Digital Tech at Coach House Press changed pages

[jmax]

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:05:11 -0700

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John W. Maxwell

This wiki belongs to John W. Maxwell

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See http://www.ccsp.sfu.ca/education/faculty/john-w-maxwell

See http://www.ccsp.sfu.ca/education/faculty/john-maxwell

[Alcuin Talk 2012]

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:45:11 -0800

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The following are my raw speaking notes for the Alcuin Awards dinner, Oct 1, 2012, at which the Coach House's Stan Bevington was honoured (he was awarded the Robert R Reid award earlier this year).

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[FrontPage]

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 14:14:48 -0700

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[[Alcuin Talk 2012]]

Notes: [[Alcuin Talk 2012]]

[Peter Sharpe]

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 09:45:03 -0700

++added: Interview with Peter Sharpe (ex-SoftQuad) --------------------------------------------------- September 17, 2012, at Blenz SFU Surrey Peter came to SoftQuad via Yuri Rubinsky, whom he had known in high school in Sarnia. Yuri ran a private student paper called the River City Tribune. Later, Peter and Yuri worked on the student paper at Brock. Peter says: see the tribute online (http://xml.coverpages.org/yuriMemSharpe.html) He later (84) saw a piece in (he thinks) the Loeb journal featuring SoftQuad and with a picture of Yuri, which led him back to something to do with the Banff workshops. Ian Darwin was the first SoftQuad employee and Peter was the second. The original focus was of course all about SQtroff. Yuri was concerned about making it appealing to end-users, though, and had the idea to create a writer's interface, a friendlier front end. This was to bolster sales of SQtroff by making it a more appealling package to business customers. Peter suggests asking Nelson Adams about whatever frontend would have been in actual use. Beginning in 84, Peter prototyped an editor and spec'ed out how it would look and work. He was inspired by having seen early Interleaf software on a Sun Workstation (pre-Macintosh). InterLeaf had a GUI, WYSIWYG editing, and stylesheets in a menu onscreen. This was all pre-SGML, of course. With early SGML, Yuri was interested in the AAP tagset, so they worked with that as a target. The target market, even then, was business and technical documentation people, even though Yuri's literary friends (Atwood, of course) were talked of as the target. Author/Editor was in beta in 86. There was a Mac version (developed in Object Pascal, here in Vancouver), and then a Windows version (in C++). These probably hit the market in 87. The core of it was SQtree, a tree representation of the parse, which was the basis of everything. It had to be ultra-optimized to save memory. The DOM comes directly out of this work, especially where it merged with Microsoft's Javascript development (this is late 90s now). Peter says he could probably take credit for the DOM. SQtroff had a very limited market. So did Author/Editor. The real success came when Liam Quin created a customization of A/E for HTML, called HotMetal. It was released free. Peter and his crew did a version 2.0, also released free. And then 3.0, which came in a $100 "Pro" version. This generated an order of magnitude more money for SoftQuad. Money led to new investment. This is mid-90s. SQtroff was already in the past. At its peak, SoftQuad had 37 developers in Vancouver. A new CEO brought in new people, notably Roberto Drassinower, who worked as general manager for years. But fortunes fell, due to Microsoft's FrontPage, and also corporate manoeuvering. A merger ended in a reverse takeover, a company that turned into NewKidCo. Interleaf bought out the Author/Editor and Panorama lines. SoftQuad Software had to be re-launched from scratch -- James Clark was a major investor. This led shortly to an IPO and a stock market debacle they were caught up in. The only thing that remained was XMetal. Steve Downey was in charge of sales at Softquad, replacing Patrick Dempster. We talked about the wisdom of ePub. Peter says, "The device is the top level node in the tree."

[Yuri Eulogies Compiled]

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 15:56:28 -0700

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SGML: Memory of Yuri Rubinsky (1952-1996) from OASIS Coverpages

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Barbara Burrows

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It feels like I've spent the past few days doing nothing but think -about Yuri. There is so much I can say, and then, there is nothing -I can say about Yuri that adequately captures the man and what he has -meant to me.

- -

Yuri always called my son, Syria, because his name is Jordan. When -I think about this it always makes me smile. One of the greatest -things about Yuri was his wonderful sense of humour. He loved to -play with words and phrases giving them a unique twist all his own. -I loved the way his mind worked, so creative, so imaginative, -with just the right touch of whimsy. I worked with him almost eight -years and I think every time we were together there was laughter. -Yuri was just fun to be with. Having said that, it wasn't always just -fun, there were also lots of thought provoking comments or experiences -too. He had a way of looking at things that made you reach for a -higher understanding or meaning, to go beyond the ordinary. He never -said you should think about something in this way or that, or look, I'm -going to teach you something here. He just led by example. He was a -[96 more lines...]

It feels like I've spent the past few days doing nothing but think about Yuri. There is so much I can say, and then, there is nothing I can say about Yuri that adequately captures the man and what he has meant to me.

Yuri always called my son, Syria, because his name is Jordan. When I think about this it always makes me smile. One of the greatest things about Yuri was his wonderful sense of humour. He loved to play with words and phrases giving them a unique twist all his own. I loved the way his mind worked, so creative, so imaginative, with just the right touch of whimsy. I worked with him almost eight years and I think every time we were together there was laughter. Yuri was just fun to be with. Having said that, it wasn't always just fun, there were also lots of thought provoking comments or experiences too. He had a way of looking at things that made you reach for a higher understanding or meaning, to go beyond the ordinary. He never said you should think about something in this way or that, or look, I'm going to teach you something here. He just led by example. He was a very sensitive, caring, thoroughly enlightened individual. But, that doesn't capture him. I really need him here to edit this posting. He was able to breathe life into ordinary words.

Yuri taught me a lot about SGML, about how to put words together, about how to make a page look good. But, what he taught me the most was a lot about being a human being and about how to treat people and accept them and learn from them. Yuri moved in some pretty impressive circles. I saw him with heads of companies, chiefs of staff, taxi drivers, hotel staff, a wide variety of people, and he was always the same with everyone. He looked at the individual and he paid attention to people. I really think he believed he could learn something from everyone. I reread Desiderata recently and I thought of Yuri then -- "Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others..." - He was genuinely interested in people, a child of the universe.

And certainly, people gravitated to Yuri. It was impossible to enter a crowded conference hall and get quickly with him from point A to point B. It seemed like everyone wanted to talk with him or shake his hand. I would kid him that we should burst through the doors, with music playing "Hail to the Chief", while Yuri made his way through the crowds shaking this hand, talking to that person, waving at this one. It was really like that. Someone special had just arrived.

I loved to hear his speeches. He had a way of speaking or getting a message across that could really fire your own imagination. People would come up to me at trade shows and conferences and say, "Do you work with Yuri?" "Yes, I sure do." "Wow", they'd say, "What's he like to work with? Is he as much a character as he seems?" Now, how do you answer that? Yes, he was definitely quite the character. And, he definitely had character and compassion and intelligence and a quality of humbleness and so much more.

When I travelled with him I would get a cash advance from the company, in the local currency, against expenses. I'd also get some money for him. I'd give it to him before we'd leave or when I'd see him at the airport. He always seemed surprised that I'd do that for him and he was, this tremendous person, grateful that I had, and happy like a little boy who had been given a treat. He just never thought about those kinds of details, he just did what he loved, the rest followed. He had a quality that made you want to do things for him. Maybe because he so rarely asked for anything and was always so genuinely appreciative.

Yuri and I both had Grandmothers who were very special to us. He'd talk about his Grandmother and I'd share stories about mine. They died not too long after each other. When his Grandmother died, I sent him a card which I thought expressed well the feelings for someone special in your life. He apparently felt the text was appropriate enough to read during her memorial service. I searched for those words again, because they are no less true when applied to him. "Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never ever the same."

I am happily filled with Yuri memories. I remember illicit afternoon potato chip binges. The h, we really shouldn't be doing this, should we go get more?" kind. I remember the great fun we had with slogans and puns when we came up with the idea for the "This too shall Parse" and "I'm in my Element" buttons. I remember laughing until I cried listening to Yuri trying to order breakfast in Spanish in a small town restaurant in Austria. I remember giving Yuri a great picture I had taken of him and watching tears run down his face as he took it and said, "My Grandmother would have loved this picture". I remember him insisting that I share his almonds, so that I would stay healthy. I remember a 7 hour overseas flight that only took moments to go by as we talked, shared ideas, laughed and played word games and riddles. We were having such a good time we couldn't believe they were announcing our arrival. But, you could never be bored with Yuri. It seemed like he knew how to get the most out of every second of every minute.

Those SoftQuad employees who travelled with Yuri were always amazed at his ability to bring people together and his generosity of spirit. His lively enthusiastic approach to life was contagious. We'd all look forward to spending some time with him during dinner after conference sessions or a trade show ended. As often as not, along would come Yuri with a virtual stranger (or strangers) who he would have invited to join us, so they wouldn't have to eat alone. By the end of the meal, of course, we wouldn't be strangers any longer. I think you couldn't be a stranger for long with Yuri - just a friend he hadn't yet met.

To me, being with Yuri was always an adventure. Even the mundane things like going to the airport or sitting through meetings or attending trade shows, had a potential for fun. I loved him. I feel fortunate to have known him. I'm proud to have been considered his friend, and, I am grateful to have had the chance to walk with him awhile.

I can't believe he's no longer physically here with us. You know though, I'm sure, that he will always be with us, a part of us. He was one of the most spiritual people I knew. I was talking about him recently to someone who had never met him. She said I was describing an advanced soul. I liked the sound of that. It seems so right. I've got to believe he's off on another new adventure somewhere, somehow. And so, I wish him Godspeed.

We're all going to miss him.

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Barry Schaeffer

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I have known Yuri since the watershed days of SGML in the early 80's. -While not having had the opportunity to know his family or be a part of -his immediate circle of friends and loved ones who, I know, will feel the -greatest loss, I did spend a fair amount of time laboring with him in the -trenches of information productivity and SGML. We usually found ourselves -on the same side of the issue and during those times, he was a tireless -worker and a valuable ally. During the few times when we differed, he was -a worthy antagonist who never forgot or denigrated the value of opinions -or people who held them, whatever he thought of them professionally.

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If one statement could capture the unique value that Yuri brought to the -SGML community, I think it might be this (when he heard me say this to a -group last year, he seemed to approve);

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"Yuri Rubinsky was SGML when SGML wasn't cool." - -Good bye and may God bless and comfort your family and loved ones.

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I have known Yuri since the watershed days of SGML in the early 80's. While not having had the opportunity to know his family or be a part of his immediate circle of friends and loved ones who, I know, will feel the greatest loss, I did spend a fair amount of time laboring with him in the trenches of information productivity and SGML. We usually found ourselves on the same side of the issue and during those times, he was a tireless worker and a valuable ally. During the few times when we differed, he was a worthy antagonist who never forgot or denigrated the value of opinions or people who held them, whatever he thought of them professionally.

If one statement could capture the unique value that Yuri brought to the SGML community, I think it might be this (when he heard me say this to a group last year, he seemed to approve);

"Yuri Rubinsky was SGML when SGML wasn't cool." Good bye and may God bless and comfort your family and loved ones.

Barry Schaeffer

Brian Redway

4 Feb 1996

I would like to add my condolences on the passing of a remarkable Canadian thinker and communicator. I was first introduced to Yuri (and Softquad) in 1988 at a conference in Washington. Subsequently our paths crossed almost every time I attended a conference related to information delivery. The last was Hytime 95 in Vancouver.

I cannot claim to have known him well, but I admired Yuri as a very human (and humorous) person of exceptional intellect and energy. He affected my life and helped advance the acceptance of the standard generalized mark-up language to the benefit of CAE Aviation. As teacher, leader and visionary, he had, and will continue to have, a profound affect on the management and delivery of information.

My sympathy goes to his family, company, and community.

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Canadian Strategic Software Consortium

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The Canadian Strategic Software Consortium (CSSC) would like to recognize the -contributions of one of its founding members, Mr. Yuri Rubinsky who died -suddenly on January 21, 1996.

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Yuri was born in Lebanon in 1952. Three years later, his family moved to -Canada, where he grew up in the Ontario towns of St. Catherines and Sarnia. -After graduating from Brock University, he studied architecture at the -University of Toronto.

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Yuri went on to become co-founder and President of SoftQuad Inc., where he -was a driving force behind the success of the company. Besides his day to day -work with SoftQuad, he was a pre-eminent figure in the development and -acceptance of Structured General Markup Language (SGML) as a standard and was -[18 more lines...]

Canadian Strategic Software Consortium

The Canadian Strategic Software Consortium (CSSC) would like to recognize the contributions of one of its founding members, Mr. Yuri Rubinsky who died suddenly on January 21, 1996.

Yuri was born in Lebanon in 1952. Three years later, his family moved to Canada, where he grew up in the Ontario towns of St. Catherines and Sarnia. After graduating from Brock University, he studied architecture at the University of Toronto.

Yuri went on to become co-founder and President of SoftQuad Inc., where he was a driving force behind the success of the company. Besides his day to day work with SoftQuad, he was a pre-eminent figure in the development and acceptance of Structured General Markup Language (SGML) as a standard and was a member of the Internet Engineering Task Force working group which is developing and maintaining Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML). Mr. Rubinsky was also a member of the IW3C2, the organizing committee for the World Wide Web Conferences. He also chaired the international working group creating product documentation within STEP, a family of electronic product data standards tying together computer-aided design, manufacturing and life cycle support for manufacturing industries. Yuri also served on the NATO Industry Advisory Group's CALS (Computer-Aided Acquisition and Logistics Support) Study technical standards team in the area of standards for publishing.

The CSSC, like the rest of the software industry, has benefited from its contact with Yuri. The members of the consortium will miss his vision and guidance over the remainder of the project, but are thankful for his contributions to date.

Charles F. Goldfarb

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Recollections of Yuri Rubinsky

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Spoken at Deer Park United Church, Toronto - January 27, 1996

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By Charles F. Goldfarb

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Yuri Rubinsky was a brilliant visionary, a creative intellectual, -a man of near-saintly compassion and sensitivity -- but he wasn't -perfect...

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I first heard of Yuri around 1987 because a new company called -SoftQuad was circulating a history of SGML -- and it was thoroughly -inaccurate. At a technical documentation conference that year Yuri was -introduced to me as the author of that history. I liked him -immediately; as far as I know, so did everyone who ever met him.

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Recollections of Yuri Rubinsky

Spoken at Deer Park United Church, Toronto January 27, 1996

By Charles F. Goldfarb

Yuri Rubinsky was a brilliant visionary, a creative intellectual, a man of near-saintly compassion and sensitivity -- but he wasn't perfect...

I first heard of Yuri around 1987 because a new company called SoftQuad was circulating a history of SGML -- and it was thoroughly inaccurate. At a technical documentation conference that year Yuri was introduced to me as the author of that history. I liked him immediately; as far as I know, so did everyone who ever met him.

I wasn't even angry about the bogus history -- which gave the U.S. Defense Dept. the credit for my invention. I knew that Yuri and his company were very special because they were like the chess-playing dog. It didn't matter that the dog lost every game -- it was amazing that it even tried to play! Yuri may have gotten the history wrong, but the fact that he made the effort to give credit -- outside his own company -- for the technology that SoftQuad was exploiting, marked him as a rare and caring individual.

That respect and appreciation for the people who created the technology of his industry continued for as long as I knew him. On the day before he died he telephoned to tell me of the look of surprise and pleasure on the face of Doug Engelbart -- inventor of the mouse and pioneer of many of the techniques used in today's World Wide Web -- on receiving a tribute organized by Yuri and a cash award provided by SoftQuad.

Yuri also had an unflagging belief that anything that ought to be done _could_ be done. He also had the drive and commitment to back up that belief. I benefited personally from that commitment not long after I met Yuri. I had had to stop working on The SGML Handbook because of neck surgery and it was unclear when I would be able to type again. Yuri thought it important that I finish the book -- not just because he believed it to be of seminal importance to electronic publishing in general, but also because he needed it to train the staff at SoftQuad!

Yuri's solution to my keyboard incapacity was to organize a production team -- largely conscripted from SoftQuad -- the mainstay of which was an expert transcriber for my taped dictation. Yuri himself acted as editor of the tapes, as well as indexer, cross-referencer, designer, and production manager. As a result, the Handbook got into print in 1990 and has been there ever since.

Yuri Rubinsky was an incredibly social being. He loved people and believed in their abilities, and they responded the same way to him. So it was only natural, given his dedication to SGML, that he should wind up as chairman of the annual series of SGML conferences sponsored by the Graphic Communications Association. These conferences had not been of great consequence before Yuri took over. I never even attended one myself until he twisted my arm into giving a keynote speech one year.

Now, thanks largely to Yuri, these are the most respected of SGML events and attendance at them has increased 30-fold. Every year attendees comment on the wonderful sense of SGML community that the conference engenders, inspired by Yuri's own love of people.

And Yuri took that skill at community building beyond the SGML conferences, helping to organize and lead SGML Open, a consortium of some of the most fiercely competitive vendors who ever shared a common technical ideal. You can see some of them in the congregation today -- warily eyeing one another. Yuri helped them to "eye" the benefits of cooperation as well, and in just a few years SGML Open became a major force in creating public awareness and adoption of SGML.

Yuri also had a passionate dedication to applying computer technology for the benefit of the visually impaired. One of the principles of SGML is that the computer can store the innate _structure_ of a document -- the chapters, paragraphs, headings, and so forth -- so that it can be displayed in a variety of formats, on paper or online. Yuri seized on this idea and felt that Braille, spoken word, and other delivery forms for the visually disabled should always be among the available formats. His tireless technical and political efforts, in committees on several continents, eventually succeeded in adding such accessibility to major document standards.

Yuri liked to refer to SGML as the "quiet revolution", because of the profound change it makes in the way information is managed. Like all good revolutionaries, he and I used to conspire a lot -- planning which committees to join, what papers to write, which speeches to give. And since we lived thousands of miles apart, most of that conspiring -- seven or eight hours worth a week -- was conducted by telephone.

Of course, because Yuri was never in one place for very long, he was always the one to call me. And to keep his expenses down, I always used IBM's phone to call him right back. IBM's auditors must still be wondering why so many long distance calls were made to airport phone booths!

Yuri Rubinsky was a brilliant visionary, a creative intellectual, a man of near-saintly compassion and sensitivity, the leader of the SGML community -- and a dear friend whom I'll miss more than I can say. But since we mostly communicated as disembodied presences -- at opposite ends of a phone or e-mail connection -- I guess there's no reason we have to stop communicating now. If my spirit runs low, I can always draw on his.

Yuri's existence on earth was only half a life long -- but it was four lives wide and eight lives deep -- all of them filled with a boundless energy that infused everyone whose life he touched. It was uncharacteristic of Yuri to run out so abruptly from the many projects in which he was involved. He was always so considerate of others, and would never leave us alone, unaided, to finish the books, plan the conferences, build the products.

And indeed he hasn't left us alone. There's some of that limitless Yuri energy and spirit in everyone who worked with him. So,

... when SGML '96 is better than ever this year, ... when SoftQuad releases another cutting-edge product,

... when SGML Open creates another education program, ... when a revised SGML standard is published,

... whenever SGML vendors and users work together as a community, some of the energy for the project will be Yuri's. Like our love and memories of him, it will never run out.

Chet Ensign

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Why I miss Yuri

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I would not be here if it were not for Yuri Rubinsky.

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In the fall of 1990, my company sent me down to a conference in -Philadelphia. Something called SGML was the focus and my manager -thought it might help us with some of our practical problems. Spending -time in the heart of a lovely city like Philadelphia was no terrible -chore and the hotel was within walking distance of the art museum -should things get too dull.

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I went to an event the day before the main conference, a short -introduction to SGML. It was held in a small, rather crowded, room on -the second floor and it was there that a witty, mischevious, -disarmingly charming and exceedingly energetic man explained the -Standard so clearly that it became more than just another computer -language . Yuri made SGML common sense. "Of course," you had to say by -the time he wrapped it up; "this makes perfect sense. Why doesn't the -world work this way already?" I never did go to the art museum.

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Why I miss Yuri

I would not be here if it were not for Yuri Rubinsky.

In the fall of 1990, my company sent me down to a conference in Philadelphia. Something called SGML was the focus and my manager thought it might help us with some of our practical problems. Spending time in the heart of a lovely city like Philadelphia was no terrible chore and the hotel was within walking distance of the art museum should things get too dull.

I went to an event the day before the main conference, a short introduction to SGML. It was held in a small, rather crowded, room on the second floor and it was there that a witty, mischevious, disarmingly charming and exceedingly energetic man explained the Standard so clearly that it became more than just another computer language . Yuri made SGML common sense. "Of course," you had to say by the time he wrapped it up; "this makes perfect sense. Why doesn't the world work this way already?" I never did go to the art museum.

