source-chief-makes-swift-exit-after-racist-gaffe |access-date=14 February 2019 |work=Information & Data Manager (IDM)}}</ref><ref name="racism">{{cite news | url = http://www.theage.com.au/news/Breaking/Racism-row-forces-open-source-head-out/2005/03/09/1110316060643.html| title = Racism row forces open source head out | first = Sam | last = Varghese | date = 2005-03-09 | access-date = 2008-07-11 | newspaper = [[The Age]] }}</ref> Nelson apologized to those who perceived the post (which he withdrew because it "was not well written") as racist.<ref name="blog.russnelson.com 2005 c248">{{cite web | title=Russ Nelson : economics/blacks-are-lazy.html | website=blog.russnelson.com | date=2005-03-08 | url=http://blog.russnelson.com:80/economics/blacks-are-lazy.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050308204237/http://blog.russnelson.com:80/economics/blacks-are-lazy.html | archive-date=2005-03-08 | url-status=dead | access-date=2023-08-10 | quote=It was not well written and I have withdrawn it. I apologize to anybody who thought that the posting itself was racist.}}</ref> Nelson resigned as president in early March (the resignation was backdated to February 23), and stated he did not believe himself to be politically savvy enough for the role of president.<ref name="racism"/><ref name="Russ Nelsons blog 2005 g488">{{cite web | title=Russ Nelson's blog : /opensource/osi-presidency-resignation.html | website=Russ Nelson's blog | date=2005-03-02 | url=http://blog.russnelson.com/opensource/osi-presidency-resignation.html | access-date=2023-08-10}}</ref>

Nelson remained on the board of directors of the Open Source Initiative for another six years.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.opensource.org/node/560 | title=Board Meeting Report | date=2011-03-18 | access-date=2011-04-01 | publisher=Opensource.org}}</ref>

==Personal==
Nelson is the son of Russell Edward Nelson and Gladys Jacobsen Nelson.<ref>{{cite book|last=Nelson | first = Russ | chapter = Open Source and the Small Entrepreneur | editor=Chris DiBona | editor-link=Chris DiBona |editor2=Danese Cooper |editor2-link=Danese Cooper |editor3=Mark Stone|title=Open sources 2.0: the continuing evolution|url=https://archive.org/details/opensources2.000diborich|access-date=1 April 2011|date=1 November 2005|publisher=O'Reilly Media, Inc.|isbn=978-0-596-00802-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/opensources2.000diborich/page/n179 138]}}</ref> Formerly a [[Quaker]],<ref name="concept">{{cite web | url = http://ottawa.quaker.ca/create-quaker-links-0 | title = Wider Quaker World | publisher = Ottawa Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) | access-date = 2016-10-31|author=A Friend}}</ref> for political reasons he no longer identifies as one, as of 2014.<ref name="disavow">{{cite web | url = https://www.facebook.com/russnelson/posts/10152052295356965 | title = Facebook | publisher = Russ Nelson's Facebook Timeline | access-date = 2014-05-19|author=Russ Nelson|date=2014-05-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331104822/https://www.facebook.com/russnelson/posts/10152052295356965|archive-date=31 March 2019}}</ref> Nelson is a [[pacifist]], and a member of the [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian Party]] of the United States.<ref name="OS2">{{cite book| chapter = List of Contributors | editor=Chris DiBona | editor-link=Chris DiBona |editor2=Danese Cooper |editor2-link=Danese Cooper |editor3=Mark Stone|title=Open sources 2.0: the continuing evolution|url=https://archive.org/details/opensources2.000diborich| quote = Libertarian. |access-date=1 April 2011|date=1 November 2005|publisher=O'Reilly Media, Inc.|isbn=978-0-596-00802-4|pages=xix}}</ref>

Nelson created the first Quaker website in the world, [https://quaker.org/ quaker.org], in early 1995.<ref name="concept" /> He transferred the website to [[Friends Journal|Friends Publishing Corporation]], a Quaker nonprofit, in March 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://quaker.org/|title=quaker.org {{!}} The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180324183756/http://quaker.org/ |archive-date=2018-03-24 }}</ref>

==External links==
* [http://russnelson.com/ Russ Nelson's Home Page]
* [http://crynwr.com/ Crynwr Software]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Russ}}
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American bloggers]]
[[Category:American computer programmers]]
[[Category:American libertarians]]
[[Category:American male bloggers]]
[[Category:American male writers]]
[[Category:American political writers]]
[[Category:Clarkson University alumni|Nelson, Russell]]
[[Category:Former Quakers]]
[[Category:Free software programmers]]
[[Category:Members of the Open Source Initiative board of directors]]
[[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]]