<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=windows-1252"
http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
Regarding email and Ray Tomlinson.<br>
1. BBN's marketing people sometimes would simplify things and say
that Ray invented email. We technical people (including Ray
himself) constantly corrected them to say something like "Ray did
the first demonstration of networked email". To a considerable
extent that became the BBN corporate description as the years went
be.<br>
2. The popular press likes to claim too many firsts by too few
people, and this has happened in the case of Ray and email.<br>
3. I haven't seen much change in status quote of who says what at
BBN since the Raytheon acquisition of BBN<br>
3. Therefore, I see the Ayyadurai claim that BBN Raytheon is on a
campaign to promote Ray as THE inventor of email is a bogus debating
tactic.<br>
4. Ray himself was always modest about what he did, and he did not
over claim.<br>
5. I believe that seeing Ray's rudimentary networked email setup in
1971 operating over the ARPANET gave many of the rest of us (beyond
a few key visionaries who may already have seen into the future) and
image of what the Internet could become -- digital communication
among everyone everywhere. <br>
6. There was email development work before Ray's initial
demonstration. There was lots more in the decades after Ray's
initial demonstration. But Ray's demonstration to my mind was
bigger than just email; it was provided an image (at least to me) of
what the Internet could become (from that moment I was thinking
about what we now call the Internet of things -- "a packet switch in
every door knob and toaster"). <br>
<br>
Dave Walden (BBN, 1967-1995)<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 3/8/2016 11:38 AM, Thomas Haigh
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:015201d17958$f00557e0$d01007a0$@computer.org"
type="cite">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;
charset=windows-1252">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered
medium)">
<style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Helvetica;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;}
span.EmailStyle18
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:#1F497D;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D">Thanks
Chris,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D">I
certainly agree that the history of computing should be
engaging with issues of race, challenging narrow ideas of
what constitutes “innovation,” moving beyond “firsts,”
looking for non-elite contributions, etc. In fact I’m doing
some of those things right now in reinterpreting ENIAC
history and the recent “Maintainers” initiative shows a
broad interest within SIGCIS in these approaches.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D">The
problem is that Ayyadurai is a terrible basis on which to
broaden our concept of anything. His public relations
campaign is intended to make himself the sole inventor of
email and it rests on the systematic misrepresentation and
distortion of many aspects of history – denial of evidence,
changes to his own claims over time, bizarre definitions,
etc. According to his website and book “Email has a single
inventor. That inventor of email is VA Shiva Ayyadurai. For
nearly a decade, Raytheon's subsidiary, BBN, has been
falsely promoting that it hosts the "inventor of email",
referring to their employee Ray Tomlinson.” His more recent
shift of emphasis towards allegations of racism against
journalists and historians who refuse to recognize him as
the “single inventor” of email is great public relations,
but in my view it does a disservice to actual victims of
racism. (NB: that’s not to say he hasn’t faced racism in
life, merely that this is not the primary reason for
skepticism towards his claim to be the sole inventor of
email).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D">Best
wishes,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D">Tom<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">From:</span></b><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">
Members [<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org">mailto:members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org</a>] <b>On
Behalf Of </b>Christopher Leslie<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, March 08, 2016 10:16 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:thaigh@computer.org"><thaigh@computer.org></a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:thaigh@computer.org"><thaigh@computer.org></a><br>
<b>Cc:</b> <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:members@sigcis.org">members@sigcis.org</a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [SIGCIS-Members] "Inventor of Email"
campaign targets Ray Tomlinson, "racist" journalists,
reality<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dear Tom, <o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">I understand your claims well. It does
not take a lot of digging to realize that electronic
messaging was part of timesharing systems ... and if one
has an open mind, the point-to-point messaging from
Teletype can be seen as an important antecedent as well. I
also understand that journalists on a deadline might not
be interested in doing this research, so they might need
our help.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nevertheless, in a time when the
professions are trying to encourage an inclusive
atmosphere, I think as a group we could be more open to
Drescher and Ayyadurai's commentary. It is a demonstrable
fact that STEM as a whole is demographically tilted to
white and Asian men and the history of technology as a
field often has a bias toward mainstream U.S. figures.
While we might be "right" in asserting that email has a
long trajectory, like the ubiquitous story of the bicycle,
there is a different battle waging around us. If SIGCIS is
insensitive to this critique, we run the risk of being on
the wrong side of history. <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Al Gore chose his words badly in 1999
when he said he took the initiative to "invent" the
Internet. Yet, many Internet luminaries took the
initiative to defend Gore and say that he helped provide a
new vision for what the Internet could be. Other examples
could be cited. I recognize that Ayyadurai's contribution
is more modest in scope and less widespread in influence,
but it does no one any harm to say that he like many
others saw the potential for what email could become. <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Chris <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">On Tue, Mar 8, 2016 at 10:56 AM, Thomas
Haigh <<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:thaigh@computer.org" target="_blank">thaigh@computer.org</a>>
wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<blockquote style="border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC
1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in
6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in">
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto">Hello
SIGCIS,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto">Perhaps
predictably, Ray Tomlinson’s recent death has
prompted a new publicity push by Shiva Ayyadurai,
the self-proclaimed “inventor of email.” (Backstory
at <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.sigcis.org/ayyadurai"
target="_blank">http://www.sigcis.org/ayyadurai</a>).
