Jason Scott Sadofsky
Encyclopedia
Jason Scott Sadofsky (born September 13, 1970 in Hopewell Junction
, New York), more commonly known as Jason Scott, is an American archivist and historian of technology. He is the creator, owner and maintainer
of textfiles.com
, a web site which
archives files from historic bulletin board system
s. He is also the creator of a 2005 documentary film about BBSes,
BBS: The Documentary
, and a 2010 documentary film about interactive fiction
, GET LAMP
.
Scott has been known by the online pseudonyms "Sketch", "SketchCow" and "The Slipped Disk". He currently lives in New York.
in Chappaqua
, New York and served on the staff of the school newspaper under the title "Humor Staff". He later earned a degree in Mass Communications (Concentration in Film) from Emerson College
in Boston, Massachusetts. While at Emerson, he worked for the school humor magazine, school newspaper, WERS 88.9 FM radio, and served as art director on several dramatic plays.
Hopewell Junction, New York
Hopewell Junction is a hamlet in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 2,610 at the 2000 census...
, New York), more commonly known as Jason Scott, is an American archivist and historian of technology. He is the creator, owner and maintainer
System administrator
A system administrator, IT systems administrator, systems administrator, or sysadmin is a person employed to maintain and operate a computer system and/or network...
of textfiles.com
Textfiles.com
textfiles.com is a web site run by Jason Scott dedicated to preserving the digital documents that contain the history of the BBS world and various subcultures. The site categorises and stores thousands of ASCII files. It focuses on text files from the 1980s, but also contains some older files and...
, a web site which
archives files from historic bulletin board system
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
s. He is also the creator of a 2005 documentary film about BBSes,
BBS: The Documentary
BBS: The Documentary
BBS: The Documentary is a 3-disc, 8-episode documentary about the subculture born from the creation of the bulletin board system filmed by computer historian Jason Scott Sadofsky of textfiles.com....
, and a 2010 documentary film about interactive fiction
Interactive fiction
Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, describes software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives and as video games. In common usage, the term refers to text...
, GET LAMP
Get Lamp
GET LAMP is a two-disc documentary about interactive fiction filmed by computer historian Jason Scott of textfiles.com...
.
Scott has been known by the online pseudonyms "Sketch", "SketchCow" and "The Slipped Disk". He currently lives in New York.
Projects
- In 1990, along with John Anthony Rescigno (who was known by the pseudonym "Trout.Complex"), Sadofsky started TinyTIMTinyTIMTinyTIM is a MUSH created in 1990 by Sketch and Trout.Complex. It is the oldest running MUSH in existence, having held that status at least since 1995.-History:...
, a popular MUSHMUSHIn multiplayer online games, a MUSH is a text-based online social medium to which multiple users are connected at the same time...
. He resigned in 2000. - In 1995, Jason joined the video game company Psygnosis as a technical support worker, before being hired by a video game startup, Focus Studios, as an art director. After Focus Studios' closure, Jason moved into UNIX administration, where he remained until 2009.
- He has been a speaker at DEF CONDEF CONDEF CON is one of the world's largest annual computer hacker conventions, held every year in Las Vegas, Nevada...
, an annual hacker conference, the first time at the 7th conference in 1999, then again in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Scott also spoke at PhreakNICPhreakNICPhreakNIC is an annual hacker and technology convention held in Nashville, Tennessee. It is organized by the Nashville 2600 Organization and draws upon resources from SouthEastern 2600 . The Nashville Linux User Group was closely tied with PhreakNIC for the first 10 years, but is no longer an...
6 and 9, Rubi Cons 4 and 5, the 5th H.O.P.E.H.O.P.E.HOPE is a conference series sponsored by the hacker magazine 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. Held biennially in the summer, there have been eight conferences to date with the next scheduled for 13 - 15 July 2012.- HOPE: Hackers On...
conference in 2004, NotaconNotaconNotacon is an art and technology conference which takes place annually in Cleveland, Ohio. The name Notacon became a bacronym for Northern Ohio Technological Advancement Conference, however use of this was mostly dropped after the first year...
s 1, 2 (as a backup), 3 and 4, ToorconToorConToorCon is San Diego's exclusive hacker conference that traditionally takes place in late September. Started originally by the San Diego 2600 user group, ToorCon was founded in 1999 by Ben Greenberg and David Hulton . The first year it was held at the University of California, San Diego's Price...