Yuri promoted the Standard tirelessly and he ran a company that gave it form in products. A company that in many ways served as SGML's commercial launch pad. But Yuri did something more subtle, something that not just anybody can do and, as I learned so sadly and at yet so gladly last weekend, did in many other places besides here: Yuri built a community.

Think of it. Are people passionate about RTF? Do people feel like PDF is a home away from home? Do people corner their non-computer friends at parties and evangelize them about the virtues of PostScript? No. Doesn't happen. But it does with SGML. I can't speak for anyone else, but I can tell you that I *do* feel like SGML is my home away from home. When someone professes an interest in SGML, I immediately feel closer to them, at home, feel like we share a special bond. Realize that somebody just understood the word DOCTYPE and suddenly you are not with a stranger, you are with a fellow countryman. Even those kids down at the Cyber Cafe, getting wild and unruly on HTML, I feel like they are part of the family. Too young and crazy to know it, of course, but that's youth for you and it's part of my job as a grownup to have some patience and teach them the paths of virtue.

This community is Yuri's bequest. And it's our inheritance. Someone read me a quote from Teilhard de Chardin. "We are not humans having a spiritual experience. We are spirits, having a human experience." That is how I want to think of Yuri. As a spirit who had an exceptional human experience and the whole time never quite forgot that he was a spirit.

It makes me sad to think of all the generations coming who will not have the priviledge, the special priviledge, of being introduced to this community or that by Yuri -- who will not share plane rides, or long walks up and down hills, or transforming moments in crowded meeting rooms on sunny afternoons or any of the other magical moments I have heard described over the past weeks -- with this incredible man. But they can have the priviledge of sharing some of his spirit through this community. Even if his human presence is no longer among us, his spirit has woven through us a lovely fabric that lives on. We can wear it proudly and share it with those who are to come.

With condolences to his family and all of his friends,

/chet

Chris Espinosa

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I knew Yuri back in 1987 when he was trying to publish Fred, an -SGML markup editor, and I was managing Apple's Unix efforts. I -visited him in Toronto at Usenix and he took me around the town. -I was expecting the usual stream of techno-social chat and -conference activities, but he took me--a complete stranger!--to -Coach House Press, showed me the back alleys of Toronto, and -behaved like the cultured, lively, and passionate man others -remember here.

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I saw little of him after then but I will always remember the -man who first showed me how much heart and how much life a -person could have.

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I extend my condolences to his family and close friends, whose -loss must be immensely greater than ours.

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Chris Espinosa,
-Apple Computer, Inc.

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I knew Yuri back in 1987 when he was trying to publish Fred, an SGML markup editor, and I was managing Apple's Unix efforts. I visited him in Toronto at Usenix and he took me around the town. I was expecting the usual stream of techno-social chat and conference activities, but he took me--a complete stranger!--to Coach House Press, showed me the back alleys of Toronto, and behaved like the cultured, lively, and passionate man others remember here.

I saw little of him after then but I will always remember the man who first showed me how much heart and how much life a person could have.

I extend my condolences to his family and close friends, whose loss must be immensely greater than ours.

Chris Espinosa,
Apple Computer, Inc.

Dale Dougherty

--removed: - ??changed: - -The community involved in SGML and the electronic world of publishing -has been saddened by the news that Yuri Rubinsky died January 21 -at the age of 43.

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President and co-founder of Toronto-based SoftQuad, which produces a -Web authoring tool called HoTMetaL, Yuri Rubinsky served with me on -the International World-Wide Web Conference Committee (IW3C2). At -the Web conference in Boston last December, Yuri organized an awards -ceremony to honor Doug Engelbart, the inventor of the "point-and-click" -mouse interface, who in the late 60s demonstrated a system of -network-based hypermedia documents. As a gift to Engelbart and the -Web conference attendees, Yuri created a small, beautiful book of -selected papers by Doug Engelbart, titled Boosting Our Collective IQ. -On its title page verso, it read: "Typeset in Trump Mediaeval using -SoftQuad Publishing Software from documents conforming to the IETF -specification for HTML 2.0, an application of the Standard Generalized -Markup Language (SGML)."

- -[87 more lines...] The community involved in SGML and the electronic world of publishing has been saddened by the news that Yuri Rubinsky died January 21 at the age of 43.

President and co-founder of Toronto-based SoftQuad, which produces a Web authoring tool called HoTMetaL, Yuri Rubinsky served with me on the International World-Wide Web Conference Committee (IW3C2). At the Web conference in Boston last December, Yuri organized an awards ceremony to honor Doug Engelbart, the inventor of the "point-and-click" mouse interface, who in the late 60s demonstrated a system of network-based hypermedia documents. As a gift to Engelbart and the Web conference attendees, Yuri created a small, beautiful book of selected papers by Doug Engelbart, titled Boosting Our Collective IQ. On its title page verso, it read: "Typeset in Trump Mediaeval using SoftQuad Publishing Software from documents conforming to the IETF specification for HTML 2.0, an application of the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)."

Yuri brought a passion to electronic publishing that originated in his love of books and book-making. To publish in print or online was to participate in a time-honored tradition at the center of our culture.

He edited Charles Goldfarb's The SGML Handbook, published by Oxford University, a book that employed an experimental hypertext-in-print format. He was also the co-author of the historical novel, Christopher Columbus Answers All Charges, and was proud that it appeared in Braille at the same time it was published in print. Yuri was the Technical Chair of the International Committee for Accessible Document Design (ICADD) which developed strategies and techniques for the use of SGML to generate Braille, large print and voice-synthesized texts. He realized that electronic publishing could be used to benefit the reading-impaired.

Yuri understood that publishing is much more complex behind the scenes than most people realize. Electronic publishing is not just a matter of producing text using a computer - what is often called desktop publishing. It is an ecology of interrelated systems - the system for distributing information as well as the system for producing it.

The following excerpt is from a talk Yuri Rubinsky delivered at the Second Symposium on Scholarly Publishing on Electronic Networks in December, 1992.

I saw a revealing photograph of Disneyland in a United Airlines magazine, a shot of Mickey Mouse - who is enormous in real life - talking to a street-cleaning person in a very tall, very wide tunnel underneath Disney World. A complex network of tunnels is what lets the Peaceful Kingdom function as well as it does and why you never see Mickey or Minnie or Goofy or Donald ducking into a washroom or eating lunch. The analogy is pretty rich. The architecture of the tunnels is the same no matter what public facility they support. The services they provide are constant, and silent. They keep complications - like transport vehicles and emergency personnel - out of the visitors' way, while providing an underpinning to the whole operation.

On one level, publishing is like those tunnels, making available the attractions above ground with subterranean structures. But for me the most interesting aspects of the Disneyland tunnels are their dimensions and their materials and their layout. Why? Because they are completely consistent wherever they go. They're the same beneath a pirate ship and beneath a hot dog stand, providing the consistent system services below which support and enable the mad variety of extravaganza above.

That, incidentally, is what SGML is all about.

Electronic Texts The Day After Tomorrow.

Yuri Rubinsky's devotion to the standardization of electronic publishing, which involved lots of travel and many tedious committee meetings, can best be described as a willingness to work in the tunnels. He realized, however, that developing standards was not merely custodial work. He actually seemed to enjoy the process because he enjoyed people. He had an all-too-rare ability for locating the business and technology of publishing in a cultural context, a context that defines common ground. After all, standards are a kind of compact, an agreement made for the good of everyone.

All of us who are caught up in "the mad variety of extravaganza" that is the World-Wide Web should be grateful that Yuri Rubinsky did his best work in support of open standards that make it all possible. Yet his passing also makes us step back from the madness and excitement to reflect upon our own claim on life.

Our condolences go to the family, friends and colleagues of Yuri Rubinsky.

Dale Dougherty (dale@ora.com)
President, Songline Studios
Songline Studios is an Affiliate of O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.

Donna Hanlon

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Yuri is one of the most charismatic, good-hearted, and finest people I'll -ever know. Long before I met him, I admired him for his tireless work in -SGML. At that time, SGML was "just another standard" -- far from the -popular acceptance it enjoys today.

- -

When I met him at the first HyTime Conference in 1994, he seemed so real, -genuine, and (as ever) helpful. I was afraid to take even the 30 seconds -of his time it took to give him my card, so he could make sure SoftQuad -sent the World Tour CD to me. (Once again, he was sharing information -- -comp.text.sgml archives -- not advertising.) But he was so friendly, so -approachable. I was surprised.

- -

The second time I spoke with Yuri was at the 1995 HyTime Conference. Steve -Newcomb had to leave early, so Yuri took over as host. Yuri had to -introduce me as a speaker, so he spoke with me before it was my turn to go -on. I was terrified. Here were all the people I admire, in one, small -room, listening to me -- with Yuri introducing me to boot! But, he was his -down-to-earth, charming self, and his friendly manner helped calm and -[8 more lines...]

Yuri is one of the most charismatic, good-hearted, and finest people I'll ever know. Long before I met him, I admired him for his tireless work in SGML. At that time, SGML was "just another standard" -- far from the popular acceptance it enjoys today.

When I met him at the first HyTime Conference in 1994, he seemed so real, genuine, and (as ever) helpful. I was afraid to take even the 30 seconds of his time it took to give him my card, so he could make sure SoftQuad sent the World Tour CD to me. (Once again, he was sharing information -- comp.text.sgml archives -- not advertising.) But he was so friendly, so approachable. I was surprised.

The second time I spoke with Yuri was at the 1995 HyTime Conference. Steve Newcomb had to leave early, so Yuri took over as host. Yuri had to introduce me as a speaker, so he spoke with me before it was my turn to go on. I was terrified. Here were all the people I admire, in one, small room, listening to me -- with Yuri introducing me to boot! But, he was his down-to-earth, charming self, and his friendly manner helped calm and reassure me.

At the same conference, Yuri called the best minds in SGML and HyTime together to participate in the "URL bake-off" -- just another example of how Yuri always built bridges between people, countries, languages, and standards.

His spirit lives on in the communication which he has made possible.

??changed: - -

- -

Douglas Forer

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23 Jan 1996

??changed: - -

I am saddened beyond words by the news of Yuri's death, yet couldn't bring -myself to remain silent in expressing my grief. I would appreciate hearing -from anyone about ways that we will be able to honor and memorialize this -great man's life and contributions. Please keep us posted.

- -

W. Eliot Kimber

I am saddened beyond words by the news of Yuri's death, yet couldn't bring myself to remain silent in expressing my grief. I would appreciate hearing from anyone about ways that we will be able to honor and memorialize this great man's life and contributions. Please keep us posted.

W. Eliot Kimber

??changed: - -

Yuri Rubinski passed way very suddenly on Jan 21. His loss comes as a -tremendous shock to me and, I'm sure, to everyone who knew him. SGML had -no greater friend than Yuri, whose tireless efforts on behalf of the -Standard and his own company, SoftQuad, had profound and long-lasting -effects.

- -

Anyone who has read The SGML Handbook knows of Yuri. Anyone who has -attended any of the annual SGML conferences knows who Yuri is. Yuri gave -as much as any one human being could and in so doing helped make the -SGML world a more interesting and rewarding place to live and work.

- -

As a person, Yuri possessed an almost mystical ability to charm and -inspire even the most uninterested. I know there are people doing -excellent SGML work today because of Yuri. Yuri was also a statesman, -helping to bridge ideological gulfs, most recently between the SGML and -Web communities.

- -

For myself, the prospect of getting to see Yuri again was a compelling -[52 more lines...]

Yuri Rubinski passed way very suddenly on Jan 21. His loss comes as a tremendous shock to me and, I'm sure, to everyone who knew him. SGML had no greater friend than Yuri, whose tireless efforts on behalf of the Standard and his own company, SoftQuad, had profound and long-lasting effects.

Anyone who has read The SGML Handbook knows of Yuri. Anyone who has attended any of the annual SGML conferences knows who Yuri is. Yuri gave as much as any one human being could and in so doing helped make the SGML world a more interesting and rewarding place to live and work.

As a person, Yuri possessed an almost mystical ability to charm and inspire even the most uninterested. I know there are people doing excellent SGML work today because of Yuri. Yuri was also a statesman, helping to bridge ideological gulfs, most recently between the SGML and Web communities.

For myself, the prospect of getting to see Yuri again was a compelling reason for attending the SGML conferences. Like the favorite uncle who always has an unexpected gift and a subversive wink when your mother's not looking, Yuri always had a surprise of some sort and a scheme or two in the works. Yuri was always receptive to wild ideas and, more often than I would have ever hoped, acted on them.

Yuri was always accessible, always willing to listen. One evening at SGML '93, Steve Heibert, Dave Hollander, Terry Allen, and myself were at dinner, bemoaning the lack of free and affordable SGML software, specifically editors. While we were grousing, Yuri, who happened to be eating in the same restaurant, walked by on his way out. We presumptuously grabbed him, sat him down, and proceeded to make our case. Yuri took our ideas (refined so as to be even remotely practical) to his board of directors the next day. From that conversation came HoTMetaL and Panorama, the first free SGML editor and browser provided by a commercial concern. Yuri took a great risk and, fortunately for SoftQuad, did so successfully. I found it wonderful that he entertained the idea at all. That he made it real was miraculous.

Yuri was a wonderfully interesting person. He was an architect by training; a scholar who wrote and published books on a variety of topics. He was a caring man who thought deeply about the implications and potentials of what he and the SGML community were doing. He could have retired to his country home to enjoy the well and hard-earned fruits of his labors, but he didn't. He continued to work for all of us even in the face of great physical pain. [Yuri had been plagued by gall stones for a number of years. At the HyTime conference last summer, Yuri colleagues arrived, was suddenly struck by severe pain, and literally turned around and took a taxi to the hospital, yet he was back the next day, working his magic at the conference.]

SGML and the world have lost a great friend and champion. Yuri's passing leaves a hole that I doubt can ever be filled. I hope that we can honor his memory by trying to bring to our work just a little bit of the joy and vision and dedication that Yuri brought to everything he did.

I want to offer my deepest condolences to Yuri's family, his colleagues at SoftQuad, and those of us fortunate enough to have known him. He will be missed.

-- <Address HyTime=bibloc>
W. Eliot Kimber (kimber@passage.com) Systems Analyst and HyTime Consultant
Passage Systems, Inc., 2608 Pinewood Terr., Austin TX 78757 (512)339-1400
10596 N. Tantau Ave, Cupertino CA, 95014, (408) 366-0300
</Address>

Eric Severson

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I have known Yuri Rubinsky for nearly ten years, about the same -length of time I have known SGML, about a quarter of my time on -earth. I have known him in many ways: as the chief impressario -and father figure for SGML, as a close business associate, as an -innovative technologist and standards guru, as a conference leader -and engaging speaker, as a fellow small company founder. I have -known him not just in the business world, but also as a favorite -author, delighting me with the unique and wonderful "Christopher -Columbus Answers All Charges."

- -

Yet as wonderful as these memories are, they tend to obscure what -Yuri represented most of all: one of the most fundamentally decent -people I have ever met. For Yuri was not just the person who -personified SGML, he was the person who insisted that SGML be used -to help the blind. He was not just the person who brought SGML to -the Internet, he was the person who ensured the World Wide Web would -be ICADD accessible. And he was not just a colleague or associate; -he was a friend... someone for whom personal issues could be mixed -[15 more lines...]

I have known Yuri Rubinsky for nearly ten years, about the same length of time I have known SGML, about a quarter of my time on earth. I have known him in many ways: as the chief impressario and father figure for SGML, as a close business associate, as an innovative technologist and standards guru, as a conference leader and engaging speaker, as a fellow small company founder. I have known him not just in the business world, but also as a favorite author, delighting me with the unique and wonderful "Christopher Columbus Answers All Charges."

Yet as wonderful as these memories are, they tend to obscure what Yuri represented most of all: one of the most fundamentally decent people I have ever met. For Yuri was not just the person who personified SGML, he was the person who insisted that SGML be used to help the blind. He was not just the person who brought SGML to the Internet, he was the person who ensured the World Wide Web would be ICADD accessible. And he was not just a colleague or associate; he was a friend... someone for whom personal issues could be mixed in with business, who would always do the right thing when it came to it, who would treat people with dignity and consciously reinforce their humanity.

Yuri, in whatever greater plan governs our existence, it is now your role to move on, and ours to tarry here a while longer. But as we reach into our hearts and souls to find a proper goodbye, there are no words powerful enough to describe how much we shall miss you.

Eric Severson
President, SGML Open

Erik Naggum

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Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished:
- If you're alive, it isn't.

- -

-- Richard Bach: _Illusions_ (1972)

- - -

Unfortunately, just because you die doesn't mean your mission on earth -was finished, and nobody is a better example of that than Yuri.

- -

As I have read the many moving eulogies to and memories of Yuri, I have -come to the sad conclusion that Yuri was a man I did not know, but -should have. I simply did not know that Yuri was the kind of -businessman that I have wanted to see, one whose profit motive and -self-interest was inclusive of other people to the point that neither of -those terms apply, one whose range of thinking was decades and beyond, -one who moved to improve the world, one who sought to do what he -believed in, and only then hoped to make good, honest money on it. Yuri -was obviously the businessman who didn't just want to sell you something -he had made, he was the man who wanted to exchange gifts of great value. -[26 more lines...]

Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished:
If you're alive, it isn't.

-- Richard Bach: _Illusions_ (1972)

Unfortunately, just because you die doesn't mean your mission on earth was finished, and nobody is a better example of that than Yuri.

As I have read the many moving eulogies to and memories of Yuri, I have come to the sad conclusion that Yuri was a man I did not know, but should have. I simply did not know that Yuri was the kind of businessman that I have wanted to see, one whose profit motive and self-interest was inclusive of other people to the point that neither of those terms apply, one whose range of thinking was decades and beyond, one who moved to improve the world, one who sought to do what he believed in, and only then hoped to make good, honest money on it. Yuri was obviously the businessman who didn't just want to sell you something he had made, he was the man who wanted to exchange gifts of great value. Yuri was pure, that much I can say without having known him well.

Yuri was a source of light and energy for me, as well. I'm amazed by the fact that through our very brief meetings at conferences he still managed to leave something of great value with me -- I'm not a "people person", so there aren't many people I truly remember. Let me relate a story that gave me great joy: When I was a little kid, my city's public library was my favorite place; I went there to borrow books on mathematics, and by a coincidence called Dewey Decimal Classification, I found books on computers. Then I got interested in DDC itself, and libraries have been dear to me ever since, as temples to order and information and wisdom. Curious it was, then, that Yuri at SGML Europe '93 should use a library as the centerpiece of his talk -- he had walked into a library one day and found a computer terminal that could do catalog searches. There were no signs, no exciting news, nothing of the fireworks you find at Disneyworld whenever they get a new plaything. This was a revolution that passed unnoticed, except by Yuri. Yuri was the kind of man who made his own fireworks. His talk went straight home with me -- I know libraries: staid, quiet places, where any excitement is in private -- but Yuri ignored all that, and I made a mental image of Yuri in that library that day that I will cherish forever, true or not.

>From what little I knew of Yuri, and what you all have said, I'd like to think of him as a man who retained the excitement of a young animal at play with ever new things, only with the intelligence to spot novelty and thus excitement in the unlikeliest little places.

??changed: - -

It was six men of Indostan
- To learning much inclined
- Who went to see the elephant
- (Though all of them were blind),
- That each by observation
- Might satisfy his mind.

- -

It's about Yuri the elephant and all of us. We each hold on to a little -piece of Yuri, how he affected us personally, how he shared his -excitement and his energy, but will we ever get the whole picture? Will -we grok and cherish Yuri? Can we draw any lessons from his exuberance, -his immensely energetic personality and his contributions to our lives? -I hope we can, because Yuri's mission was not finished. Yuri's mission -was to let us see how we could each improve our condition and the world --- and he invited us to see, he didn't show us. Yuri's mission was to -let us realize that the Information that keeps us moving forward can -only be kept alive by the diligent effort of his like to let everybody -get access to it, so as not to waste time reinventing wheels, so as not -[20 more lines...]

It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined
Who went to see the elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

It's about Yuri the elephant and all of us. We each hold on to a little piece of Yuri, how he affected us personally, how he shared his excitement and his energy, but will we ever get the whole picture? Will we grok and cherish Yuri? Can we draw any lessons from his exuberance, his immensely energetic personality and his contributions to our lives? I hope we can, because Yuri's mission was not finished. Yuri's mission was to let us see how we could each improve our condition and the world -- and he invited us to see, he didn't show us. Yuri's mission was to let us realize that the Information that keeps us moving forward can only be kept alive by the diligent effort of his like to let everybody get access to it, so as not to waste time reinventing wheels, so as not to ponder solved problems, so as not to retrace dead ends. Through access to Information, we can all learn from the experience of people we will never know. Yuri was the man who made his mission into practical values. Now it is for us to learn from the experience of a man some of us knew well, but all too few knew as well as they should have.