Here are some recent tweets from his wife Fran
Drescher, best known as “The Nanny”: “<span
style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#292F33"
lang="EN">Thank you. Raytheon are plagiarists and
liars. Big biz w/o integrity! The worst of the
worst! Low roadsters,” and “PO'd! Ray Tomlinson
WRONGLY credited 4 email whn EVERY1 honest knos
Shiva Ayyadurai <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://twitter.com/va_shiva"
target="_blank"><span
style="color:#1B95E0;text-decoration:none">@va_shiva</span></a>
invented, has copyright &is a victim of
racism.” Also “Th larger issue is the oppression
of people of color. There is a narrative in
America that white washes innovation. That's the
real issue!” Ayyadurai himself has tweeted “White
journalists since 2012 have joined in the lynching
and whitewashing of facts on <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/email?src=hash"
target="_blank"><span
style="color:#1B95E0;text-decoration:none">#email</span></a>.
I challenge all and any to a f2f debate !!”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto">The
new push is reported in a Fortune blog piece, <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://fortune.com/2016/03/07/who-really-invented-email/"
target="_blank"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://fortune.com/2016/03/07/who-really-invented-email/">http://fortune.com/2016/03/07/who-really-invented-email/</a></a>,
which quotes SIGCIS at length. (I like its
description of us as “an organization comprised of
many prominent Internet historians and college
professors” rather more than the “internet cabal”
description used by Boston Magazine).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto">Ayyadurai
seems to be getting almost entirely uncritical
coverage in leading Indian publications, including<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Symbol">·</span><span
style="font-size:7.0pt"> </span><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/who-invented-email-ray-tomlinson-or-shiva-ayyadurai/article8323987.ece"
target="_blank"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/who-invented-email-ray-tomlinson-or-shiva-ayyadurai/article8323987.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/who-invented-email-ray-tomlinson-or-shiva-ayyadurai/article8323987.ece</a></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Symbol">·</span><span
style="font-size:7.0pt"> </span><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/On-Mahashivaratri-email-pioneer-Shiva-Ayyadurai-prays-for-recognition/articleshow/51297305.cms"
target="_blank"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/On-Mahashivaratri-email-pioneer-Shiva-Ayyadurai-prays-for-recognition/articleshow/51297305.cms">http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/On-Mahashivaratri-email-pioneer-Shiva-Ayyadurai-prays-for-recognition/articleshow/51297305.cms</a></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Symbol">·</span><span
style="font-size:7.0pt"> </span><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/the-inventor-of-email-is-still-alive-says-india-born-scientist/"
target="_blank"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/the-inventor-of-email-is-still-alive-says-india-born-scientist/">http://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/the-inventor-of-email-is-still-alive-says-india-born-scientist/</a></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto">There’s
a somewhat more nuanced, but still not entirely
accurate, report (quoting SIGCIS) at <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://thewire.in/2016/03/08/did-shiva-ayyadurai-invent-email-it-isnt-simple-and-youre-probably-missing-the-point-24149/#disqus_thread"
target="_blank"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://thewire.in/2016/03/08/did-shiva-ayyadurai-invent-email-it-isnt-simple-and-youre-probably-missing-the-point-24149">http://thewire.in/2016/03/08/did-shiva-ayyadurai-invent-email-it-isnt-simple-and-youre-probably-missing-the-point-24149</a></a>.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto">So
there’s fascinating story of historical techno
nationalism developing here, in that Ayyadurai’s new
focus on alleged racism as the only reason for
disputing his claim to have invented email seems to
be enough to win him widespread acceptance in India
despite the obvious reality-based problems with
claiming to have invented something that was already
in widespread use.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto">Best
wishes,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><br>
Tom<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"> <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br>
_______________________________________________<br>
This email is relayed from members at <a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://sigcis.org"
target="_blank">sigcis.org</a>, the email discussion
list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those
of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or
endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/"
target="_blank"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/">http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/</a></a>
and you can change your subscription options at <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org"
target="_blank"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org">http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org</a></a><o:p></o:p></p>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br>
<br clear="all">
<o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal">-- <o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black">Christopher
S. Leslie, Ph.D.</span><span
style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black">Co-Director
and Lecturer, Science and
Technology Studies<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black">Faculty
Fellow in Residence for Othmer
Hall and Clark Street<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black">Vice
Chair, IFIP History of
Computing Working Group 9.7<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black">NYU
Tandon School of Engineering <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black">5
MetroTech Center, LC 131<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black">Brooklyn,
NY 11201<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black">(646)
997-3130</span><span
style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<fieldset class="mimeAttachmentHeader"></fieldset>
<br>
<pre wrap="">_______________________________________________
This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/">http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/</a> and you can change your subscription options at <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org">http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org</a></pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
12 Linden Road, East Sandwich, 02537
landline=508-888-7655; cell=774-205-3203
website=walden-family.com</pre>
</body>
</html>