7, and beta premiered his documentary at the 7th annual Vintage Computer FestivalVintage Computer FestivalThe Vintage Computer Festival is an international event celebrating the history of computing. It is held annually in various locations around the United States and various countries internationally...
. Most of his talks focus on the capturing of digital history or consist of narratives of stories relevant to his experiences online. - In October 2005 he announced filming a documentary about text adventure gamesInteractive fictionInteractive fiction, often abbreviated IF, describes software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives and as video games. In common usage, the term refers to text...
, called GET LAMP. - In 2006 he announced starting a documentary on ArcadesVideo arcadeAn amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
, titled ARCADE, but it is currently on hold while GET LAMP is being worked on. - In 2007, he co-founded BlockpartyBlockpartyBlockparty is a demoparty held in the United States. It was founded in 2007 by Jason Scott and Christian "RaD Man" Wirth. From its founding onward, it has partnered with Notacon in Cleveland, Ohio...
, a North American demopartyDemopartyA demoparty is an event that gathers demosceners and other computer enthusiasts to compete in competitions. A typical demoparty is a non-stop event lasting over a weekend, providing the visitors a lot of time to socialize. The competing works, at least those in the most important competitions, are...
. For their inaugural year, they paired up with NotaconNotaconNotacon is an art and technology conference which takes place annually in Cleveland, Ohio. The name Notacon became a bacronym for Northern Ohio Technological Advancement Conference, however use of this was mostly dropped after the first year...
which takes place annually in Cleveland, Ohio. This collaborative effort allowed the fledgling party to utilize the existing support structure of an established conference. - In January 2009, he formed The Archive Team, a group dedicated to preserving the historical record of websites that close down. Responding to the announcement by AOLAOLAOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
of the closure of AOL HometownAOL HometownAOL Hometown was a web hosting service offered by AOL. It offered 12 megabytes of server space for AOL subscribers to publish their own websites, and included an own WYSIWYG online website builder called 1-2-3 Publish not requiring knowledge of HTML...
, the team has also announced plans to save Podango and GeoCitiesGeoCitiesYahoo! GeoCities is a web hosting service, currently available only in Japan.GeoCities was originally founded by David Bohnett and John Rezner in late 1994 as Beverly Hills Internet . In its original form, site users selected a "city" in which to place their web pages...
. - In October 2009, he started raising funds for a year-long sabbatical from his job as a computer systems administrator, to pursue technology history and archival projects full-time. By November 2009, he had reached his funding goals, with the support of over 300 patrons.
- In early 2011, he was involved in Yahoo! VideoYahoo! VideoYahoo! Video is a video sharing website on which users could upload and share videos. The service is owned and created by Yahoo!. Yahoo! Video began as an internet-wide video search engine and added the ability to upload and share video clips in June 2006...
and Google VideoGoogle VideoGoogle Videos is a video search engine, and formerly a free video sharing website, from Google Inc. Before removing user-uploaded content, the service allowed selected videos to be remotely embedded on other websites and provided the necessary HTML code alongside the media, similar to YouTube...
archive projects.
Education
Jason Scott graduated from Horace Greeley High SchoolHorace Greeley High School
Horace Greeley High School is a public, four-year secondary school serving students in grades 9–12 in Chappaqua, New York. It is part of the Chappaqua Central School District....
in Chappaqua
Chappaqua, New York
Chappaqua is a hamlet and census-designated place in northern Westchester County, New York. As of the 2010 census, following a major revision to the delineation of its boundaries by the Census Bureau, the population was 1,436...