Yuri's excitement in the library over the computer terminal can also serve as an image of him, in the role of the terminal. Yuri was himself the quiet revolution that had no flashing neon signs to announce it and who made no effort to announce it, either: people just had to come to realize what valuable gifts he offered them, all by themselves. Thanks to all of you who came back from seeing him and let me see the revolution whose importance I had missed. But Yuri, why did you leave so soon?

#<Erik 3032168186>

Ford Clancy

??changed: - -

I found out about Yuri's death on the weekend. I still can't believe -it.

- -

Tim's message summarizes the Yuri I knew:. Tim's summary of Yuri's -accomplishments, other than for some of the adjectives, is perfect. He -was, as Tim describes him, "a person can found a software company, -tough it out through the bad days, lead it through the vale of -Internet Fairy Dust, turn a silly idea into a PC Mag Editors' Choice, -simultaneously be a pusher, mover, and shaker in the WWW and SGML -worlds, get a novel published, wrestle with ISO, and never, so far as -I know, cut a throat, stab a back, or crush an ego. That it is -possible to be successful and honourable at the same time is something -we should take seriously to heart."

- -

I worked with Yuri as an investor, in the earlier days (1986-1988) when -he was instrumental in the survival of SoftQuad. A fairer, more -honourable person I have never met.

- -[7 more lines...]

I found out about Yuri's death on the weekend. I still can't believe it.

Tim's message summarizes the Yuri I knew:. Tim's summary of Yuri's accomplishments, other than for some of the adjectives, is perfect. He was, as Tim describes him, "a person can found a software company, tough it out through the bad days, lead it through the vale of Internet Fairy Dust, turn a silly idea into a PC Mag Editors' Choice, simultaneously be a pusher, mover, and shaker in the WWW and SGML worlds, get a novel published, wrestle with ISO, and never, so far as I know, cut a throat, stab a back, or crush an ego. That it is possible to be successful and honourable at the same time is something we should take seriously to heart."

I worked with Yuri as an investor, in the earlier days (1986-1988) when he was instrumental in the survival of SoftQuad. A fairer, more honourable person I have never met.

This world is a poorer place without him. I will miss him. Ford Clancy

François Chahuneau

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Yuri had got into this habit of identifying himself with this French -idiom every time he was calling me on the phone. It was some sort of -private joke. He would never tell his name. He would simply say "Salut -mon vieux!" -- with this subtly mixed English/Canadian French accent -which characterizes Ontarians --, and then pause for a while, -maliciously observing how long it would take me to figure out who was -calling. And of course, I would recognize him almost immediately.

- -

Yuri was able to speak French quite fluently, and had a special -attachement for France, where he had some family, and travelled quite -often. I don't know whether this was related, but I can attest that he -played a major role in development of SGML in France, both directly and -indirectly.

- -

I remember exactly when I met Yuri for the first time: that was on June -10, 1988, and I remember this day for very personal reasons. As Michel -Biezunski recently recalled, this was the first significant gathering of -the French professional publishing community around an SGML -[45 more lines...]

Yuri had got into this habit of identifying himself with this French idiom every time he was calling me on the phone. It was some sort of private joke. He would never tell his name. He would simply say "Salut mon vieux!" -- with this subtly mixed English/Canadian French accent which characterizes Ontarians --, and then pause for a while, maliciously observing how long it would take me to figure out who was calling. And of course, I would recognize him almost immediately.

Yuri was able to speak French quite fluently, and had a special attachement for France, where he had some family, and travelled quite often. I don't know whether this was related, but I can attest that he played a major role in development of SGML in France, both directly and indirectly.

I remember exactly when I met Yuri for the first time: that was on June 10, 1988, and I remember this day for very personal reasons. As Michel Biezunski recently recalled, this was the first significant gathering of the French professional publishing community around an SGML presentation. This seminar was organized by Dominique Vignaud -- who happens to be my wife --, under the auspices of the Syndicat National de l'Edition for which she was conducting an "SGML opportunity study". Yuri had been invited to technically chair the meeting and give an Author/Editor presentation.

It was not easy, at this time, to grasp a high-level view of what SGML was, or could be. Everything was dominated by the "syntactic view", markup minimization issues and character entity set definitions. To many people, the connection with the general concept of structured documents was still unclear. Personnaly, I was still trying to understand what SGML was, and whether it was interesting at all.

Yuri had a vision of SGML. A very clear one. Buts the most amazing think was how efficiently he was able to communicate this vision to others. He had come the day before to prepare the meeting with Dominique, and after they had been working together all day --Yuri explaining so many things and showing so many tricks on a Macintosh--, I rememember she was very excited and kept saying "I think I understood SGML!".

The seminar itself was quite illuminating. I distinctly remember Yuri starting his talk with one of his metaphoric tricks, showing a toothpaste tube out of his pocket and saying "SGML is like toothpaste..." but I do not remember the end of the joke, because I got so much captivated by the ideas behind the metaphors and the vision which was slowly emerging out of Yuri's talk.

At the end, anyway, I had decided that SGML *was* interesting, enough, maybe, to make it my main focus for a while. This while lasted eight years so far...

Interestingly, several other attendees of this primal meeting -- such as Michel-- who had met for the first time at this occasion, seem to have been influenced in a similar way. Enough to become the group of people behind the development of SGML in France.

What I do not remember, though, is how many times I met Yuri since. It looks like he was always there, at any conference, at any exhibition, at any occasion. Was it in France? Or somewhere else in Europe, or North America? I do not remember, because all these events were fusioned into some sort of continuity. We would be starting a discussion at some meeting, and continue it at the next one, a few weeks or months later, at another location.

But, always, he was greeting me with his cheerful "Salut mon vieux"!

--removed: - ??changed: - -

- -

George Kerscher

??changed: - -

Yuri Rubinski died Sunday night Jan 21. It appears to have been an -aneurism. Yuri was the President of SoftQuad and a great friend to -ICADD. His tireless work in behalf of ICADD really brought our -mission to the whole SGML community. We have lost a good friend.

- -

Words cannot express my sorrow. Please join with me in a moment of -silence in memory of Yuri.

- -

George - -

- -

George Raudabaugh

Yuri Rubinski died Sunday night Jan 21. It appears to have been an aneurism. Yuri was the President of SoftQuad and a great friend to ICADD. His tireless work in behalf of ICADD really brought our mission to the whole SGML community. We have lost a good friend.

Words cannot express my sorrow. Please join with me in a moment of silence in memory of Yuri.

George

George Raudabaugh

--removed: - ??changed: - -

>Most of the news we get through the Internet is just plain dull. Some
->of it can be amusing, original, even infuriating. Some of it is
->essential to our work. And some of the time, the news we get shakes the
->whole world up, and makes everything we've been thinking and talking
->about seem oddly unimportant. That's what happened to us at the start
->of this week, when the news of Yuri Rubinsky's death reached us.

- -

>Other individuals who will participate in this electronic wake will be
->better equipped to describe his career and accomplishments as a whole
->than we are. But, for what it's worth, here is what we saw and knew of
->him personally.

- -

My first encounter with Yuri was at the "supposed" founding of SGML -Open - supposed because I had arrived at Softquad one week early -because of some internal miscommunications. Yuri was ever the host, -making sure the time was not lost and teaching me more than a thing -or two about SGML.

- -[5 more lines...]

>Most of the news we get through the Internet is just plain dull. Some
>of it can be amusing, original, even infuriating. Some of it is
>essential to our work. And some of the time, the news we get shakes the
>whole world up, and makes everything we've been thinking and talking
>about seem oddly unimportant. That's what happened to us at the start
>of this week, when the news of Yuri Rubinsky's death reached us.

>Other individuals who will participate in this electronic wake will be
>better equipped to describe his career and accomplishments as a whole
>than we are. But, for what it's worth, here is what we saw and knew of
>him personally.

My first encounter with Yuri was at the "supposed" founding of SGML Open - supposed because I had arrived at Softquad one week early because of some internal miscommunications. Yuri was ever the host, making sure the time was not lost and teaching me more than a thing or two about SGML.

Since then I have seen him at many SGML conferences always doing the work meant for 10. His "Year in Review" presentations were remarkable not only in making the presentations but hounding the SGML community to contribute - despite his slight stature he was a bulldog in making this the highlight of the conferences.

--removed: - ??changed: - -

- -

Gerry Bourguignon

??changed: - -

I did not know Yuri Rubinsky very well or for very long. I -first met him at SoftQuad's Vancouver office in August '94. -I was a bit surprised to see how someone who had accomplished -so much and commanded such respect took up so little space. -Here in Toronto, I was fortunate enough to be leaving the -office at the same time as Yuri one evening and subsequently -rode the subway with him. He promptly handed me draft Panorama -documentation to proof on the way while he mapped out yet more -of his ideas in his A4 notebook. I then found myself sitting -across from Yuri at Swiss Chalet, a local restaurant chain -known for its tasty, yet very affordable, chicken dishes. I -felt as though I could have asked Yuri anything but put off -the temptation to ask him why he thought SGML was a good thing -(which, I feared, would be much like asking an evangelist if -Jesus loves you). So, I simply let the conversation default to -the things at hand on that particular evening: dark as opposed -to light meat and, of course, Panorama. Needless to say that -I can never again set foot in a Swiss Chalet without thinking -[22 more lines...]

I did not know Yuri Rubinsky very well or for very long. I first met him at SoftQuad's Vancouver office in August '94. I was a bit surprised to see how someone who had accomplished so much and commanded such respect took up so little space. Here in Toronto, I was fortunate enough to be leaving the office at the same time as Yuri one evening and subsequently rode the subway with him. He promptly handed me draft Panorama documentation to proof on the way while he mapped out yet more of his ideas in his A4 notebook. I then found myself sitting across from Yuri at Swiss Chalet, a local restaurant chain known for its tasty, yet very affordable, chicken dishes. I felt as though I could have asked Yuri anything but put off the temptation to ask him why he thought SGML was a good thing (which, I feared, would be much like asking an evangelist if Jesus loves you). So, I simply let the conversation default to the things at hand on that particular evening: dark as opposed to light meat and, of course, Panorama. Needless to say that I can never again set foot in a Swiss Chalet without thinking of Yuri, but that, afterall, is not such a terribly bad thing.

Yuri's last post to SoftQuad's internal newsgroup reserved for official company news and announcements seemed to portend, strangely enough, what was to come. The message, in which Yuri outlined his plans for the next several weeks (involving, for the most part, the completion of two books that were past their deadline), was posted only a few days before his death. The subject line: "Gone, But Not Forgotten (We Hope)".

Yuri is gone, but will certainly not be forgotten. The work he began will not end. There is no Yuri end tag and this is as it should be. Yuri was an empty element. This emptiness has nothing to do with voidness or lack of anything whatsoever. This emptiness is endless and boundless possibility that is completely open to all points of view. Yuri was a placeholder and in the place he held anything could happen and, as we are well aware, a great deal did.

Farewell Yuri. To borrow his own closing words from his opening remarks at SGML '94 (in which he paid tribute to the late Ian Aldwinckle of SoftQuad): "May your spirit soar."

??changed: - -

--
-Gerry Bourguignon "Thus shall you think of this fleeting world:
-SoftQuad Inc. a star at dawn, a bubble in a stream, a flash
-Toronto, ON, Canada. of lightning in a summer cloud, a flickering
-http://www.sq.com lamp, a phantom, and a dream." -Buddha

- -

Glenn Adams

--
Gerry Bourguignon "Thus shall you think of this fleeting world:
SoftQuad Inc. a star at dawn, a bubble in a stream, a flash
Toronto, ON, Canada. of lightning in a summer cloud, a flickering
http://www.sq.com lamp, a phantom, and a dream." -Buddha

Glenn Adams

??changed: - -

I received this message earlier today which I am forwarding. I don't -know how many of you knew Yuri, but his work on and evangelizing of SGML -has always been an inspiration to the industry and to those who knew -him. The success of HTML owes a significant debt to the vision he -brought to the realm of SGML and its enabling technology.

- -

Regards,
-Glenn Adams

- -

Greg Ioannou

I received this message earlier today which I am forwarding. I don't know how many of you knew Yuri, but his work on and evangelizing of SGML has always been an inspiration to the industry and to those who knew him. The success of HTML owes a significant debt to the vision he brought to the realm of SGML and its enabling technology.

Regards,
Glenn Adams

Greg Ioannou

??changed: - -

In article <1996Jan24.223027.19639@sq.com>, - murray@sq.com (Murray Maloney) wrote:
->
-++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
->We have made arrangements with Erik Naggum to use comp.text.sgml
->as a medium for an "electronic wake" where anyone can send
->their comments and eulogies. Please feel free to post your
->own comments to that newsgroup. Erik will be collecting
->all of the messages that come in and we will arrange for
->a suitable tribute to Yuri at a later date.
->
-I'd originally posted this in the copyediting list:

- -

One of the world's unlikeliest copy editors died on the weekend. I've -been thinking about Yuri the last few days -- an exercise guaranteed to -make you feel inadequate. I thought I'd post this to the Copyediting -list for the benefit of people in publishing whose lives had been -changed by him who might not have heard the news.

-[86 more lines...]

In article <1996Jan24.223027.19639@sq.com>, murray@sq.com (Murray Maloney) wrote:
>
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>We have made arrangements with Erik Naggum to use comp.text.sgml
>as a medium for an "electronic wake" where anyone can send
>their comments and eulogies. Please feel free to post your
>own comments to that newsgroup. Erik will be collecting
>all of the messages that come in and we will arrange for
>a suitable tribute to Yuri at a later date.
>
I'd originally posted this in the copyediting list:

One of the world's unlikeliest copy editors died on the weekend. I've been thinking about Yuri the last few days -- an exercise guaranteed to make you feel inadequate. I thought I'd post this to the Copyediting list for the benefit of people in publishing whose lives had been changed by him who might not have heard the news.

I've appended the obituary circulated by SoftQuad, the company he founded. It omits a few details that are relevant to our trade. For instance, in the late 1970s, as a student in his twenties frustrated with his inability to find any formal training in editing, he spearheaded the formation of the Banff Publishing Workshop, which opened in 1980. Banff remains one of the two most prestigious publishing programs in North America.

As he flitted around the edges of copy editing in the late 1970s and early 1980s (while he was taking a degree in architecture?!), I remember him taking us to task at FEAC (Freelance Editors' Association of Canada) meetings for not becoming computer literate. He couldn't understand why we still wanted to work on paper when word processors (remember Kaypro?) were becoming available.

He gave a "technology and editors" seminar for FEAC around 1981 that left us totally befuddled. While the rest of us were debating whether we should start using those new-fangled Post-It Notes, he was trying to get us interested in the first tentative beginnings of SGML.

He understandably grew a bit restless with trying to drag us into the future with him, and went on to work with the people at tiny Coach House Press, who wanted to know how they could use the same computer files to produce hard-cover and paperback versions of books, without having to totally reformat everything. In the mid 1970s, he (along with Stan Bevington of Coach House and two others) formed SoftQuad, which was intended to produce software to do just that.

Inadvertently (or maybe Yuri saw it all along?), they helped produce software that makes Web browsers possible.

The above is written from fuzzy fifteen-year-old memories. The brief obituary I've reproduced below, from SoftQuad, is presumably better researched!

YURI RUBINSKY
>_______________________________________________________
>
>
>Canada lost a true Renaissance Man, on Sunday, January 21st.
>Yuri Rubinsky, born in Tripoli, Lebanon on August 2, 1952, died suddenly.
>
>He graduated as an Architect from the University of Toronto in 1979, but
>his accomplishments centered in three main areas: software, publishing and
>writing.
>
>Yuri was a founder and President of SoftQuad Inc, and developed
>software for the Internet such as HoTMetaL, MetalWorks and Author/Editor.
>He was also Chairman, SGML Open Consortium and influential member of many
>Internet and World Wide Web Standards and Technical organizations.
>He was also known around the world for his dedication and innovation in
>developing software for the visually impaired.
>
>Yuri was Founding Co-Director of the Banff Publishing Workshop and
>actively promoted the cause of publishers and writers in Canada. He also
>founded, created and edited both Yorker Magazine, (1985-86) and Not The
>Globe and Mail (1984) and founded Invisible Books in 1979.
>
>His greatest achievements were as a writer: co-author of Christopher
>Columbus Answers All Charges, 1993; The Wankers' Guide to Canada, 1986;
>A History of The End of The World, 1982. Editor of The SGML Primer, 1991
>and The SGML Handbook, 1990. Yuri was also co-author and producer of SGML:
>The Movie, 1990, and Invisible Cities, the play, in 1981. Recently Yuri was
>finishing two books on SGML and the Internet, as well as an historical
>comedy on Vergil, Mesmer and Neil Armstrong.
>
>Yuri leaves his greatest admirer and supporter, Holley, his wife, a poet and
>editor; her daughter, Robin; his parents, Andre and Anna, a loving sister
>Katherine, her husband John, and Jamie and Christopher, their children.
>
>He was a man who knew what it meant to be first, and always strove to be
>first in everything he did.
>
>Memorial Service at Deer Park United Church, Saturday, January 27th, 2 pm.
>Donations In Memoriam to The War Amps of Canada.
>
>
>[For those of you in range, see also today's Globe and Mail, page C3,
> or probably tomorrow's Toronto Star. --msb]
>
>

Häkon Lie

??changed: - -

Yuri returned an unopened can of orange juice to the waiter the day I -got to know him. He did this in the middle of a live demonstration of -Panorama's style sheet mechanism at the breakfast table of a Chicago -hotel. The demonstration was impressive enough, but the returning of -the can -- with clear instructions that the can should be put back on -the shelf -- is what I will remember best of Yuri.

- -

-håkon

- -

Hakon W Lie, W3C/INRIA, Sophia-Antipolis, France
-http://www.w3.org/People/howcome howcome@w3.org

- -

Harvey Bingham

Yuri returned an unopened can of orange juice to the waiter the day I got to know him. He did this in the middle of a live demonstration of Panorama's style sheet mechanism at the breakfast table of a Chicago hotel. The demonstration was impressive enough, but the returning of the can -- with clear instructions that the can should be put back on the shelf -- is what I will remember best of Yuri.

-håkon

Hakon W Lie, W3C/INRIA, Sophia-Antipolis, France
http://www.w3.org/People/howcome howcome@w3.org

Harvey Bingham

??changed: - -

We have lost an industry pioneer and leader. Yuri for years has had the -vision to enrich all of us who have worked with him. He has been an -effective advocate for making SGML have an important role in organizing -information into documents, and managing collections of documents.

- -

For many years Yuri lead the SGML conferences. A highlight that he -presented regualrly was the "SGML Year in Review", sometimes with Pam -Gennusa. In '95, they gave up: there was so much happening that they -couldn't summarize it in 90 minutes!

- -

He was chairperson of the WWW4 conference last month. He there both -looked to the exciting future, and back to the roots. He started the -first-annual SoftQuad award for excellence, given to Doug Englebart for -his work 20 some years ago at Xerox Parc. At that presentation, Yuri -showed film clips he had edited with Doug's daughter of that early work, -which remains quite amazing to those recently onto the web.

- -

Yuri was one of the organizers and first chairman of SGML Open, the -[18 more lines...]

We have lost an industry pioneer and leader. Yuri for years has had the vision to enrich all of us who have worked with him. He has been an effective advocate for making SGML have an important role in organizing information into documents, and managing collections of documents.

For many years Yuri lead the SGML conferences. A highlight that he presented regualrly was the "SGML Year in Review", sometimes with Pam Gennusa. In '95, they gave up: there was so much happening that they couldn't summarize it in 90 minutes!

He was chairperson of the WWW4 conference last month. He there both looked to the exciting future, and back to the roots. He started the first-annual SoftQuad award for excellence, given to Doug Englebart for his work 20 some years ago at Xerox Parc. At that presentation, Yuri showed film clips he had edited with Doug's daughter of that early work, which remains quite amazing to those recently onto the web.

Yuri was one of the organizers and first chairman of SGML Open, the industry consortium of over 50 companies who work to make SGML more interoperable.

Yuri was the editor of the SGML Handbook, by Charles Goldfarb. That was a labor of love, in which Yuri spent months of his evenings added all the cross-referencing and indexing.

Yuri had recently moved SoftQuad products to allow general SGML applications over the WWW. Offering HoTMetaL as a freely downloadable product lead to much exposure to HTML-aware authoring.