, New York and served on the staff of the school newspaper under the title "Humor Staff". He later earned a degree in Mass Communications (Concentration in Film) from Emerson College
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private coeducational university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," Emerson is "the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts...
in Boston, Massachusetts. While at Emerson, he worked for the school humor magazine, school newspaper, WERS 88.9 FM radio, and served as art director on several dramatic plays.
Early Work
After graduating from Emerson, Jason lived in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he was employed as a Temp worker while also drawing caricatures for pay on the streets of Cambridge.Presentations
- TEXTFILES, G-PHILES, AND LOG FILES: Remembering the 1980s Through ASCII DEF CONDEF CONDEF CON is one of the world's largest annual computer hacker conventions, held every year in Las Vegas, Nevada...
7, July 10, 1999 - TEXTFILES.COM: One Year Later DEF CON 8, July 29, 2000
- So You Got Your Lame Ass Sued: A Legal Narrative DEF CONDEF CONDEF CON is one of the world's largest annual computer hacker conventions, held every year in Las Vegas, Nevada...
9, July 2001 - Documenting the BBS Rubi-ConRubi-ConRubi-Con was a hacker convention that took place in Detroit, Michigan from 1999 to 2003 inclusive. After folding in its fifth year, Rubi-Con organizers managed to destroy its name through a thereby preventing others from using the reputation to build their own events...
4, April 2002 - History of Phreaking 101 PhreakNICPhreakNICPhreakNIC is an annual hacker and technology convention held in Nashville, Tennessee. It is organized by the Nashville 2600 Organization and draws upon resources from SouthEastern 2600 . The Nashville Linux User Group was closely tied with PhreakNIC for the first 10 years, but is no longer an...
6.0, November 1, 2002 - Keynote: The Future is Now Rubi-ConRubi-ConRubi-Con was a hacker convention that took place in Detroit, Michigan from 1999 to 2003 inclusive. After folding in its fifth year, Rubi-Con organizers managed to destroy its name through a thereby preventing others from using the reputation to build their own events...
5, March 28, 2003 - Apple II Pirate Lore Rubi-ConRubi-ConRubi-Con was a hacker convention that took place in Detroit, Michigan from 1999 to 2003 inclusive. After folding in its fifth year, Rubi-Con organizers managed to destroy its name through a thereby preventing others from using the reputation to build their own events...
5, March 29, 2003 - 100 Years of the Computer Art Scene (with RaD ManRaD ManChristian Wirth , better known by the pseudonym RaD Man, is an American computer artist and historian. He works in the field of ANSI art, a method of creating art using a limited set of text characters and color escape codes based loosely on the relevant ANSI standard .RaD Man was initially...
) NotaconNotaconNotacon is an art and technology conference which takes place annually in Cleveland, Ohio. The name Notacon became a bacronym for Northern Ohio Technological Advancement Conference, however use of this was mostly dropped after the first year...
1, April 2004 - Saving Digital History: A Quick and Dirty Guide H2K4, July 11, 2004
- BBS: The Documentary: A Preview DEF CONDEF CONDEF CON is one of the world's largest annual computer hacker conventions, held every year in Las Vegas, Nevada...
12, August 2004 - The History of the Coleco Adam (mp3) NotaconNotaconNotacon is an art and technology conference which takes place annually in Cleveland, Ohio. The name Notacon became a bacronym for Northern Ohio Technological Advancement Conference, however use of this was mostly dropped after the first year...
2, April 2005 - Why Tech Documentaries are Impossible (And why we have to do them anyway.) DEF CONDEF CONDEF CON is one of the world's largest annual computer hacker conventions, held every year in Las Vegas, Nevada...
13, July 31, 2005 - Fidonet Presentation and Q&A ToorConToorConToorCon is San Diego's exclusive hacker conference that traditionally takes place in late September. Started originally by the San Diego 2600 user group, ToorCon was founded in 1999 by Ben Greenberg and David Hulton . The first year it was held at the University of California, San Diego's Price...
7, September 17, 2005 - BBS Documentary Presentation PhreakNICPhreakNICPhreakNIC is an annual hacker and technology convention held in Nashville, Tennessee. It is organized by the Nashville 2600 Organization and draws upon resources from SouthEastern 2600 . The Nashville Linux User Group was closely tied with PhreakNIC for the first 10 years, but is no longer an...