He was the mover and shaker to include the ICADD capabilities to aid document access for the visually and aurally impaired. The ICADD technique is included in the ISO 12083 family of SGML DTDs for publishing applications. Aerospace, defense, automotive, workstation computing, semiconductor, and telecommunications industries all have DTDs supporting these requirements. It is also part of the TEI text encoding initiative.

--removed: - ??changed: - -

Harvey Bingham
-bingham@acm.org

- -

Wait, There's More

- -

Recollections of Yuri Rubinsky, shared by and with many of his friends -January 26-27. Eight years ago I learned to take notes whenever I was -with Yuri. In what follows I don't have all the attributions complete, -or the words exact. As they were offered in love of Yuri, I share what -my notes captured of some heartfelt wonderful memories.

- -

I am grateful for the many who have written so eloquently in -comp.text.sgml. We all are enriched by knowing more of the breadth of -Yuri's work, and the warmth of his friendships.

- -

"Wait, there's more" is an inspiration for each of us to continue Yuri's -vision just as he would have us do.

Harvey Bingham
bingham@acm.org

Wait, There's More

Recollections of Yuri Rubinsky, shared by and with many of his friends January 26-27. Eight years ago I learned to take notes whenever I was with Yuri. In what follows I don't have all the attributions complete, or the words exact. As they were offered in love of Yuri, I share what my notes captured of some heartfelt wonderful memories.

I am grateful for the many who have written so eloquently in comp.text.sgml. We all are enriched by knowing more of the breadth of Yuri's work, and the warmth of his friendships.

"Wait, there's more" is an inspiration for each of us to continue Yuri's vision just as he would have us do.

--removed: - --removed: - --removed: - ??changed: - -

Murray Maloney: Family should come first. During his final phone -conversation with Yuri Sunday afternoon, Murray's son Christopher -interrupted to ask permission to go out. Yuri overheard, and suggested -that Christopher should get acquainted with Peter and Kim Sharpe's son -Graham.

- -

Murray expands on the above: "Peter's family and mine have visited in -the past. Yuri also said how much he enjoyed hearing Christopher's -voice and how much it reminded him of Graham, so full of innocence, and -the potential of life. He noted that Graham and Christopher could be -good friends. All of this in the midst of one of the more serious -business discussions that Yuri and I had ever had."

- -

Liam Quin: Yuri made sure the ICADD capabilities were in HoTMetaL. -Today about 3000 pages per day are being converted into Braille, based -on ICADD.

- -

Steve DeRose: The SGML World Tour CD-ROM included good work from folks -[11 more lines...]

Murray Maloney: Family should come first. During his final phone conversation with Yuri Sunday afternoon, Murray's son Christopher interrupted to ask permission to go out. Yuri overheard, and suggested that Christopher should get acquainted with Peter and Kim Sharpe's son Graham.

Murray expands on the above: "Peter's family and mine have visited in the past. Yuri also said how much he enjoyed hearing Christopher's voice and how much it reminded him of Graham, so full of innocence, and the potential of life. He noted that Graham and Christopher could be good friends. All of this in the midst of one of the more serious business discussions that Yuri and I had ever had."

Liam Quin: Yuri made sure the ICADD capabilities were in HoTMetaL. Today about 3000 pages per day are being converted into Braille, based on ICADD.

Steve DeRose: The SGML World Tour CD-ROM included good work from folks throughout the SGML community. Yuri believed that there isn't anything we can't accomplish as an individual or organization if we set our minds to it.

Harvey Bingham: Yuri helped start SGML Open so we could all achieve more by working together. He worked on many standards so they would be better. We all grew from his presence and his ideas. We should collect his many "I've got an idea"s and build on them.

Ken Holman: Yuri was the most inclusive person. All felt happy to be his friend.

--removed: - --removed: - --removed: - ??changed: - -

Charles Goldfarb: Yuri was such a help when I was physically unable to -complete the SGML Handbook. He recognized that many at SoftQuad [and -throughout the SGML community] needed its content, and so he provided -the editorial talent to get it out.

Charles Goldfarb: Yuri was such a help when I was physically unable to complete the SGML Handbook. He recognized that many at SoftQuad [and throughout the SGML community] needed its content, and so he provided the editorial talent to get it out.

??changed: - -

Holley Rubinsky: A phone call from Yuri: "I'm on my way home, and it -doesn't get any better than that." Yuri found time for everyone. He -was a collector and connector of people. He had broad tastes. Yuri was -a generous mentor. He selected, gathered, and cherished. "When I turn -out the lights to sleep, it's good to know you share this room."

Holley Rubinsky: A phone call from Yuri: "I'm on my way home, and it doesn't get any better than that." Yuri found time for everyone. He was a collector and connector of people. He had broad tastes. Yuri was a generous mentor. He selected, gathered, and cherished. "When I turn out the lights to sleep, it's good to know you share this room."

??changed: - -

Lawrence Campbell: Yuri treasured, respected, and loved people. He was -kind and compassionate, with a quiet courteous manner that lifted people -up. I shall pass through the world just once, so let me do it now, for -I shall not pass this way again. Yuri's work was important and -benevolent. God has the best man on the job now. As Jesus said, "it is -finished". Yuri brought joy to our lives. His death is like a sword -piercing our hearts. We are thankful for what he started. He made a -difference. He touched our hearts. He lives in the arms and mind of -God. Holley, Yuri lives on as an angel on your shoulder. He has gone -to prepare a heavenly home.

- -

Charles Goldfarb: Yuri believed that anything that ought to be done -could be done. He loved people and believed in them. His leadership -work with the International Committee for Accessible Document Design -will have major effect on many lives who will never know him. May our -memories of Yuri never run out. Yuri was four lives high, eight lives -wide, but only half a life long.

- -[7 more lines...]

Lawrence Campbell: Yuri treasured, respected, and loved people. He was kind and compassionate, with a quiet courteous manner that lifted people up. I shall pass through the world just once, so let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again. Yuri's work was important and benevolent. God has the best man on the job now. As Jesus said, "it is finished". Yuri brought joy to our lives. His death is like a sword piercing our hearts. We are thankful for what he started. He made a difference. He touched our hearts. He lives in the arms and mind of God. Holley, Yuri lives on as an angel on your shoulder. He has gone to prepare a heavenly home.

Charles Goldfarb: Yuri believed that anything that ought to be done could be done. He loved people and believed in them. His leadership work with the International Committee for Accessible Document Design will have major effect on many lives who will never know him. May our memories of Yuri never run out. Yuri was four lives high, eight lives wide, but only half a life long.

Bill Clarke: Yuri was not a closer. Picture the scene: Yuri had so mesmerized a business audience that they were standing, check books in hand, poised to sign, and Yuri would say "Wait, that's not all, there's more."

In guiding the Banff Publishing Workshop Yuri showed how to pull creative energies from others.

--removed: - --removed: - --removed: - ??changed: - -

Douglas MacCleod: Yuri was a magical architect. He liked machines. He -loved people. How well we can remember him.

- -

Peter Sharpe: 30 years of memories. A recent one showed how Yuri -enjoyed everyone. A phone call was answered by Peter and Kim's daughter -Jaclyn. Peter, after a few minutes of spirited conversation, decided -that she was talking with a young friend, and returned to his reading. -A bit later in the call she asked him (Yuri's question) "Does HoTMetaL -support Frames?".

- -

Michael: Yuri was a great introducer. Every work experience with Yuri -was a learning experience.

- -

Eric Severson: SGML Open remains a tribute to Yuri's desire for free and -open incorporation of SGML.

- -

Doug Gibson: Yuri's system of management: keep people laughing all the -time. They'll get more done. He brightened every room he entered. -[9 more lines...]

Douglas MacCleod: Yuri was a magical architect. He liked machines. He loved people. How well we can remember him.

Peter Sharpe: 30 years of memories. A recent one showed how Yuri enjoyed everyone. A phone call was answered by Peter and Kim's daughter Jaclyn. Peter, after a few minutes of spirited conversation, decided that she was talking with a young friend, and returned to his reading. A bit later in the call she asked him (Yuri's question) "Does HoTMetaL support Frames?".

Michael: Yuri was a great introducer. Every work experience with Yuri was a learning experience.

Eric Severson: SGML Open remains a tribute to Yuri's desire for free and open incorporation of SGML.

Doug Gibson: Yuri's system of management: keep people laughing all the time. They'll get more done. He brightened every room he entered. Yuri had so many to greet that he couldn't just pass through. Doug: "I can walk slower than this." Yuri: "So can I". Yuri wanted to keep all friendships in good repair.

Yuri the cartoonist: A safe, a cafe, and a carafe arguing about pronounciation.

Yuri the game designer: Create a new game with two phases: design its rules, then play by the design.

??changed: - -

Anna Rubinsky: I never thought I'd have a good time at my son's funeral. -There is so much joy in remembering Yuri.

Anna Rubinsky: I never thought I'd have a good time at my son's funeral. There is so much joy in remembering Yuri.

??changed: - -

- -

Ian Darwin

??changed: - -

[This article was originally an HTML page on SoftQuad's inside Web, -converted to text for posting here.]

- -

"There is no point in storing anything unless you can find it -again, in its most useful component elements, ready to be re-purposed. -There is a danger in allowing your most valuable asset - the 90% of -your information that is in documents - to be locked away in -proprietary, unmanaged, unmanageble electronic formats. Luckily, SGML -provides an internationally standardized, vendor-supported, -multi-purpose, independent way of doing business. If you aren't using -it today, you will be next year." -- Yuri Rubinsky, 1994

- -

It is almost exactly ten years from the time Yuri Rubinsky first entered -my home, to hire me for his then-unknown software company, to the time -he left this world, so unexpectedly, a few days ago. I am privileged to -have known this man for the last decade of his life.

- -

I will not talk of his many other achievements, such as his role in -[111 more lines...]

[This article was originally an HTML page on SoftQuad's inside Web, converted to text for posting here.]

"There is no point in storing anything unless you can find it again, in its most useful component elements, ready to be re-purposed. There is a danger in allowing your most valuable asset - the 90% of your information that is in documents - to be locked away in proprietary, unmanaged, unmanageble electronic formats. Luckily, SGML provides an internationally standardized, vendor-supported, multi-purpose, independent way of doing business. If you aren't using it today, you will be next year." -- Yuri Rubinsky, 1994

It is almost exactly ten years from the time Yuri Rubinsky first entered my home, to hire me for his then-unknown software company, to the time he left this world, so unexpectedly, a few days ago. I am privileged to have known this man for the last decade of his life.

I will not talk of his many other achievements, such as his role in founding the Banff Publishing Workshop, or publishing the first book ever released concurrently in print and Braille from a single electronic manuscript. Others are better able to enumerate these, and so brevity urges me to talk of the Yuri I knew at SoftQuad.

During the early days of the company, we worked on the old sqtroff product line, which never made it into the Wall Street Journal but did keep us barely alive for a while. Yuri had the sense and the vision to look beyond the day-to-day struggle, to work towards a dream of SGML as a universal language for document portability. He got us onto the road we now travel by - to the dismay of the then-current board of directors, and many of us at the time - setting up a stranger in an office in Vancouver to build a new product for us. That stranger was an old buddy of his from his Architecture days named Peter Sharpe, and the product was Author/Editor.

But a good product was not enough, even though Yuri knew it would become the right product. He had to work on a million committees, and chair the GCA's annual SGML conference, to boost SGML and to carve out a market for it. He worked hard to ensure that SGML would be viewed as a structure for open documents and open information. The endless conferences and meetings were to make up a large part of his last few years Some achievements in this area stand out:

* The SGML Primer
* SGML Open
* The SGML World Tour CD, and
* The SGML Handbook

The SGML Primer is under two score pages, but it describes the essentials of SGML in simple yet accurate language. I can not count the number of people to whom this has served as a starting point, and as a place to refer back to for terminology.

SGML Open is an industry cooperative. Imagine if Microsoft, IBM, Sun and HP decided to work together to promote the use of computers, while still competing on features. This is what SMGL Open does in the SGML world, and some of the rivalries are not less intense, if not writ as large. But SGML Open works, and Yuri was its founding chairman.

The SGML World Tour CD was a major effort on the part of the entire SGML community, and many people at SoftQuad - you know who you are. But Yuri was the eye of the hurricane, drawing contributions out from his many contacts, urging us on, and writing large parts of the text at the last minute.

The SGML Handbook, written by Dr. Charles Goldfarb, was edited and typeset by Yuri. While there are not several good tutorial books in the field, the Handbook is the definitive reference work on SGML itself. And, without wishing to demean Dr. Goldfarb, it is a much better book for Yuri's labours.

Author/Editor program has achieved considerable success on its own. But with the arrival of the World Wide Web, with its HTML based on SGML, Yuri and others in the company realized the need for a specialized version of Author/Editor, and so we produced a new offspring, or sibling, which came to be called HoTMetaL.

And, to ensure that SGML was not limited to HTML, he launched an entire initiative with the NCSA, known as "SGML On The Web", and involved some outside experts (Synex) to build a Web Browser specifically for viewing SGML.

But he was no less active on the inside of the company. When not at one of those many meetings, he was always available to talk about ideas, or SGML. Though he never put it in so many words, it seems to me that these precepts embodied Yuri's view for the soul of his company:

* do right;
* have fun;
* make money;

Do right - he believed in behaving ethically, and I never heard him ask even one of his employees to behave otherwise. Customers, employees, and shareholders alike were to be treated fairly and with respect.

Have fun - he wanted SoftQuad to be an enjoyable place to work, where talented people would be able to work on projects that interested them, while serving the customer.

Make money - like any business. And I am glad to say that he did live long enough to see us do so, as well as having established a corporate culture conducive to the first two goals.

I hold in my hand a CD-ROM with all the UNIX versions of HoTMetal PRO. Yuri always wanted our software to be widely available to everybody, not just the MS-Windows majority, and I know he'd be proud of this CD-ROM. Needless to say I used the software that's on it to edit and print these remarks.

Yuri's name may not be as well-known as it should be, and as it certainly is among those who knew him. The many thousands who download HoTMetaL, buy HoTMetaL PRO, or use Panorama to view SGML on the Web may never see his name. The people in France who will never have to worry about proprietary document formats because they are using SGML, the mechanics in Sweden and the United States who have ready access to maintenance information, the visually-disadvantaged around the world who have access to a wider range of Braille material due to his work on ICADD, and so many others whose lives his work touched, may not know or remember his name. But they can not escape the influence of his dreams, his decisions, and his dedication. It is for us, so suddenly left behind, to live up to the standards he set, to keep the company he founded moving along the path he set for us, and to keep him alive in our hearts and in our minds. We must keep alive not just his vision of how computers should always provide open information formats, but our memory of Yuri Rubinsky, the man, the SGML expert, the company leader, and our friend.

Ian S. Graham

??changed: - -

I first met Yuri just over a year ago, over a discussion of -web-accessibility for visually impaired users. Neither then -nor on any other occasion did I feel like I was speaking with -the "President" of SoftQuad; rather I felt as if I were -talking with a pleasant, smart and enthusiastic colleague -with wide ranging interests and an infectious way of making -the people around him (namely me!) feel excited by what they -were doing.

- -

It was fun spending time with Yuri, and I will miss him. - -

Ian
---
-Ian Graham ............................... igraham@hprc.utoronto.ca
-Information Commons University of Toronto

- -

- -[1 more lines...]

I first met Yuri just over a year ago, over a discussion of web-accessibility for visually impaired users. Neither then nor on any other occasion did I feel like I was speaking with the "President" of SoftQuad; rather I felt as if I were talking with a pleasant, smart and enthusiastic colleague with wide ranging interests and an infectious way of making the people around him (namely me!) feel excited by what they were doing.

It was fun spending time with Yuri, and I will miss him.

Ian
--
Ian Graham ............................... igraham@hprc.utoronto.ca
Information Commons University of Toronto

James David Mason

??changed: - -

Reading through the outpouring of tributes to Yuri Rubinsky, I had a -growing awareness that no one ever forgot a first encounter with him. -And no one was ever quite the same after that encounter.

- -

I first met Yuri years ago at a conference center in snowy suburban -Massachusetts. I already had an early beta copy of Author/Editor that I -was experimenting with, but I had been startled when the conference -organizers told me they were putting the founder of the company on the -program with me. I kept wondering what sort of person this might be. He -was certainly charming enough when we met, but then when I heard him -speak, I thought, "This guy is formidable. If he carries through on half -the ideas he has, SGML will never be the same." Of course, Yuri did -carry through on his ideas, and the world of information has changed -accordingly.

- -

Yuri was rarely able to come to my ISO standards committee, but he -seemed to be in all the other places I couldn't get to. I came to rely -on him: I'd hear of some area of concern to my committee and ring him -[62 more lines...]

Reading through the outpouring of tributes to Yuri Rubinsky, I had a growing awareness that no one ever forgot a first encounter with him. And no one was ever quite the same after that encounter.

I first met Yuri years ago at a conference center in snowy suburban Massachusetts. I already had an early beta copy of Author/Editor that I was experimenting with, but I had been startled when the conference organizers told me they were putting the founder of the company on the program with me. I kept wondering what sort of person this might be. He was certainly charming enough when we met, but then when I heard him speak, I thought, "This guy is formidable. If he carries through on half the ideas he has, SGML will never be the same." Of course, Yuri did carry through on his ideas, and the world of information has changed accordingly.

Yuri was rarely able to come to my ISO standards committee, but he seemed to be in all the other places I couldn't get to. I came to rely on him: I'd hear of some area of concern to my committee and ring him up. Often he'd have learned about the problem as soon as I had; he'd already be working on it. Or I'd hear that some project was starting and shortly afterwards learn that Yuri had managed to become its chairman. How many of us had grown comfortable feeling, "Yuri's there; everything's going to be fine"?

After my first encounter, I always looked forward to being on a program with Yuri. Part of the anticipation was wondering about the creative -- and always appropriate -- examples he'd come up with. Does anyone else remember the toothpaste tube?

Some years ago a Canadian business magazine published an article on Yuri. There was big photograph of Yuri in his office -- completely encircled by piles of papers, books, airline tickets, a keyboard, memos, GCA programs, (how did he ever get in and out of the place?), mostly related to SGML. I thought: "further certain evidence Yuri's a good guy; he has more clutter than even I can aspire to." But it was also evidence of the range of Yuri's activities. Although the focus of the article was on SoftQuad as a growing software house, Yuri saw to it that there was attention to the whole world of SGML and the goal of making information useful. In the article, one of his competitors observes: "Yuri Rubinsky is a wonderful man!"

While Yuri was clearly interested in building SoftQuad's business, he was also concerned for the welfare of the competition. More than once I heard him express concern over a competitor who was not making so good a showing with a product as it deserved. SGML Open was another of those projects where I was glad to find Yuri in charge.

My last conversation with Yuri, though it was at SGML '95, wasn't about SGML but rather about his novel "Christopher Columbus Answers All Charges". His Columbus, unlike other authors', wasn't the new man of the Renaissance. Instead, this Columbus comes across as a thoroughly mediaeval character, still imbued with the educational and psychological strengths -- and limitations -- as well as the modes of expression of his peers at the end of the era just ending. That struck a chord with me, an old mediaevalist who has fallen into the world of computing. As I look back, I think what gave Yuri the ability to create such a Columbus (aside from patient research and careful crafting of words) was his ability to see into people and discover their inner structure. It was the same ability that supported Yuri's efforts in the many communities in which he moved and served.

But Yuri was not like his Columbus, still ensnared in old ways of thinking and acting. Yuri was a man of the new world, always inventing new approaches. So let us indeed remember him as the Renaissance Man of Information.

Dr. James D. Mason
(ISO/IEC JTC1/SC18/WG8 Convenor)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Information Management Services
Bldg. 2506, M.S. 6302, P.O. Box 2008
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6302 U.S.A.
Telephone: +1 615 574-6973
Facsimile: +1 615 574-6983
Network: masonjd@ornl.gov
http://www.ornl.gov/sgml/WG8/wg8home.htm

Janina Sajka

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I was never priveledged to know Yuri personally, but always respected -his posts. They were considerate and technically on target. I know I -was pleased to think of him as an advocate for my needs. From what I -read and heard about him, I know he was an effective advocate for all of -us. We will indeed miss him.

- -

Janina Sajka, Director
- Information Systems Department
- American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)

- -

Jesse Kaysen

I was never priveledged to know Yuri personally, but always respected his posts. They were considerate and technically on target. I know I was pleased to think of him as an advocate for my needs. From what I read and heard about him, I know he was an effective advocate for all of us. We will indeed miss him.

Janina Sajka, Director
Information Systems Department
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)

Jesse Kaysen

??changed: - -

I met Yuri in Fall 1988, over the phone, out of the blue. I was the doc -writer and producer for Raised Dot Computing, a mom-&-pop software -designer; our products included voice output and braille translation. -I'd written a mildly inaccurate article called "Let's Play Tag: The -Promise of SGML," based on several misunderstandings of the AAP's -guidebook and some SoftQuad product literature. Even though our company -newsletter was under 1000 -- and half of that in audio tape -- Yuri -found that article and called to talk.

- -

Typically, Yuri didn't point out the errors I'd made: instead, he -skillfully pumped me for several hours about exactly why SGML would be -useful for braille production. As many have attested, Yuri was a -brilliant teacher; he was also a brilliant student. Yuri grasped both -the technical details and the politics of the braille world more quickly -than any other uninitiate I've encountered.

- -

Within a month he'd given us Author/Editor and some sample data (the A/E -User Manual and Cat's Eye). I was delighted to supply an "SGML to -[31 more lines...]

I met Yuri in Fall 1988, over the phone, out of the blue. I was the doc writer and producer for Raised Dot Computing, a mom-&-pop software designer; our products included voice output and braille translation. I'd written a mildly inaccurate article called "Let's Play Tag: The Promise of SGML," based on several misunderstandings of the AAP's guidebook and some SoftQuad product literature. Even though our company newsletter was under 1000 -- and half of that in audio tape -- Yuri found that article and called to talk.

Typically, Yuri didn't point out the errors I'd made: instead, he skillfully pumped me for several hours about exactly why SGML would be useful for braille production. As many have attested, Yuri was a brilliant teacher; he was also a brilliant student. Yuri grasped both the technical details and the politics of the braille world more quickly than any other uninitiate I've encountered.

Within a month he'd given us Author/Editor and some sample data (the A/E User Manual and Cat's Eye). I was delighted to supply an "SGML to braille" example for SoftQuad's West Coast appearances in Spring 89. This kind of geeky, detailed work was easy for me, but when Yuri urged me to present my method at SGML '89 in October, I was flattered but terrified.

Yuri was a world-travelling, well-schooled, totally over-scheduled executive, who made time to coach a ex-typesetter with no college degree. For every question or hesitation, Yuri was there to recommend an outline, review a draft, offer a snappy title, and encourage me. When I did give that Atlanta speech, Yuri was literally at my side, shuffling the transparencies. The next year, he even tried to hire me -- a Unix idiot and C illiterate -- to work on Author/Editor documentation. In this and all the subsequent contacts -- the happy interruption of a phone call from Kaslo or Toronto or an airport somewhere -- Yuri was amusing and supportive and thought-provoking.

Yuri found and encouraged the possibilities of every person -- female, male, blind, sighted -- and actively shared the power his keen intelligence and charisma brought him. I am blessed to have known him, and will forever carry his memory.

Jesse Kaysen
Madison Wisconsin USA
<jesse@mailbag.com>

Jesse the K -- Madison Wisconsin USA -- <jesse@mailbag.com> The road to enlightenment is long and difficult...bring snacks and a magazine.

Jim Sterken

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All of us at ArborText were deeply saddened by the sudden loss of Yuri -Rubinsky. We extend our condolences to his family and his coworkers at -SoftQuad.

- -

Yuri's energy, statesmanship, charisma, and sense of fairness molded -and shaped the SGML community to an extent unmatched by any other -individual. His contributions were sometimes technical, often tactical, -usually effective, and almost always made with the interest of the larger -community in mind.

- -

I doubt SGML would be where it is today were it not for Yuri. It is not -just a cliche to say we will miss him.

- -

Jim Sterken
-President, ArborText

- -

- -[1 more lines...]

All of us at ArborText were deeply saddened by the sudden loss of Yuri Rubinsky. We extend our condolences to his family and his coworkers at SoftQuad.

Yuri's energy, statesmanship, charisma, and sense of fairness molded and shaped the SGML community to an extent unmatched by any other individual. His contributions were sometimes technical, often tactical, usually effective, and almost always made with the interest of the larger community in mind.

I doubt SGML would be where it is today were it not for Yuri. It is not just a cliche to say we will miss him.

Jim Sterken
President, ArborText

Joe Sullivan

??changed: - -

We'll probably never know all of the work that Yuri put in -helping our community, but I do know that it was a great deal --- quietly, courteously, and competently. We have lost a good -friend.

- -

Joe Sullivan - -

- -

John Gardner

We'll probably never know all of the work that Yuri put in helping our community, but I do know that it was a great deal -- quietly, courteously, and competently. We have lost a good friend.

Joe Sullivan

John Gardner

--removed: - ??changed: - -

The world is indeed smaller, and our loss is incalculable. Yuri was -that extremely rare person - somebody in a position of leadership and -authority with both a strong commitment to and the ability to make -concrete and important contributions to accessibility.

The world is indeed smaller, and our loss is incalculable. Yuri was that extremely rare person - somebody in a position of leadership and authority with both a strong commitment to and the ability to make concrete and important contributions to accessibility.

--removed: - ??changed: - -

- -

Jon Bosak

--removed: - ??changed: - -

>I don't know how many of you knew Yuri, but his work on and
- >evangelizing of SGML has always been an inspiration to the industry
- >and to those who knew him. The success of HTML owes a significant
- >debt to the vision he brought to the realm of SGML and its enabling
- >technology.

- -

In addition to being a remarkable human being, Yuri was unique in his -ability to bridge the SGML and WWW communities. In the space of a -single unbroken 12-day stretch last month I was privileged to watch -this man, who of course had his own business to run at the same time, -perform key leadership roles in the GCA SGML '95 conference, the SGML -Open technical track, the invitational DSSSL Online meeting, and then -the International WWW conference, which closed with his moving and -typically inspired surprise presentation to Doug Englebart, an -occasion that I'm sure no one who was there will soon forget. I am -sad to lose Yuri as a friend, but I'm even sadder to see this industry -lose the only person in the world who really saw and understood the -whole picture as deeply as he did.

>I don't know how many of you knew Yuri, but his work on and
>evangelizing of SGML has always been an inspiration to the industry
>and to those who knew him. The success of HTML owes a significant
>debt to the vision he brought to the realm of SGML and its enabling
>technology.

In addition to being a remarkable human being, Yuri was unique in his ability to bridge the SGML and WWW communities. In the space of a single unbroken 12-day stretch last month I was privileged to watch this man, who of course had his own business to run at the same time, perform key leadership roles in the GCA SGML '95 conference, the SGML Open technical track, the invitational DSSSL Online meeting, and then the International WWW conference, which closed with his moving and typically inspired surprise presentation to Doug Englebart, an occasion that I'm sure no one who was there will soon forget. I am sad to lose Yuri as a friend, but I'm even sadder to see this industry lose the only person in the world who really saw and understood the whole picture as deeply as he did.

??changed: - -

- -

Jonathan Seybold

--removed: - ??changed: - -

But anyone who knew him will remember Yuri most of all as a marvelous person -- the kind of person who brightened every room he was in and made you feel better and more noble for being with him. Yuri was bright, witty, original, insightful and, most of all, human in the very best sense. He was never concerned with technology for its own sake, but always concerned with what it could do to help people.

- -

Yuri was an author, publisher, visionary -- a man of amazing energy and talent. His books include A History of The End of The World (1982), The Wankers' Guide to Canada (1986) and (as co-author) Christopher Columbus Answers All Charges (1993). He was editor of The SGML Handbook (1990) and The SGML Primer (1991). Most recently, Yuri was finishing two books on SGML and the Internet, as well as an historical comedy on Vergil, Mesmer and Neil Armstrong.

- -

In addition to books, Yuri co-authored and produced the play "Invisible Cities" in 1981, authored a one-edition newspaper spoof, Not The Globe and Mail (1984), created and edited Yorker magazine (1985-86), and co-authored and produced SGML: The Movie (1990).

??changed: - -

Yuri was born in Tripoli, Lebanon on August 2, 1952. His family moved to the Toronto, Canada area when he was three. He graduated from Brock University and studied architecture at the University of Toronto. After a stint of odd jobs in the Yukon, Yuri decided to focus on publishing. He attended the Radcliffe publishing course at Harvard University in the summer of 1978 and was so impressed that he decided that Canada needed a similar course. Two years later, he convinced the Banff Centre for the Arts to sponsor the Banff Publishing Workshop.

??changed: - -

We extend our condolences to Yuri's wife, Holley, to everyone at SoftQuad and SGML Open -- indeed, to everyone who ever knew or worked with Yuri. We will never forget him.

- -

-- Jonathan Seybold

- -

Josh Lubell

We extend our condolences to Yuri's wife, Holley, to everyone at SoftQuad and SGML Open -- indeed, to everyone who ever knew or worked with Yuri. We will never forget him.

-- Jonathan Seybold

Josh Lubell

??changed: - -

I first met Yuri in 1994 at a workshop whose goal was to promote -interoperability between STEP (ISO 10303, The Standard for the -Exchange of Product Model Data) and SGML. At this workshop, he gave a -brief overview of SGML, and I was struck by how clearly and engagingly -he communicated. Yuri had a gift for extracting the essence from -difficult concepts and making them understandable and exciting. He -was able to make people see what's possible. He was truly a -visionary.

- -

The group I work with at NIST has been collaborating with SoftQuad for -the last couple of years, and SoftQuad has generously given us -software to use for developing an SGML application for producing STEP -standards documents. Yuri was the catalyst that made this -collaboration happen.

- -

In reading all of the tributes to Yuri that have been posted to -comp.text.sgml, I was surprised to learn that SGML was merely one of -Yuri's many areas of expertise and accomplishment. However, I really -[3 more lines...]

I first met Yuri in 1994 at a workshop whose goal was to promote interoperability between STEP (ISO 10303, The Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data) and SGML. At this workshop, he gave a brief overview of SGML, and I was struck by how clearly and engagingly he communicated. Yuri had a gift for extracting the essence from difficult concepts and making them understandable and exciting. He was able to make people see what's possible. He was truly a visionary.

The group I work with at NIST has been collaborating with SoftQuad for the last couple of years, and SoftQuad has generously given us software to use for developing an SGML application for producing STEP standards documents. Yuri was the catalyst that made this collaboration happen.

In reading all of the tributes to Yuri that have been posted to comp.text.sgml, I was surprised to learn that SGML was merely one of Yuri's many areas of expertise and accomplishment. However, I really shouldn't have been surprised. I think that the diversity of Yuri's skills and accomplishments gave him the world view and sense of vision responsible for his remarkable success in the SGML arena.

--removed: - ??changed: - -

____________________________________________________________________
- Josh Lubell | lubell@cme.nist.gov
-National Institute of Standards and Technology |
- A127 Metrology Building | Voice:(301)975-3563
- Gaithersburg, MD 20899 USA | Fax: (301)258-9749

- -

Len Bullard

____________________________________________________________________
Josh Lubell | lubell@cme.nist.gov
National Institute of Standards and Technology |
A127 Metrology Building | Voice:(301)975-3563
Gaithersburg, MD 20899 USA | Fax: (301)258-9749

Len Bullard

--removed: - ??changed: - -

on [the passing of Yuri]... since this was announced on the HTML working -group list:

- -

My sadness at the passing of Yuri Rubinsky is more than can be expressed -here... or ever... but I can speak of him, for he gave to me, as he did -to all of us, the gift of his time and his witty, charitable, tireless -spirit.

- -

For you who are new to SGML or HTML, he was one of the finest men in the -industry. Yuri was the leader and teacher who took many of us in and -taught us, and listened to us, and made for us opportunities. He was -one the most decent and skilled men i have known. My great joy is that -he was my friend, and because of that, much of my life was joyful and -hopeful. My great sorrow is that i did not tell him that while he could -hear. I loved him as a brother, and respected him as a man.

- -

Let the history of SGML show, in the beginning, there were two great -leaders. One, the inventor, the other, the great provider and -[3 more lines...]

on [the passing of Yuri]... since this was announced on the HTML working group list:

My sadness at the passing of Yuri Rubinsky is more than can be expressed here... or ever... but I can speak of him, for he gave to me, as he did to all of us, the gift of his time and his witty, charitable, tireless spirit.

For you who are new to SGML or HTML, he was one of the finest men in the industry. Yuri was the leader and teacher who took many of us in and taught us, and listened to us, and made for us opportunities. He was one the most decent and skilled men i have known. My great joy is that he was my friend, and because of that, much of my life was joyful and hopeful. My great sorrow is that i did not tell him that while he could hear. I loved him as a brother, and respected him as a man.

Let the history of SGML show, in the beginning, there were two great leaders. One, the inventor, the other, the great provider and peacemaker? Where shall we go now for sustenance and peace? I shall miss you, dear friend and teacher. Godspeed, Yuri. Be now our guardian angel in service of the Almighty.

??changed: - -

- -

Linda Burman

--removed: - ??changed: - -

"Yuri Rubinsky, president and co-founder of SoftQuad, Inc. and chair -of the SGML conferences since 1988, died suddenly on January 21, 1996. -Yuri's opening keynote address had become an institution of the SGML -conferences. Every year, he and conference co-chair, Tommie Usdin, -delivered the SGML Year in Review, a compendium of all of the SGML -activities that had taken place throughout the world over the previous -year. This year Yuri announced that he was retiring the Year in Review -because there were just too many activities to be described in the time -allotted, regardless of how fast the presenters attempted to speak. -Instead, he titled his opening keynote "Where are we? How did we -get here?"

- -

As always, Yuri was -thoughtful and insightful -- and entertaining. He commented that -"despite the crowd at this event and the somewhat overwhelming -presence of the world's largest SGML application, the World Wide Web, -SGML doesn't feel . . . like Windows 95." He said he was finally -convinced that the greater world is not going to use SGML for -[25 more lines...]

"Yuri Rubinsky, president and co-founder of SoftQuad, Inc. and chair of the SGML conferences since 1988, died suddenly on January 21, 1996. Yuri's opening keynote address had become an institution of the SGML conferences. Every year, he and conference co-chair, Tommie Usdin, delivered the SGML Year in Review, a compendium of all of the SGML activities that had taken place throughout the world over the previous year. This year Yuri announced that he was retiring the Year in Review because there were just too many activities to be described in the time allotted, regardless of how fast the presenters attempted to speak. Instead, he titled his opening keynote "Where are we? How did we get here?"

As always, Yuri was thoughtful and insightful -- and entertaining. He commented that "despite the crowd at this event and the somewhat overwhelming presence of the world's largest SGML application, the World Wide Web, SGML doesn't feel . . . like Windows 95." He said he was finally convinced that the greater world is not going to use SGML for everything. Even though SGML has "infiltrated such an impressive list of higher echelons" and is in software sold by Microsoft and WordPerfect, it is not part of all of the software that those and other companies sell because using SGML for everything requires huge steps that many companies aren't willing to take. However, SGML has become a real tool, no longer the province of visionaries and engineers. It has been shown to work and indeed its HTML application has shown that it can succeed far beyond what anyone might have imagined SGML could do.Yuri concluded by saying that "SGML is now a rich part of the toolset we use to do our work."

It seems impossible that Yuri will not be at SGML '96. Charming, warm, funny, tireless in checking every detail of the conference, encouraging anyone who is taking even small steps along the road to an SGML implementation, always taking time to comment on a new idea or respond to a request for information or advice, Yuri Rubinsky will be sorely missed.

The world of SGML will go on -- partly because Yuri worked so hard to build its foundation. But it will never be quite the same.

C. Michael Sperberg-McQueen

??changed: - -

Much of the news we get through the Internet is just plain dull. Some -of it can be amusing, original, even infuriating. Some of it is -essential to our work. And some of the time, the news we get shakes the -whole world up, and makes everything we've been thinking and talking -about seem oddly unimportant. That's what happened to us at the start -of this week, when the news of Yuri Rubinsky's death reached us.

- -

Last Sunday evening, quite suddenly, Yuri Rubinsky of SoftQuad, Inc., in -Toronto, was taken ill with a violent headache, painful enough to send -him to the hospital; he died several hours later of a massive heart -attack. He is survived by his wife, his parents and sister, and a -world wide community of friends and admirers, of which we are proud to -count ourselves members. An electronic wake is being conducted on the -news group comp.text.sgml, and messages of tribute from the SGML -community may be read there, many from individuals better equipped to -describe his career and accomplishments as a whole than we are. But, -for what it's worth, here is what we saw and knew of him personally.

Much of the news we get through the Internet is just plain dull. Some of it can be amusing, original, even infuriating. Some of it is essential to our work. And some of the time, the news we get shakes the whole world up, and makes everything we've been thinking and talking about seem oddly unimportant. That's what happened to us at the start of this week, when the news of Yuri Rubinsky's death reached us.

Last Sunday evening, quite suddenly, Yuri Rubinsky of SoftQuad, Inc., in Toronto, was taken ill with a violent headache, painful enough to send him to the hospital; he died several hours later of a massive heart attack. He is survived by his wife, his parents and sister, and a world wide community of friends and admirers, of which we are proud to count ourselves members. An electronic wake is being conducted on the news group comp.text.sgml, and messages of tribute from the SGML community may be read there, many from individuals better equipped to describe his career and accomplishments as a whole than we are. But, for what it's worth, here is what we saw and knew of him personally.

??changed: - -

A short, bald, bearded man with energetic behavior and manic -disposition, Yuri seemed interested in everything. I first met him at -SGML '88, the first of the annual conferences he organized for the -Graphic Communications Association. He had invited several academics, -including myself, to describe the problems we faced in creating -electronic texts, and our use -- in my case, still only a potential use --- of SGML. At the time, the TEI had still not decided finally whether -to use SGML, because we weren't sure that SGML could do the job. Yuri -had attracted enough of the SGML community, though, to ensure that I was -able to pick the brains of many of the brightest people working with -SGML -- including Yuri. I came away convinced that there was no type of -information I could describe which could not be represented in SGML (a -conviction I still hold), but even more I came away impressed with the -collegiality and friendly spirit of the SGML community. Many of my -basic assumptions about SGML were shaped, I realize in retrospect, by -that conference's characterization of SGML as 'the quiet revolution' and -by Yuri's opening talk in which he discussed the French revolution (as a -less quiet one) at some length and drew out analogies with the way SGML -[49 more lines...]

A short, bald, bearded man with energetic behavior and manic disposition, Yuri seemed interested in everything. I first met him at SGML '88, the first of the annual conferences he organized for the Graphic Communications Association. He had invited several academics, including myself, to describe the problems we faced in creating electronic texts, and our use -- in my case, still only a potential use -- of SGML. At the time, the TEI had still not decided finally whether to use SGML, because we weren't sure that SGML could do the job. Yuri had attracted enough of the SGML community, though, to ensure that I was able to pick the brains of many of the brightest people working with SGML -- including Yuri. I came away convinced that there was no type of information I could describe which could not be represented in SGML (a conviction I still hold), but even more I came away impressed with the collegiality and friendly spirit of the SGML community. Many of my basic assumptions about SGML were shaped, I realize in retrospect, by that conference's characterization of SGML as 'the quiet revolution' and by Yuri's opening talk in which he discussed the French revolution (as a less quiet one) at some length and drew out analogies with the way SGML affects information storage.

Under Yuri's vigilant eye, the GCA SGML conferences have been models of open technical discussion even among commercial and technical rivals. They are marked by their substance, and while business is certainly done in the halls, in the exhibits, and over breakfast, the formal presentations are kept scrupulously non-commercial and informative. Yuri himself set an almost alarming example in this regard: in one session a few years ago, one user almost went without an answer after suggesting that what the world really needed was a network-capable SGML browser. I waited for Yuri to rise and mention that SoftQuad had announced such a product the previous month -- but he never did. Someone else eventually made the point, but Yuri never wanted to appear to abuse his position as chairman of the conference, and avoided anything that might have seemed like a commercial announcement -- even for software which his company was giving away for free.

Besides chairing the GCA conferences for the last eight years, Yuri helped organize SGML Open, the industry-wide consortium which works to improve the interoperability and utility of SGML software. He set an example for the rest of the SGML community when he firmly greeted the rise of the World Wide Web and its sort-of-SGML markup language, HTML, and when he brought both HoTMetaL and Panorama to market as tools for working with the Web. He has been instrumental in seeing to it that the International Committee for Accessible Document Design (ICADD) has received respectful hearing and support in the SGML community, and worked actively to help devise the ICADD set of architectural forms, which make it possible for SGML documents in any ICADD-aware DTD to be translated automatically into Braille as well as producing large-print books.

One of the SGML community's most striking characteristics is that unlike many other software markets, the term 'community' can be applied to it seriously. My initial impression in Boston has only been strengthened in the succeeding years: SGML vendors, users, and enthusiasts, in all their lively and sometimes noisy discussions, do enjoy a striking degree of mutual trust, respect, and admiration. For this, I think, Yuri is in large part responsible, through the way he organized the GCA meetings and gave his personal support, as well as SoftQuad's commercial support, to cooperative, non-commercial ventures which benefit all users and potential users of electronic texts.