9.0, October 22, 2005 - ConCon: A History of Hacker Conferences ShmooconShmooConShmooCon is an American hacker convention organized by The Shmoo Group. There are typically about 35 different talks and presentations, on a variety of subjects related to computer security and cyberculture.-History:...
2, January 13, 2005 - Your Moment of Audio Zen: A History of Podcasts NotaconNotaconNotacon is an art and technology conference which takes place annually in Cleveland, Ohio. The name Notacon became a bacronym for Northern Ohio Technological Advancement Conference, however use of this was mostly dropped after the first year...
3, April 7, 2006 - The Great Failure of Wikipedia, NotaconNotaconNotacon is an art and technology conference which takes place annually in Cleveland, Ohio. The name Notacon became a bacronym for Northern Ohio Technological Advancement Conference, however use of this was mostly dropped after the first year...
3, April 8, 2006 - Retrocomputing (with Sam Nitzberg, Cheshire Catalyst, Sellam Ismail) H.O.P.E.H.O.P.E.HOPE is a conference series sponsored by the hacker magazine 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. Held biennially in the summer, there have been eight conferences to date with the next scheduled for 13 - 15 July 2012.- HOPE: Hackers On...
Number Six, July 2006 - Underground Documentaries: The Art of the Interview and the Access (with Julien McArdle) H.O.P.E.H.O.P.E.HOPE is a conference series sponsored by the hacker magazine 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. Held biennially in the summer, there have been eight conferences to date with the next scheduled for 13 - 15 July 2012.- HOPE: Hackers On...
Number Six, July 2006 - Wheel of Internet Knowledge PhreaknicPhreakNICPhreakNIC is an annual hacker and technology convention held in Nashville, Tennessee. It is organized by the Nashville 2600 Organization and draws upon resources from SouthEastern 2600 . The Nashville Linux User Group was closely tied with PhreakNIC for the first 10 years, but is no longer an...
X, October 2006 - Mythapedia STM (Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers) Innovations Seminar, December 1, 2006
- Wikipedia, Brick by Brick NotaconNotaconNotacon is an art and technology conference which takes place annually in Cleveland, Ohio. The name Notacon became a bacronym for Northern Ohio Technological Advancement Conference, however use of this was mostly dropped after the first year...
4, April 27, 2007 - T536 – The Edge of Forever – Making Computer History DEF CONDEF CONDEF CON is one of the world's largest annual computer hacker conventions, held every year in Las Vegas, Nevada...
15, August 4, 2007 - Keynote speech KansasFestKansasFestKansasFest is an annual event for Apple II computer enthusiasts. Held every July at Rockhurst University of Kansas City, Missouri, KansasFest typically lasts five days and features presentations from Apple II experts and pioneers, as well as games, fun events, after-hours hallway chatter,...
, July 22, 2009 - Atomic Porn: What is the smallest particle of erotica? – Arse ElektronikaArse ElektronikaArse Elektronika is an annual conference organized by the Austrian arts/philosophy collective monochrom, focused on sex and technology. Speakers at past conferences have included Mark Dery, Violet Blue, Annalee Newitz, Rudy Rucker, Carol Queen, and Richard Kadrey with demonstrations by Kyle...
2009, October 2, 2009 - DistriWiki: A Proposal, May 11, 2010
External links
- Jason Scott – Personal homepage
- ASCII – Jason Scott's weblog
- textfiles.com – BBS archive project
- BBS Documentary – Web site for the documentary
- Get Lamp
- Blockparty
- Archive Team wiki
- Collector's Trove of Podcasts, an interview with Jason Scott in Wired magazine online
- HarvardNetSucks
- Saving Digital History: A Quick and Dirty Guide, by Jason Scott (Hope 2004 Conference)
- The Whole Lawsuit Thing – HarvardNetSucks account of the lawsuit.
- http://www.sadofsky.com/
- leahpeah interview with Jason Scott
- small WORLD interview with Jason Scott