The TEI, and I personally, have had reason to be grateful for Yuri's generosity in providing us with software we could not otherwise have afforded. But I am more grateful for his constant interest in, and enthusiasm for, the goals of the TEI.

He was a good man, a great force in making SGML what it is, and a good friend. I'll miss him a lot.

??changed: - -

- -

Lou Bernard

- -

I first met Yuri, not in person, but on the shelves of a discount book -shop, where I was sufficiently intrigued by the title "The History of -the End of the World" to buy what proved to be a remarkably cheerful -overview of assorted apocalypses from Babylonian myth to Dr Strangelove. -When, a few months later, I came across the same name as head of a major -software vendor, my feelings to said vendor were correspondingly all the -warmer.

- -

Yuri was personally generous to me and to the TEI in many ways, some of -which Michael has already mentioned. The last time I saw him was at the -Montreux SGML conference: he listened patiently to me ranting on about -the SGML projects I hoped to get moving at Oxford in the next few years, -diligently taking notes in a large A4 notebook. I remember noting the -[13 more lines...]

Lou Bernard

I first met Yuri, not in person, but on the shelves of a discount book shop, where I was sufficiently intrigued by the title "The History of the End of the World" to buy what proved to be a remarkably cheerful overview of assorted apocalypses from Babylonian myth to Dr Strangelove. When, a few months later, I came across the same name as head of a major software vendor, my feelings to said vendor were correspondingly all the warmer.

Yuri was personally generous to me and to the TEI in many ways, some of which Michael has already mentioned. The last time I saw him was at the Montreux SGML conference: he listened patiently to me ranting on about the SGML projects I hoped to get moving at Oxford in the next few years, diligently taking notes in a large A4 notebook. I remember noting the number of pages already filled in and wondering how many other people had been bending his ear in similar manner.

Like Michael, I thought of Yuri as "one of us" -- and am constantly surprised to find the number of other people in the world who think the same. He had an enthusiasm for whatever you wanted to talk about, an ability to pick up on your concerns, and a richness of technical knowledge to support what in others might have been mere dilettantism. He had a fundamental sympathy with uses of SGML far removed from many of those which concerned many of the key players in the industry, and a charmingly playful streak which many others lacked. If life were a Disney cartoon, he would be the small furry animal which makes a fool of the armour plated dinosaur. We needed, and need, people like that.

??changed: - -

- -

Marcy Thompson

??changed: - -

In trying to come to terms with Yuri's death, I continually flip -back and forth between trying to understand the full impact of -his loss to the SGML community and mourning the loss of a friend -and a mentor.

- -

Yuri hired me to work at SoftQuad when I knew no SGML and gave me -the opportunity to work on some outstanding projects. He decided -in 1992 that SoftQuad had, as he put it, kept me to itself long -enough, and started arranging for me to appear on conference -programs. My professional life is a gift from Yuri that I treasure -more than he could possibly know.

- -

In addition to mundane things like paychecks and projects, Yuri -was generous enough to share with me his vision of what SGML could -mean to the world and wise enough to applaud when I transmuted that -vision a little bit to make it my own.

- -

Yuri lived three times as fast as any of the rest of us and he took -[64 more lines...]

In trying to come to terms with Yuri's death, I continually flip back and forth between trying to understand the full impact of his loss to the SGML community and mourning the loss of a friend and a mentor.

Yuri hired me to work at SoftQuad when I knew no SGML and gave me the opportunity to work on some outstanding projects. He decided in 1992 that SoftQuad had, as he put it, kept me to itself long enough, and started arranging for me to appear on conference programs. My professional life is a gift from Yuri that I treasure more than he could possibly know.

In addition to mundane things like paychecks and projects, Yuri was generous enough to share with me his vision of what SGML could mean to the world and wise enough to applaud when I transmuted that vision a little bit to make it my own.

Yuri lived three times as fast as any of the rest of us and he took such great joy in everything he did that spending time with him, whether working on a customer project, polishing a talk or just flying across an ocean always left me energized and happy. (I remember an end-of-the-day flight from Toronto to London that was so filled with ideas, word games -- what *is* the shortest word that has the letters SGML in that order, he wondered, which question I like to think led to the name HoTMetaL -- and when they announced our arrival, it seemed like we'd been on the plane for 2 hours, not seven -- and mind you, this was in seats very far back in a completely full plane, center section.)

He had the gift of being able to store up memories of people and be able to pull them out in patterns; he always knew who needed to talk to whom, and he could arrange it. Yuri was the most prolific generator of good ideas I've ever known. Some of them changed the world (like the ICADD work), and all of them were completely non-obvious before he thought of them and stunningly obvious afterwards.

Other people have written eloquently in this forum of his professional accomplishments. I, too, feel that we have lost a beacon in our industry, but more than that, we've lost a source of joy and laughter and fun.

But I want to share only two specific memories. The first epitomizes for me how he was always present in the moment. The last time I saw Yuri while I still worked for SoftQuad, he was visiting the BC office; he had asked me to bring my cat to the office that day, and she, catlike, had retreated under the corner of my desk. I came back to my office from an errand to find Yuri, coatless, and sprawled on the floor on his stomach, his legs sticking out from under my desk, petting a purring cat, and looking as happy as she did. Then he leapt up, put on his coat and reverted to being the President of SoftQuad.

The other memory is more about what he meant as a catalyst than anything else. Last summer at the HyTime conference, he was speaking in a session when he suddenly said the words that will always remind me of him: "I have an idea!" He described the idea, and invited those who found it interesting to join him at lunch that day. Fifteen or so people wanted to pursue this idea, and the hotel had its tables set on tens. Over the initial objections of the waitstaff, Yuri charmed them into fitting us all at a single table. Then he looked around the table and said "I've had the very great pleasure of working personally with everyone at this table, but I don't think you all know each other, so perhaps you ought to introduce yourselves."

Which of course we all did, but we were also sitting a little taller in each of our seats, because he was so clearly being honest when he said it had been a pleasure. We had all been pleased to work with him in our times and our ways, and it meant a lot to know he felt the same.

I was greatly moved by the funeral activities in Toronto this weekend. It's clear that everyone who was touched by Yuri was also changed by him, to be a little wiser, a little more joyful.

A light went out of the world when Yuri died. May those of us who were blessed by knowing him, working with him and loving him carry forward that light.

-- Marcy Thompson
work: marcy@passage.com
play: marcy@squirrel.com mlt@netcom.com

Martin Bryan

??changed: - -

The news of Yuri Rubinsky's unexpected death has greatly saddened -those of us who had the privilege to know him.

- -

My memory of him will always be of his tireless energy in promoting -the role of SGML as a tool for the benefit of mankind, especially its -less fortunate members. He saw the advantages that SGML had to offer -for the disabled long before the rest of us, and clearly promoted the -idea of preparing information in a form that would be reusable in the -widest possible number of environments. This work has already borne -many fruits and will continue to be fruitful for decades to come.

- -

Perhaps the best tribute we could pay to Yuri's memory would be to set -up an annual prize for the group that has done most during the past -year to develop SGML-based services for the underpriviledged. I would -suggest that the SGML '96 would be the ideal time and place to present -such a Rubinsky Award, which The SGML Centre would be proud to -sponsor.

- -[7 more lines...]

The news of Yuri Rubinsky's unexpected death has greatly saddened those of us who had the privilege to know him.

My memory of him will always be of his tireless energy in promoting the role of SGML as a tool for the benefit of mankind, especially its less fortunate members. He saw the advantages that SGML had to offer for the disabled long before the rest of us, and clearly promoted the idea of preparing information in a form that would be reusable in the widest possible number of environments. This work has already borne many fruits and will continue to be fruitful for decades to come.

Perhaps the best tribute we could pay to Yuri's memory would be to set up an annual prize for the group that has done most during the past year to develop SGML-based services for the underpriviledged. I would suggest that the SGML '96 would be the ideal time and place to present such a Rubinsky Award, which The SGML Centre would be proud to sponsor.

Martin Bryan E-mail:
mtbryan@sgml.u-net.com
The SGML Centre
Churchdown, UK Phone: +44 1452 714029

Michael Leventhal

??changed: - -

I last saw Yuri in December at the SGML Conference conference -where I had the privilege to speak at a session he chaired. -I asked him to donate software for an SGML class I will be -teaching - of course, being Yuri, I had no doubt that my -request would be warmly received and it was. Michael -Sperberg-McQueen spoke very truly about the spirit of -fellowship which Yuri brought into the SGML community and -which will remain as one of his legacies. It was this -spirit and the passion and learning of Yuri and the -people who loved Yuri that led me to find my metier in -SGML. Thank you, Mr. Rubinsky.

- -

My memorial to Yuri Rubinsky will be to teach my publishing -students about the work in SGML for the visually-impaired, -another of Yuri's many contributions. Yuri is blest to have -given knowledge which will enlighten many and be forever -a part of the intellectual inheritance of countless people.

- -[7 more lines...]

I last saw Yuri in December at the SGML Conference conference where I had the privilege to speak at a session he chaired. I asked him to donate software for an SGML class I will be teaching - of course, being Yuri, I had no doubt that my request would be warmly received and it was. Michael Sperberg-McQueen spoke very truly about the spirit of fellowship which Yuri brought into the SGML community and which will remain as one of his legacies. It was this spirit and the passion and learning of Yuri and the people who loved Yuri that led me to find my metier in SGML. Thank you, Mr. Rubinsky.

My memorial to Yuri Rubinsky will be to teach my publishing students about the work in SGML for the visually-impaired, another of Yuri's many contributions. Yuri is blest to have given knowledge which will enlighten many and be forever a part of the intellectual inheritance of countless people.

Michael Leventhal
Founder
Text Science

Michel Biezunski

--removed: - ??changed: - -

The first time I ever heard about SGML, Yuri was present. It was June -10, 1988. Yuri came to Paris because he was invited to participate to -the first presentation of SGML organized by Dominique Vignaud for the -"Syndicat national de l'Edition" (French Association of -Publishers). When Dominique invited him, he immediately answered: yes, -I am coming.

- -

During that pioneering period for SGML in France, the only source of -information available was the standard itself. For those who were not -involved in its development, (nobody was in France at that time) it -was hard and painful to delve into it. Yuri gave a new light on -SGML. He was able to explain the main issues in simple and clear -terms. He made SGML accessible, intellectually integrable, and even -.. pleasant.

- -

Yuri not only made a bright and colorful presentation, but he also -showed a really user-friendly SGML application: Author/Editor on -MacIntosh. His message was received by the participants to this -[38 more lines...]

The first time I ever heard about SGML, Yuri was present. It was June 10, 1988. Yuri came to Paris because he was invited to participate to the first presentation of SGML organized by Dominique Vignaud for the "Syndicat national de l'Edition" (French Association of Publishers). When Dominique invited him, he immediately answered: yes, I am coming.

During that pioneering period for SGML in France, the only source of information available was the standard itself. For those who were not involved in its development, (nobody was in France at that time) it was hard and painful to delve into it. Yuri gave a new light on SGML. He was able to explain the main issues in simple and clear terms. He made SGML accessible, intellectually integrable, and even .. pleasant.

Yuri not only made a bright and colorful presentation, but he also showed a really user-friendly SGML application: Author/Editor on MacIntosh. His message was received by the participants to this meeting : SGML was usable immediately. But he also showed that SGML was more than that: it represented a high level intellectual achievement, that was worth studying.

For Yuri, dealing with SGML was far from being simply a way to make money for his company. He was always looking for the most elevated usages of what SGML was for. The fact that he contributed to make electronic documents accessible to blind people was an example.

During the last conversation I had with Yuri, last December, in Boston, he proposed to adapt his software for producing Braille output from SGML musical documents (i.e. SMDL). He said that this could be achieved very easily, and I understood that the reason was because he always cared about this. He used SGML openness literally.

Yuri was incapable of working with somebody without becoming his friend. He was particularly skilled to listen to others, and he understood what others were looking for. The fact that he could apply this talent to his work made him so exceptional.

Now that Yuri is not there any more, I feel that we have not only lost one of the most eminent members of the SGML community. I have also lost a friend, and I think that everybody who has known Yuri feels the same.

Michel Biezunski For the SGML Users' Group France.

+ ----------------------- + ----------------------------------------
+ Michel Biezunski, 5 rue d'Alsace, 75003 Paris, France
Director tel +33 1 42 05 93 15
High Text fax +33 1 42 05 92 48
michel@hightext.com http://www.hightext.com
+ ----------------------- + ---------------------------------------- +

Mike Paciello

??changed: - -

Let it be known that Yuri was the greatest ally ICADD had in furthering -the cause of accessibility for people with print impairments. Without -him, there would be no such thing as an ICADD DTD or an accessible HTML.

- -

My hat is off to a terrific friend. - -[...]

- -

Because Yuri Rubinsky was such an intimate and instrumental person in -our consortium, I have taken the liberty to send flowers in behalf of -all ICADD members to Yuri's memorial service. Attached will be a card -with all our names.

- -

I will also prepare a brief statement extending our sympathy to Yuri's -family and Softquad that I will try to arrange to have read at his -service.

Let it be known that Yuri was the greatest ally ICADD had in furthering the cause of accessibility for people with print impairments. Without him, there would be no such thing as an ICADD DTD or an accessible HTML.

My hat is off to a terrific friend. [...]

Because Yuri Rubinsky was such an intimate and instrumental person in our consortium, I have taken the liberty to send flowers in behalf of all ICADD members to Yuri's memorial service. Attached will be a card with all our names.

I will also prepare a brief statement extending our sympathy to Yuri's family and Softquad that I will try to arrange to have read at his service.

??changed: - -

- -

Murray Maloney

??changed: - -

Martin Bryan wrote: -> Perhaps the best tribute we could pay to Yuri's memory would be to
set -> up an annual prize for the group that has done most during the past
-> year to develop SGML-based services for the underpriviledged. I would
-> suggest that the SGML '96 would be the ideal time and place to present
-> such a Rubinsky Award, which The SGML Centre would be proud to
-> sponsor.

- -

The outpouring of sentiment for Yuri Rubinsky is heartwarming. -I know that each of us is moved by each other's postings. -I can also report that Holley Rubinsky appreciates your thoughts.

- -

Holley is developing plans to provide a lasting tribute to Yuri, -working with some of their closest friends and business partners.

- -

On behalf of Holley, the people at SoftQuad and those throughout -the world who knew Yuri and admired his spirit, we ask that you -wait for a little while until we have time to put together what -[13 more lines...]

Martin Bryan wrote: > Perhaps the best tribute we could pay to Yuri's memory would be to
set > up an annual prize for the group that has done most during the past
> year to develop SGML-based services for the underpriviledged. I would
> suggest that the SGML '96 would be the ideal time and place to present
> such a Rubinsky Award, which The SGML Centre would be proud to
> sponsor.

The outpouring of sentiment for Yuri Rubinsky is heartwarming. I know that each of us is moved by each other's postings. I can also report that Holley Rubinsky appreciates your thoughts.

Holley is developing plans to provide a lasting tribute to Yuri, working with some of their closest friends and business partners.

On behalf of Holley, the people at SoftQuad and those throughout the world who knew Yuri and admired his spirit, we ask that you wait for a little while until we have time to put together what is tentatively being called the "Yuri Rubinsky Insight Foundation."

It is Holley's hope that the Insight Foundation will facilitate and contribute to the development of accessibility software, serve as a source of scholarships, and grants, and that it can serve those who say "I have an idea!"

There have been numerous offers of donations, each of which is welcome and will be pursued in due course. I am keeping a file for Holley with all mail and news postings. So, please keep in touch.

Please look forward to announcements on this newsgroup and at major industry conferences in the coming months.

??changed: - -

Murray Maloney
-SoftQuad Inc.

- -

Tommie Usdin, Elaine Brennan, Pam Gennusa

Murray Maloney
SoftQuad Inc.

Tommie Usdin, Elaine Brennan, Pam Gennusa

--removed: - ??changed: - -

Yuri Rubinsky 1952-1996

- -

It is my sad duty to tell you of the untimely death of Yuri Rubinsky, -president and co-founder of SoftQuad Inc., champion of SGML, and friend -to so many of us, on Sunday, 21 January 1996.

- -

It is in many ways because of Yuri and his work that the SGML community -is as much of a community as it is; he was a representative of SoftQuad -but also a fierce partisan of the concepts and implementation of SGML, -and a firm believer that we could accomplish more as a linked consortium -than as only competitors.

- -

Although a staunch promoter of his own company, Yuri also helped unite -competitors to bring about positive accomplishments for the SGML -industry. The jewel in his crown is SGML Open, the consortium of -providers of SGML products and services. He envisioned the consortium -together with Haviland Wright [then] of Avalanche and Larry Bohn [then] -of Interleaf; helped bring it into being; and led it as Chairman for its -[69 more lines...]

Yuri Rubinsky 1952-1996

It is my sad duty to tell you of the untimely death of Yuri Rubinsky, president and co-founder of SoftQuad Inc., champion of SGML, and friend to so many of us, on Sunday, 21 January 1996.

It is in many ways because of Yuri and his work that the SGML community is as much of a community as it is; he was a representative of SoftQuad but also a fierce partisan of the concepts and implementation of SGML, and a firm believer that we could accomplish more as a linked consortium than as only competitors.

Although a staunch promoter of his own company, Yuri also helped unite competitors to bring about positive accomplishments for the SGML industry. The jewel in his crown is SGML Open, the consortium of providers of SGML products and services. He envisioned the consortium together with Haviland Wright [then] of Avalanche and Larry Bohn [then] of Interleaf; helped bring it into being; and led it as Chairman for its first two years.

Hundreds of people felt Yuri's touch, he served as an unofficial uncle for many in the SGML community, encouraging insights, pushing for clarity of argument, teaching and preaching and leading the SGML way; his enthusiasm and exuberance were always infectious. There was another side to Yuri that many of us discovered to our chagrin: he also had a habit of stealing other people's best lines and making them his own.

He was as happy teaching newcomers the basics of SGML as convening a group of experts to hammer-out technical details. When he addressed a hall full of people he sparkled with energy and enthusiasm. He often scheduled dozens of meetings in a single day, some as short as 5 minutes, and during those meetings he gave each his full attention, carefully taking notes on who would do what in his omnipresent notebooks. And who would dare to neglect an assignment after it was written in Yuri's book?

Few people can make an impression on an entire industry the way Yuri did.

He selected projects with wisdom and pursued them with fervor using his considerable technical, political, and humorous talents. Not only did ICADD, STEP, and IETF committees benefit from his work, but also those of us who were evangelized and enlightened by Yuri about the importance of such work.

Yuri's accomplishments were many:
-- a 1989 winner of the Graphic Communications Association's `Tekkie' award for meritorious achievement in the technical documentation industry
-- chairman of the GCA's annual four-day SGML conference since 1988 contributing editor to this Newsletter and contributor to many publications including <TAG> The SGML Newsletter
-- editor of Charles F. Goldfarb's The SGML Handbook
-- co-writer and producer of SGML: The Movie
-- member of the NATO Industry Advisory Group's CALS Study technical standards team, in the area of standards for publishing
-- member of the Graphic Communications Association Board of Directors
-- member of the CALS Industry Steering Group Standards Working Group, Electronic Publishing Committee, and task groups on the Electronic Review of Documents and Advanced Data Concepts (STEP, HyTime and CDM)
-- member of the ISO/IEC working group in Canada that created SGML and related standards; and a member of the international committee creating STEP, a family of electronic product data standards
-- member of the International Committee for Accessible Document Design (ICADD) which developed strategies and techniques for the use of SGML to generate Braille, large print and voice-synthesized texts
-- co-author of Christopher Columbus Answers All Charges, the first book to appear in Braille and computer voice editions before the trade paperback (which was, of course, written in and published from SGML)
-- co-founder and first president of SGML Open.

>From this long list of accomplishments it sounds like Yuri must have been a sage, old man and given time he would have become one. The Yuri we have lost was a sage, young man - far too young.

Yuri was a man with the energy of two men, the passions of five, the enthusiasm of ten, and the influence of fifty. It is perhaps the most fitting testament of all that hundreds of people from throughout the world feel that when we lost Yuri we each lost one of our best friends and most trusted advisers. We will each miss his encouragement, his advice, his smile, his handshake, and his jokes. As an industry we will miss his creative problem solving, his ability to soothe ruffled feathers, find compromise, and engender co-operation. As the message of Yuri's death spread throughout the SGML community, people scattered across several continents were first numb and then consumed with the need to talk and reminisce and chuckle and mourn, always remembering one more anecdote about Yuri, not letting him go.

??changed: - -

...Tommie Usdin, Elaine Brennan, Pam Gennusa

- -

Peter Flynn

...Tommie Usdin, Elaine Brennan, Pam Gennusa

Peter Flynn

??changed: - -

Glenn wrote: -> I don't know how many of you knew Yuri, but his work on and
-> evangelizing of SGML has always been an inspiration to the industry
-> and to those who knew him. The success of HTML owes a significant
-> debt to the vision he brought to the realm of SGML and its enabling
-> technology

- -

I shall always remember his comment to me when I mentioned HTML in a -presentation to the SGML conference in 1990 (a time when there wasn't -even a parseable DTD). He just said, "Hey, imagine if this took off - -we could have the whole world using SGML in a few years."

Glenn wrote: > I don't know how many of you knew Yuri, but his work on and
> evangelizing of SGML has always been an inspiration to the industry
> and to those who knew him. The success of HTML owes a significant
> debt to the vision he brought to the realm of SGML and its enabling
> technology

I shall always remember his comment to me when I mentioned HTML in a presentation to the SGML conference in 1990 (a time when there wasn't even a parseable DTD). He just said, "Hey, imagine if this took off - we could have the whole world using SGML in a few years."

??changed: - -

- -

Peter Sharpe

??changed: - -

I've known Yuri Rubinsky since he was 14 and I've considered him a close -friend for all of those years. Last week was very hard for me. This week -will be a little easier because of the Saturday service and the -gatherings on Friday evening and Saturday. Those were very emotional but -comforting days for me.

- -

Friday evening, 60 friends of Yuri's gathered at his favorite -restaurant, Peter's Chung King on College St. in Toronto. There were -many current SoftQuad employees, many former SoftQuad employees, and -visitors from around the world. We ate some good food, drank some beer, -and shared many good public and private reminiscences.

- -

Saturday afternoon there was a service followed by a gathering of -friends and family at Marc Giacamelli's house. That gathering was -similar to the one Friday night. The faces were different, but the -sentiments were the same.

- -

I'd like to share some of the thoughts and feelings that I came away -[32 more lines...]

I've known Yuri Rubinsky since he was 14 and I've considered him a close friend for all of those years. Last week was very hard for me. This week will be a little easier because of the Saturday service and the gatherings on Friday evening and Saturday. Those were very emotional but comforting days for me.

Friday evening, 60 friends of Yuri's gathered at his favorite restaurant, Peter's Chung King on College St. in Toronto. There were many current SoftQuad employees, many former SoftQuad employees, and visitors from around the world. We ate some good food, drank some beer, and shared many good public and private reminiscences.

Saturday afternoon there was a service followed by a gathering of friends and family at Marc Giacamelli's house. That gathering was similar to the one Friday night. The faces were different, but the sentiments were the same.

I'd like to share some of the thoughts and feelings that I came away with from those two days.

The comforting thought for me is that Yuri is not gone. In listening to the tributes and talking to the people from all walks of life who knew Yuri, there was a common theme: Yuri had entered their lives and changed them forever. There were those who met their spouses through Yuri. Those that had their career directions changed by Yuri. And, I think, all who had their perception of the world changed by Yuri. Yuri is alive today in thousands of people all over the world.

This was expressed so beautifully in Bill Clarke's tribute at the Saturday service. The theme was "But wait, there's more." I cannot remember a more inspiring speech. There is more. More for us personally and more for SoftQuad. And it will be shaped by that part of Yuri that lives on in all of us.

Ian Brown put it another way at the Saturday gathering. He said, Yuri was the most distractable person he knew. You could distract him from eating his lunch. ("You could distract him from his current distraction," added someone from those listening.) Ian said he'd like to feel that Yuri was not gone forever, he was just being distracted.

And that was Yuri. He'd suddenly be out of touch for days or even years as he was distracted by some new project or other. But during those distractions, he was still influencing your life because of the way he had changed your life when he was distracted by you.

Yuri is not gone. I saw him in everyone at the wake on Friday night and the gathering on Saturday. I see him in all the wonderful and moving tributes on the internet. And he is very much alive in me.

Three Yuri Stories

??changed: - -

I'd like to relate three stories about Yuri that span the years that I -knew him.

- -

I first met Yuri about 30 years ago. I don't remember the exact -circumstances. My memory has never been very good. It was one of the -things I counted on Yuri for. I wish I could give him a call and ask him -when we first met. He'd remember.

- -

But I do have a first recollection of Yuri. The year was 1965. He was in -grade 10 and I was in grade 9 at the same high school in Sarnia, -Ontario. There was a group of us in the basement of one of the student's -parents house.

- -

Yuri had had an idea. He thought we should put together a newspaper. It -would be funny and include satires and parodies. Perhaps the odd pun. -He'd gathered us together to make his idea a reality. And we did it. The -newspaper was the River City Tribune and it was published for the three -remaining years that Yuri was in Sarnia and for at least two more years -[96 more lines...]

I'd like to relate three stories about Yuri that span the years that I knew him.

I first met Yuri about 30 years ago. I don't remember the exact circumstances. My memory has never been very good. It was one of the things I counted on Yuri for. I wish I could give him a call and ask him when we first met. He'd remember.

But I do have a first recollection of Yuri. The year was 1965. He was in grade 10 and I was in grade 9 at the same high school in Sarnia, Ontario. There was a group of us in the basement of one of the student's parents house.

Yuri had had an idea. He thought we should put together a newspaper. It would be funny and include satires and parodies. Perhaps the odd pun. He'd gathered us together to make his idea a reality. And we did it. The newspaper was the River City Tribune and it was published for the three remaining years that Yuri was in Sarnia and for at least two more years following that.

(That was not Yuri's first newspaper: He started another when he was in public school, before I knew him. And it was not his last. His most famous parody newspaper was Not The Globe and Mail, published a decade or so later.)

When people learn that I've known Yuri so long, they ask me "What was he like in high school?" Well, what was he like two weeks ago? Or a month ago? Or when you last talked to him? Yuri was Yuri. He was not so different 30 years ago. The energy, the ideas, the ability to gather people together to work on a common goal, the humour, the humanity, the politeness, the compassion, the intelligence: It was all there.

My next story is about magic. My background is in physics, mathematics and computer programming. I do not believe in magic. But, you know, there was magic around Yuri. I don't mean the magic of his personality -- although many would call that magical. I mean real magic. Here's what I mean:

After high school, Yuri and I shared a house with others for a couple of years at the beginning of the 70's. Then I went out west for a few years and we lost touch.

A decade later I was working for a software company in Vancouver. The company was quickly fading -- not my fault, honest! -- and I knew I would have to find new work very soon.

At the office we had mail slots. We had email back in those days, but we also still had the printed stuff and each of us had a cubby hole near the front door to receive it.

One day I picked up a clipping from the Financial Post newspaper. There was a note attached saying "Peter -- I think you will find this interesting." And I did. For the clipping contained a picture of Yuri Rubinsky and an article about a company called SoftQuad that he was starting. Yuri Rubinsky! Now who in the office could have known that I knew Yuri?

I was overjoyed at the chance to see Yuri again so I called the Toronto office of SoftQuad and was told that he was in Banff at the Publishing Workshop. So I phoned Banff, talked to Yuri and arranged for my wife Kim and I to drive over for a visit. It was a great visit and, well, Yuri had an idea. That idea led to me joining SoftQuad within a year. And there I've remained for a decade.

So who in the previous company knew that I knew Yuri? No one. It turns out that I had been looking at the wrong side of the clipping. There was an article on the other side that was supposed to be the interesting one. And not only that. The clipping had been put in the wrong box. There were two Peters in the company and the clipping had been meant for the other one.

I think that just might be real magic. My last story concerns the last contact I had with Yuri. It was indirect.

If you knew Yuri, you knew that he liked to make the occasional phone call. Like when he had 5 minutes waiting for a plane. Or 10 minutes before dinner arrived in a restaurant. Or when he was supposed to be writing a chapter for one of his many books.

I always found his calls mood altering. I always felt happy and energized after talking to him. Never a bum trip.

I have two children. Graham, 7, and Jaclyn, 9. Yuri was wonderful with children. He treated them like very important persons and they thrived on it. They had met Yuri many times and called him Uncle Yuri. (Yuri, on the other hand, had offered to name our children. Jaclyn was born on July 1, which is a national holiday in Canada, and Yuri suggested the name "Canada Day Sharpe". We politely declined.)

A week ago last Thursday our phone rang after dinner. Jaclyn answered. I didn't know who it was but it seemed to be for her since she was having a very pleasant conversation for quite a long time. I was watching TV or something and not paying much attention when Jaclyn looked up from the phone and said "Daddy, does HoTMetaL support frames?"

It was Yuri. He'd phoned to ask me a simple question and instead had spent 5 minutes delighting Jaclyn with a conversation.

As he did to so many others, Yuri changed my life. I was counting on him being around to continue working his magic. On me and on my family. We miss him very much.

Peter Sharpe
--
Peter Sharpe, Director of SGML Development, SoftQuad Inc. Tel: +1 604 585 1999
#108-10070 King George Highway, Surrey, B.C., CANADA V3T 2W4 Fax: 585 1926
Internet: peter@sq.com or peter@sqwest.bc.ca World Wide Web:
http://www.sq.com

Quintin Yardley

??changed: - -

Almost thirty years ago in that river city town of Sarnia, Ontario, I -was a happening kind of guy with brown bell bottom pants and paisley -shirts. One day in May of '66 or '67, I was at the Sarnia Public Library -doing what I loved best, avoiding homework by browsing through the book -stacks. I bumped into another browser, a fuzzy-haired young man and we -became engaged in the most animated conversation that ranged from poetry -to political science. When we finally got down to introducing ourselves, -we were in for a shock.

- -

"You're Yuri Rubinsky?" I said. "I heard about you, everyone says I -talk just like you."

- -

"You're P.Q. Yardley?" he replied. "People have been telling me that -I remind them of you."

- -

We agreed that everyone was wrong, we were each unique, only vaguely -like each other and thus became the best of friends.

- -[28 more lines...]

Almost thirty years ago in that river city town of Sarnia, Ontario, I was a happening kind of guy with brown bell bottom pants and paisley shirts. One day in May of '66 or '67, I was at the Sarnia Public Library doing what I loved best, avoiding homework by browsing through the book stacks. I bumped into another browser, a fuzzy-haired young man and we became engaged in the most animated conversation that ranged from poetry to political science. When we finally got down to introducing ourselves, we were in for a shock.

"You're Yuri Rubinsky?" I said. "I heard about you, everyone says I talk just like you."

"You're P.Q. Yardley?" he replied. "People have been telling me that I remind them of you."

We agreed that everyone was wrong, we were each unique, only vaguely like each other and thus became the best of friends.

I didn't know then, but that was the day that I was collected by Yuri. For Yuri was a collector. A collector of post cards and pithy commentary, images and ideas; but mostly a collector of people. In Sarnia, St. Catharines, London, Toronto, Banff, Kaslo and all around the world, Yuri connected and collected.

He chose people to befriend who interested, amused or informed him. He had broad tastes. He surrounded himself with the literate, the articulate, the artistic, the creative and the humane. He broadened his life experience by recognizing, celebrating and absorbing the experiences of others.

Yuri was an unbiased collector. He prejudged no one on the basis of age, gender, sexual preference, income level, educational background, race, physical ability or religious beliefs. He looked into people for their light of life and gathered those whose beacon beckoned.

He gathered you. He gathered me.

He appreciated us for our qualities. He respected us for our skills. He loved us for our humanity.

We have all been enriched by our relationship with Yuri, a person who could turn walks into parades.

Raymond H. Stachowiak

??changed: - -

I have over the last few days read many comments and tributes to -Yuri Rubinsky. I too was a friend of Yuri's, having worked with -him on a number of projects over the last 8 years. However, unlike -the academics and intellectuals thinker who naturally flocked -around him, I am one of the working guys who Yuri always had time -for. And that I think is the legacy he left for us to consider and -carry forward. SGML was not an intleectual exercise, not a closed -club for the elite to Yuri, but a technology that can be embraced -by all to accomplish good things. I think we should all try to -live more in that legacy, always trying to bring the theory into -practice, tolerant of the less informed and more inclined to put -thoughts into actions. As I said, Yuri was a friend and I too will -miss him.

- -

Carla Corkern

I have over the last few days read many comments and tributes to Yuri Rubinsky. I too was a friend of Yuri's, having worked with him on a number of projects over the last 8 years. However, unlike the academics and intellectuals thinker who naturally flocked around him, I am one of the working guys who Yuri always had time for. And that I think is the legacy he left for us to consider and carry forward. SGML was not an intleectual exercise, not a closed club for the elite to Yuri, but a technology that can be embraced by all to accomplish good things. I think we should all try to live more in that legacy, always trying to bring the theory into practice, tolerant of the less informed and more inclined to put thoughts into actions. As I said, Yuri was a friend and I too will miss him.

Carla Corkern

??changed: - -

I remember distinctly my first encounter with Yuri Rubinsky. I was -attending my first ever SGML course in Boston and Yuri gave the opening -address. I was a UNIX systems administrator harassed at the inconvenience -that this SGML stuff was going to cause in my job but something about -Yuri's stories that wove together the beginning of SGML with the French -Revolution captured my imagination. I could not fathom at that time -what a big part of my life SGML would become - and how Yuri would continue -to challenge and inspire me.

I cannot say that I ever had a personal relationship with Yuri but I -can say that whenever we had business dealings (such as when our company -became a SoftQuad Partner) there was a warmth and honesty to Yuri that is -rare in the software business. I regret that I did not know Yuri better -but I will always be thankful to him for the inspiration and guidance he -has provided to me, to others in my organization, and to the SGML industry -as a whole.

Carla Corkern - President, ISOGEN INTERNATIONAL

- -[3 more lines...]

I remember distinctly my first encounter with Yuri Rubinsky. I was attending my first ever SGML course in Boston and Yuri gave the opening address. I was a UNIX systems administrator harassed at the inconvenience that this SGML stuff was going to cause in my job but something about Yuri's stories that wove together the beginning of SGML with the French Revolution captured my imagination. I could not fathom at that time what a big part of my life SGML would become - and how Yuri would continue to challenge and inspire me.

I cannot say that I ever had a personal relationship with Yuri but I can say that whenever we had business dealings (such as when our company became a SoftQuad Partner) there was a warmth and honesty to Yuri that is rare in the software business. I regret that I did not know Yuri better but I will always be thankful to him for the inspiration and guidance he has provided to me, to others in my organization, and to the SGML industry as a whole.

Carla Corkern - President, ISOGEN INTERNATIONAL

Laura Walker

??changed: - -

About six years ago, I met Yuri for the first time, demonstrating -Author/Editor and talking non-stop about the promise of SGML. He -infused me with such enthusiasm about SGML and its potential that I -committed myself from that day forward to help it grow. Yuri Rubinsky, -in a way, gave me my SGML career.

- -

I called him, affectionately, the SGML Teddy Bear. A powerful icon, -both strong and comforting. I will miss him and all that he, alone, -represented. How lucky we are that he left this legacy behind: solving -problems, having fun and making money -- all with SGML. How lucky we are -that he left his mark in so many hearts and minds, for we will never be -truly without him. -

- -

Laura Walker - Chief Marketing Officer, SGML Open

- -

- -[1 more lines...]

About six years ago, I met Yuri for the first time, demonstrating Author/Editor and talking non-stop about the promise of SGML. He infused me with such enthusiasm about SGML and its potential that I committed myself from that day forward to help it grow. Yuri Rubinsky, in a way, gave me my SGML career.

I called him, affectionately, the SGML Teddy Bear. A powerful icon, both strong and comforting. I will miss him and all that he, alone, represented. How lucky we are that he left this legacy behind: solving problems, having fun and making money -- all with SGML. How lucky we are that he left his mark in so many hearts and minds, for we will never be truly without him.

Laura Walker - Chief Marketing Officer, SGML Open

Eric Freese

??changed: - -

When I first heard of Yuri's passing, so many emotions crossed my -mind that I can't begin to describe them all. There was, and will be -for a while, a deep sense of loss. Yuri was one of my mentors. When I -first met him in 1989 at the SGML conference in Philadelphia, I was just -learning SGML in the process of developing the Content Data Model which -is now the core of the IETM concept. Anyone who is familiar with IETMs -knows that they aren't an easy concept to grasp. Throw learning SGML in -on top of that and you know where I was. During one of the breaks I ran -into Yuri. We introduced ourselves and I explained my predicament. He -took the time from a very busy schedule to sit down and answer my -questions and give me the feeling that I really did understand this -stuff. He gave me so much confidence that I did an impromptu poster -session! My career in the SGML field was probably born in those few -minutes.

- -

Over the years, I always made a point of finding Yuri -whenever we were at the same meeting. No matter how long it had been -since the last meeting, it was like old friends who were always in -[32 more lines...]

When I first heard of Yuri's passing, so many emotions crossed my mind that I can't begin to describe them all. There was, and will be for a while, a deep sense of loss. Yuri was one of my mentors. When I first met him in 1989 at the SGML conference in Philadelphia, I was just learning SGML in the process of developing the Content Data Model which is now the core of the IETM concept. Anyone who is familiar with IETMs knows that they aren't an easy concept to grasp. Throw learning SGML in on top of that and you know where I was. During one of the breaks I ran into Yuri. We introduced ourselves and I explained my predicament. He took the time from a very busy schedule to sit down and answer my questions and give me the feeling that I really did understand this stuff. He gave me so much confidence that I did an impromptu poster session! My career in the SGML field was probably born in those few minutes.

Over the years, I always made a point of finding Yuri whenever we were at the same meeting. No matter how long it had been since the last meeting, it was like old friends who were always in contact. Last summer, on the way to SGML Europe, we ran into each other on the Munich subway and became travel partners the rest of the way to Gmunden. By the time we got there our merry band had grown to 8 and a good time was had by all.

Yuri made such an impact in his life. He was one of the most highly regarded champions of SGML, helping it to break into the mainstream. He helped bring the SGML world, sometimes kicking and screaming, into the realization that the World Wide Web was something that would happen with or without our help and that we could make positive contributions in shaping the future of HTML. He helped to make information acessible with his work on the ICADD committee, including having it included in HTML and ISO 12083. He also showed his lighter side with his Christopher Columbus novel.

Even though Yuri's time on this earth is done, I'm sure he hasn't stopped working. I can just picture him now sitting on a cloud with Columbus asking him how he liked the book. Or working with St. Peter to show him the benefits marking the rolls of Heaven in SGML. Or working with angelic choirmaster to develop some of the first material marked up in SMDL. It wouldn't be Yuri any other way.

Yuri- we miss you. Keep an eye on us all. I'll see you later...

Eric Freese - Sr. SGML
Analyst, Information Architects, Inc.

Sandy Ressler

??changed: - -

The cold feel of email got a little colder last week with the -news of Yuri's passing. I've know Yuri probably for some 8ish years. -Can't remember exactly where me met, I think at SGML 88 or 90 -conference. -I eventually got him involved with the product data community the -"STEP" world and although I've left that domain he continued, making -many significant contributions. As Tim Bray wrote he always managed -to get work accomplished without cutting a throat, stab a back or -crush an ego. In the often pseudo political landscape of technical -standards and high-tech products Yuri was opionated yet never dogmatic. -He was also simply smart, he could take complex ideas and present -them in clear articulate ways.

- -

Over the years we've had a warm relationship perhaps the -closest when he was most generous with his time at reviewing some -chapters for a book I wrote about three years ago. I hadn't talked -with him for about a year or so when only about a month ago I asked -him to write a forward for another book I'm working on. He generously -[8 more lines...]

The cold feel of email got a little colder last week with the news of Yuri's passing. I've know Yuri probably for some 8ish years. Can't remember exactly where me met, I think at SGML 88 or 90 conference. I eventually got him involved with the product data community the "STEP" world and although I've left that domain he continued, making many significant contributions. As Tim Bray wrote he always managed to get work accomplished without cutting a throat, stab a back or crush an ego. In the often pseudo political landscape of technical standards and high-tech products Yuri was opionated yet never dogmatic. He was also simply smart, he could take complex ideas and present them in clear articulate ways.

Over the years we've had a warm relationship perhaps the closest when he was most generous with his time at reviewing some chapters for a book I wrote about three years ago. I hadn't talked with him for about a year or so when only about a month ago I asked him to write a forward for another book I'm working on. He generously agreed and only a couple of weeks ago I was trying to get in touch with him for some random question of mine and I eventually left a phone message for him to which he had someone else at SoftQuad mailed me some information. I figured I would catch him eventually.

It felt good to be back in touch with him, he was always a "mench", a nice guy. I received the package yesterday and it felt kind of hollow...He will be sorely missed.

??changed: - -

- -

SoftQuad - Annual Report

- -

This January, SoftQuad and the entire SGML community lost an industry -leader, inventor and entrepreneur when SoftQuad President Yuri Rubinsky -passed away, suddenly and unexpectedly.

- -

Yuri co-founded SoftQuad -a decade ago and was a well-known and respected World Wide Web -innovator, committed to the development of software tools that would -make SGML a practical basis for international document information -systems world-wide.

- -

Yuri's tireless work to advance understanding -and applications of the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) -began as an extension of his work in publishing and evolved into a -[30 more lines...]

SoftQuad - Annual Report

This January, SoftQuad and the entire SGML community lost an industry leader, inventor and entrepreneur when SoftQuad President Yuri Rubinsky passed away, suddenly and unexpectedly.

Yuri co-founded SoftQuad a decade ago and was a well-known and respected World Wide Web innovator, committed to the development of software tools that would make SGML a practical basis for international document information systems world-wide.

Yuri's tireless work to advance understanding and applications of the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) began as an extension of his work in publishing and evolved into a commitment that has become his legacy. He was Chairman of the SGML Open Consortium, and a very influential member of many Internet and World Wide Web Standards and Technical organizations.

Yuri is widely known for his innovation and dedication to the development of software and information standards that enable information to communicate with the visually impaired. As technical advisor to the International Committee for Accessible Document Design (ICADD), he worked tirelessly to encourage the creation of software, and information markup standards, that allowed printed words to be seamlessly translated into large print, Braille, and speech.

Yuri was an exceptional man who accomplished many great things during his lifetime, and in his honour, the Yuri Rubinsky Insight Foundation has been created. This foundation is dedicated to commemorating the genius of Yuri by bringing together workers from a broad spectrum of disciplines to stimulate research and development of technologies to enhance human access to information of all kinds.

The Foundation provides a focal point for those honoring the life and work of Yuri. Colleagues, business competitors and friends universally acknowledge Yuri's generosity in encouraging cooperation and the exchange of ideas. The Foundation is a non-profit organization and accepts and acknowledges all donations.

Steven Champeon

??changed: - -

Here's something I had forwarded to me from the COPYEDITING-L -mailing list. I figured that this would be as appropriate a -forum as any for posting the news, sad as it is.

- -

I first 'met' Yuri while in training as an SGML Conversion -Operator for Gateway Conversion Technologies back in 1993. -We were forced to watch "SGML: The Movie", which Yuri -produced, and I must admit we wondered what we were getting -ourselves into. ;)

- -

Steve - -

- -

Steven R. Newcomb

Here's something I had forwarded to me from the COPYEDITING-L mailing list. I figured that this would be as appropriate a forum as any for posting the news, sad as it is.

I first 'met' Yuri while in training as an SGML Conversion Operator for Gateway Conversion Technologies back in 1993. We were forced to watch "SGML: The Movie", which Yuri produced, and I must admit we wondered what we were getting ourselves into. ;)

Steve

Steven R. Newcomb

--removed: - ??changed: - -

The Celebration of the Life of Yuri Ivan Rubinsky (August 2, 1952 - -January 21, 1996) was very moving and very appropriate. There were -several eulogists, all of whom were extremely articulate (what else?), -and some of whom had hilarious things to say. One eulogist was -Charles Goldfarb, who said that Yuri was the best of us all. I think -many people in the SGML field feel exactly that way; anyway, I do. -There were many friends there too, not to mention Yuri's family. I -estimate there were at least 300 people present; afterwards it took a -long time to empty the sanctuary. The organist ran out of music -before it was even half empty. Watching people march out in silence -was like seeing a "Who's Who" in SGML, mixed in with many, many other -people whom I did not know. Yuri was very rich in friends who loved -him. Most of them appeared to be in shock, as pale and red-eyed as I -was. Grief hung over us with unbearable weight.

- -

The following quintessentially Yuri-ish thought was printed inside the -program:

The Celebration of the Life of Yuri Ivan Rubinsky (August 2, 1952 - January 21, 1996) was very moving and very appropriate. There were several eulogists, all of whom were extremely articulate (what else?), and some of whom had hilarious things to say. One eulogist was Charles Goldfarb, who said that Yuri was the best of us all. I think many people in the SGML field feel exactly that way; anyway, I do. There were many friends there too, not to mention Yuri's family. I estimate there were at least 300 people present; afterwards it took a long time to empty the sanctuary. The organist ran out of music before it was even half empty. Watching people march out in silence was like seeing a "Who's Who" in SGML, mixed in with many, many other people whom I did not know. Yuri was very rich in friends who loved him. Most of them appeared to be in shock, as pale and red-eyed as I was. Grief hung over us with unbearable weight.

The following quintessentially Yuri-ish thought was printed inside the program:

??changed: - -

I am starting to understand that it matters less to whom I pray than -that I pray.

- -

That in praying for guidance, the real goal is to formulate questions -so clearly that I can understand them. The external power that offers -guidance comes from within me; the force of its wisdom comes from my -clarity; the strength of its conviction arises out of my choice to -concentrate on this question or that call for help. All of these are -requests for clarification.

- -

That in praying for strength, the real goal is to recognize my -strength. I have survived till now! I have done some of what I can -do, but not all. I have understood all of what I needed to arrive -here today and I accept that tomorrow I may need to learn more. My -prayer for strength is a prayer for a moment of stillness in which to -gather my resources.

- -

I am not going into battle. I don't need the strength of ten. I -[63 more lines...]

I am starting to understand that it matters less to whom I pray than that I pray.

That in praying for guidance, the real goal is to formulate questions so clearly that I can understand them. The external power that offers guidance comes from within me; the force of its wisdom comes from my clarity; the strength of its conviction arises out of my choice to concentrate on this question or that call for help. All of these are requests for clarification.

That in praying for strength, the real goal is to recognize my strength. I have survived till now! I have done some of what I can do, but not all. I have understood all of what I needed to arrive here today and I accept that tomorrow I may need to learn more. My prayer for strength is a prayer for a moment of stillness in which to gather my resources.

I am not going into battle. I don't need the strength of ten. I don't need armour and a sward. All prayers are prayers for guidance and strength. I have what I need: I have the clear strength of one.

- St. Yuri Ivan Rubinsky 8/2/1952 - 1/21/1996

Yuri had so many different projects and missions that his life defies all attempts to categorize it. However, there were some themes that recurred a lot. The rest of this note is about one of them.

Yuri was not an SGML zealot so much as he was a minister of access to information. For him, SGML was a really interesting means to the goal of allowing everyone the freedom that access to information provides. He wanted everyone to be able to benefit from what should be the birthright of all humanity: access to whatever experience, wisdom, and art of the rest of humanity, including all our forebears, have chosen to share with us. He never told me why he was so powerfully motivated by this mission, but I can guess. Knowing Yuri, I would guess that it was a completely rational thing: he believed that if everyone had access to whatever knowledge and art they needed, most would behave more wisely and humanely, and, in turn, everything would be better for all of us.

Regardless of whether that's what Yuri believed, I believe it, and Yuri's loss has made me realize that I believe it. Now that we in the SGML field have lost Yuri as our sometime shepherd, sometime cheerleader, and sometime conscience, I propose that, in memory of Yuri, we dedicate our work to the proposition that "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." I think he would have liked that very much, I think it's in our own best interest, I think it will bring out the best that is in our community and in ourselves as individuals, and it will be best for everyone else, too.

It may seem weird to say so, but I think the inexorable ascendancy of SGML is, as Yuri put it, "a quiet revolution" in the emergent phenomenon we (sometimes ruefully) call "civilization." It's becoming better organized, or, at least, we're becoming better connected with each other. (I hope the "better organization" will emerge, too, and in such a way as to enhance liberty. [Hmmm, that's just what SGML does, isn't it?]) If, as the shouting distance between individuals continues to diminish, and if we are going to continue to live comfortably with each other, we are all going to have to sacrifice some stupidity, weakness, ignorance, and arrogance. I don't know what we can do about weakness and arrogrance, and stupidity is a vexing problem, too. But I'm certain that we can do something about ignorance. We in the SGML field are in a unique position to do meaningful battle with ignorance, and on a grand scale. If our work has, even as a side-effect, the diminishment of ignorance, I'm sure St. Yuri will be very, very pleased, and his short life among us will have been well spent.

***************************************************************
* Steven R. Newcomb | President *
* direct +1 716 389 0964 | TechnoTeacher, Inc. *
* main +1 716 389 0961 | (courier: 3800 Monroe Avenue, *
* fax +1 716 389 0960 | Pittsford, NY 14534-1330 USA) *
* Internet: srn@techno.com | P.O. Box 23795 *
* FTP: ftp.techno.com | Rochester, New York 14692-3795 *
* WWW: http://www.techno.com | USA *
***************************************************************

Stuart Weibel

??changed: - - - -

The SGML community and the Web community were stunned by the news of -the untimely death of Yuri Rubinsky on Sunday, January 21, 1996. -Charles Goldfarb, the inventor of SGML, said of Yuri "His life was half -a life long, but it was four lives wide, and eight deep." Indeed, he -had more energy, more enthusiasm, more humor, and more compassion than -most roomfulls of people. He infected those around him with these -qualities, and the result was often consensus where there had been -contention, common purpose where there had been self interest.

- -

Yuri brought leadership of a very special character to the communities -in which he worked. He was a talented businessman who helped spark the -growth of a burgeoning industry and a successful company, and he did it -in a way that benefited the entire community. Yuri was a prominent -exemplar of the philosophy that success flows naturally from helping -others to achieve their goals.

- -[53 more lines...]

The SGML community and the Web community were stunned by the news of the untimely death of Yuri Rubinsky on Sunday, January 21, 1996. Charles Goldfarb, the inventor of SGML, said of Yuri "His life was half a life long, but it was four lives wide, and eight deep." Indeed, he had more energy, more enthusiasm, more humor, and more compassion than most roomfulls of people. He infected those around him with these qualities, and the result was often consensus where there had been contention, common purpose where there had been self interest.

Yuri brought leadership of a very special character to the communities in which he worked. He was a talented businessman who helped spark the growth of a burgeoning industry and a successful company, and he did it in a way that benefited the entire community. Yuri was a prominent exemplar of the philosophy that success flows naturally from helping others to achieve their goals.

One of the stories told by his coworker, Bill Clarke, was of Yuri at a presentation to investors, at a time when SoftQuad was struggling financially. Yuri waxed eloquent and enthusiastic about a new product that Softquad was introducing, and he easily convinced the investors of its merits. Pens lifted, they were ready to sign, but Yuri would have none of it... "Wait, Wait! That's not all! There's more!" He wanted more than their signatures, more than their investment, he wanted their understanding, he wanted them to know the significance of the "quiet revolution" of SGML. This was his passion... to share its power so that "what ought to be done, can be done."

His efforts on behalf of the visually impaired are a wonderful example of his passion to do what ought to be done. His work on behalf of the International Committee on Accessible Document Design (ICADD) has helped establish a reasonable expectation that modern computer technology can serve the sightless as well as the rest of us. The Web has the foundations for implementation of the ICADD technology largely due to his efforts. Many who will never know his name will be able to participate in the Web Revolution because of Yuri's tenacious promotion of these standards. Yuri took great delight in the fact that ICADD standards made it possible for the book he co-authored with Marc Giacomelli (Christopher Columbus Answers All Charges) to be available in its braille edition prior to being available in print.

His work in the World Wide Web community is well illustrated in his spearheading of the award given to Doug Englebart at the Boston World Wide Web conference December of 1995. Yuri not only conceived the award, but funded it with a $US 10,000 contribution from SoftQuad. This in itself was an exceptional and generous act, but he went to the further (and substantial) effort of assembling (in consultation with Englebart's daughter) selected historic writings of Englebart's into a booklet that commemorates this early and seminal contribution to hypertext systems. Few would have gone the extra mile that Yuri did, and as with everything he did, his energy and enthusiasm made it seem the only natural thing to have done.

It is disheartening to consider the enormity of the loss of Yuri's leadership in the text markup and the Web communities. There is no one else like him. For those fortunate enough to have shared his companionship, there is, as well, the heavy sadness of the loss of a friend and compatriot. One of Yuri's close friends, Quentin Yardley, said of Yuri, "He could turn a walk into a parade" For those who had the good fortune to walk in his parades, the cadence and music of his life will not fade...

"Wait, Wait! That's not all! There's more!"

Stuart Weibel
January 29, 1996

Tim Berners-Lee

??changed: - -

I learned of Yuri Rubinski's death with great sadness. If -one thing distinguished Yuri it was untiring work toward -what he thought was right. One of his recent and -characteristic acts was to organize, and from his company -financially support, an award for Doug Engelbart at the last -WWW conference. Yuri worked hard to find what might really -make a difference to Doug, to find his writings and have -them quietly printed as a small book. Doug new nothing -about the award until he received it. Yuri just felt that -this was the right thing to do, just as when he championed -SGML, or disabled access to online information. Yuri had -an irrepressible genial, almost mischievous, excitement -about him which was always a great delight.

I learned of Yuri Rubinski's death with great sadness. If one thing distinguished Yuri it was untiring work toward what he thought was right. One of his recent and characteristic acts was to organize, and from his company financially support, an award for Doug Engelbart at the last WWW conference. Yuri worked hard to find what might really make a difference to Doug, to find his writings and have them quietly printed as a small book. Doug new nothing about the award until he received it. Yuri just felt that this was the right thing to do, just as when he championed SGML, or disabled access to online information. Yuri had an irrepressible genial, almost mischievous, excitement about him which was always a great delight.

??changed: - -

- -

Tim Bray

??changed: - -

I don't understand how a person can found a software company, -tough it out through the bad days, lead it through the vale -of Internet Fairy Dust, turn a silly idea into a PC Mag Editors' -Choice, simultaneously be a pusher, mover, and shaker in the -WWW and SGML worlds, get a novel published, wrestle with ISO, -and never, so far as I know, cut a throat, stab a back, or crush -an ego. That it is possible to be successful and honourable -at the same time is something we should take seriously to heart; -in these days it seems too little respected, or even expected.

- -

That alone would be a monument; maybe the only important one. - -But there are lots of others; a substantial part of the community, -the technology, and the business.

- -

Still, though, I think it would be nice if, the next time we -need to name a protocol or an encoding or a language or something, -we think of Yuri.

-[8 more lines...]

I don't understand how a person can found a software company, tough it out through the bad days, lead it through the vale of Internet Fairy Dust, turn a silly idea into a PC Mag Editors' Choice, simultaneously be a pusher, mover, and shaker in the WWW and SGML worlds, get a novel published, wrestle with ISO, and never, so far as I know, cut a throat, stab a back, or crush an ego. That it is possible to be successful and honourable at the same time is something we should take seriously to heart; in these days it seems too little respected, or even expected.

That alone would be a monument; maybe the only important one. But there are lots of others; a substantial part of the community, the technology, and the business.

Still, though, I think it would be nice if, the next time we need to name a protocol or an encoding or a language or something, we think of Yuri.

He and I walked about 40 blocks home across San Fran during the last Seybold, late at night, talking excitedly about some stuff we want to do on the Web, that might yet turn into another monument. You know those hills, neither of us were exactly slim nor fit, and we laughed at our own heavy breathing as we slogged up, over and down. Tough to think that we won't be doing that again.

??changed: - -

- -

Tom Magliery

??changed: - -

I am another of the souls whose lives have been deeply affected by the -too-short passage of Yuri Rubinsky through them.

- -

I've known Yuri for less than two years, dating to a visit he made to NCSA -in summer 1994. He was here promoting an idea, of course: modifications -to HTML to support automatic Braille translation. My two fond memories of -that visit are of Yuri giving us a very animated presentation on what this -"SGML" stuff was all about, and of a group of us packed into a -not-quite-large enough office with Yuri, talking about how much better -HTML could be if we just did these few little things (which we did).

- -

Since then I've encountered Yuri at a number of SGML and Web-related -activities, and in collaborations between SGML and SoftQuad. He was my -SGML mentor, the first person I would ask whenever I had an SGML-related -question. If he hesitated to answer, it was only because he was (as we -now say) temporarily distracted. He never failed to answer a question, -though, however trivial it might have been.

- -[18 more lines...]

I am another of the souls whose lives have been deeply affected by the too-short passage of Yuri Rubinsky through them.

I've known Yuri for less than two years, dating to a visit he made to NCSA in summer 1994. He was here promoting an idea, of course: modifications to HTML to support automatic Braille translation. My two fond memories of that visit are of Yuri giving us a very animated presentation on what this "SGML" stuff was all about, and of a group of us packed into a not-quite-large enough office with Yuri, talking about how much better HTML could be if we just did these few little things (which we did).

Since then I've encountered Yuri at a number of SGML and Web-related activities, and in collaborations between SGML and SoftQuad. He was my SGML mentor, the first person I would ask whenever I had an SGML-related question. If he hesitated to answer, it was only because he was (as we now say) temporarily distracted. He never failed to answer a question, though, however trivial it might have been.

Several people have spoken fondly of the funeral and related activities last weekend in Toronto. I, too, was deeply moved by the many "Yuri stories" that people shared. The comment that best summed up my feelings about the weekend was made by Yuri's mother: "I never thought I would enjoy my son's funeral." It *was* a pleasure, undoubtedly because of the overwhelming feeling that he was present throughout.

I am a better person for having known him, and I hope that I will be able to live up to his memory.

mag -- Tom Magliery ** NCSA ** 605 E Springfield ** Champaign IL 61820 ** USA

Tom Wesley

??changed: - -

Like so many people round the world I have been deeply shocked by the news -earlier this week. I am now beginning to gain some perspective about Yuri's -achievements. Here is my small personal contribution to moving forward:

- -

I first met Yuri in December 1990, when I had just heard of SGML, thought -it might be of some value to blind and partially sighted people, but really -did not even know what a DTD was. That meeting changed my life - and those -of many others.

- -

I treasure the impression (maybe falsely) that it was also significant -for Yuri. As early as October 1989, Jesse Kaysen had presented work -inspired by Yuri at SGML '89 in a paper entitled "The SGML Advantage -for Braille". My visit seemed to provide the spark that rekindled -Yuri's interest, as there had been little follow up to that early -work.

- -

That meeting influenced many things: the formation of ICADD and its -subsequent development; the European CAPS Project which based its work -[15 more lines...]

Like so many people round the world I have been deeply shocked by the news earlier this week. I am now beginning to gain some perspective about Yuri's achievements. Here is my small personal contribution to moving forward:

I first met Yuri in December 1990, when I had just heard of SGML, thought it might be of some value to blind and partially sighted people, but really did not even know what a DTD was. That meeting changed my life - and those of many others.

I treasure the impression (maybe falsely) that it was also significant for Yuri. As early as October 1989, Jesse Kaysen had presented work inspired by Yuri at SGML '89 in a paper entitled "The SGML Advantage for Braille". My visit seemed to provide the spark that rekindled Yuri's interest, as there had been little follow up to that early work.

That meeting influenced many things: the formation of ICADD and its subsequent development; the European CAPS Project which based its work on SGML; the current European projects HARMONY and MATHS; the development of HTML and our latest major Proposal to the European Commission, MEET-IT.

In our work over the last five years, hardly a day has gone by without the name of Yuri Rubinsky being mentioned. He was THE key person. We who knew him, knew that. Millions of blind and partially sighted people throughout the world will never know the name, but their lives are already being enriched beyond measure by his work.

Having known Yuri Rubinsky will remain one of the treasured memories of my life.

Those of us who are left behind must redouble our efforts to build on Yuri's legacy.

--removed: - ??changed: - -

Dr Tom Wesley
-Management Centre
-University of Bradford
-Bradford
-BD9 4JL
-United Kingdom

- -

Dr Tom Wesley
Management Centre
University of Bradford
Bradford
BD9 4JL
United Kingdom

[Yuri Rubinsky]

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 15:54:11 -0700

++added: [[Yuri Eulogies Compiled]]

[Hardware]

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:31:32 -0700

??changed: -See also notes from early [[Seybold]] Reports. See also notes from early [[Seybold Reports]].

[Chronology]

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:29:36 -0700

??changed: -Some [[Angles]] for considering these. Some [[Angles]] for considering these. See also Stan's [[Hardware History Crib Notes]]

[SoftQuad]

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 23:40:48 -0700

??changed: -[[ Mag on Softquad's offering]] [[TAG Mag on Softquad's offering]]

[Ron Baecker]

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 23:34:57 -0700

??changed: -[Meeting with Ron Baecker, June 16/08] - - [[Meeting with Ron Baecker, June 16/08]]