Benjamin Mako Hill

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Benjamin Mako Hill
Wikimania 2012 portrait 133 by ragesoss, 2012-07-14.JPG
Benjamin Mako Hill in 2012
Education Hampshire College (BA)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS, PhD)
OccupationAssociate Professor
Employer University of Washington
SpouseMika Matsuzaki (2006-present)
Website mako.cc

Benjamin Mako Hill is a free software activist, [1] hacker, [2] author, and professor. He is a contributor and free software developer as part of the Debian and Ubuntu projects as well as the co-author of three technical manuals on the subject, Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 Bible, The Official Ubuntu Server Book, and The Official Ubuntu Book.

Contents

Hill is an associate professor in Communication at the University of Washington. [3]

Biography

Hill has an undergraduate degree in Literature & Technology from Hampshire College, [4] a master's degree from the MIT Media Lab, and a PhD in an interdepartmental program involving the MIT Sloan School of Management and the MIT Media Lab. As of fall 2013, he is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Washington. [5] He is also a Fellow at the MIT Center for Civic Media where he coordinates the development of software for civic organizing. He has worked as an advisor and contractor for the One Laptop per Child project. He is a speaker for the GNU Project, [6] and serves on the board of Software Freedom International (the organization that organizes Software Freedom Day). In 2006, he married Mika Matsuzaki and used mathematically constrained wedding vows at the marriage ceremony. [2] [7]

Debian

Since 1999, Hill has been an active member of Debian. He has served as a delegate of the Debian Project Leader, and is a founder and coordinator of Debian Non-Profit, [8] a Debian custom distribution designed to fill the needs of small non-profit organizations. In addition he served on the board of Software in the Public Interest from March 2003 until July 2006, [9] [10] serving as the organisation's vice-president from August 2004. [11]

Ubuntu

Hill is also a core developer and founding member of Ubuntu, and continues to be an active contributor to the project.[ citation needed ] In addition to technical responsibilities, he coordinated the construction of a community around the Ubuntu Project as project "community manager" (later ceding the role to Jono Bacon) during Ubuntu's first year and a half. [12] During this period, he worked full-time for Canonical Ltd. Within the Project, he served on the "Community Council" governance board that oversees all non-technical aspects of the project, until October 2011. His work included contributing to a code of conduct [13] and diversity statement for the project. [14]

Other work

In addition to software development, Hill writes extensively. He has been published in academic books and magazines, newsletters, and online journals, [15] and Slate Magazine republished one of his blog posts. [16] He is the author of the Free Software Project Management HOWTO, the canonical document on managing Free and open-source software (FOSS) projects, and has published academic work on FOSS from anthropological, sociological, management and software engineering perspectives and has written and spoken about intellectual property, copyright, and collaboration more generally. [17] [18] [19] He has also studied the sociology of community involvement in web communities, and been widely published and cited about projects like Scratch and Wikipedia. [20] [21] [22] [23] He has talked about these topics publicly, as well as giving a keynote address at 2008 OSCON. [24]

Hill has worked for several years as a consultant for FOSS projects specializing in coordinating releases of software as free or open software and structuring development efforts to encourage community involvement. [25] He spends a significant amount of his time traveling and giving talks on FOSS and intellectual property primarily in Europe and North America.

Previous to his current positions, Hill pursued research full-time as a graduate researcher at the MIT Media Laboratory. [26] At the lab, he has worked in both the Electronic Publishing and Computing Culture groups on collaborative writing and decision-making software. One project, Selectricity is a voting tool which received prizes and grants from MTV and Cisco. He was a fellow at the Harvard Berkman Center for Internet & Society [27] and the MIT Center for Civic Media. [28]

He served on the advisory board of the Wikimedia Foundation, [29] the advisory council of the Open Knowledge Foundation [30] and the board of the Free Software Foundation. [31] He was a founding member of the Ubuntu Community Council [32] in 2009.

Awards

2018-2019 Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Social and Behavioral Sciences [33]

2019 Research Symbiont Award—General Symbiont [34]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debian</span> Linux distribution based on free and open-source software

Debian, also known as Debian GNU/Linux, is a Linux distribution composed of free and open-source software and optionally non-free firmware or software developed by the community-supported Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock on August 16, 1993. The first version of Debian (0.01) was released on September 15, 1993, and its first stable version (1.1) was released on June 17, 1996. The Debian Stable branch is the most popular edition for personal computers and servers. Debian is also the basis for many other distributions that have different purposes, like Proxmox for servers, Ubuntu or Linux Mint for desktops, Kali for penetration testing, and Pardus and Astra for government use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GNU</span> Free software collection

GNU is an extensive collection of free software, which can be used as an operating system or can be used in parts with other operating systems. The use of the completed GNU tools led to the family of operating systems popularly known as Linux. Most of GNU is licensed under the GNU Project's own General Public License (GPL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linux distribution</span> Operating system based on the Linux kernel

A Linux distribution is an operating system made from a software collection that includes the Linux kernel and often a package management system. Linux users usually obtain their operating system by downloading one of the Linux distributions, which are available for a wide variety of systems ranging from embedded devices and personal computers to powerful supercomputers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tenés Empanadas Graciela</span>

Tenés Empanadas Graciela is a turn-based strategy game distributed by several popular Linux distributions. The idea for this free and open-source software program came from the board game TEG, which itself is based on the popular Risk game but differs in many aspects of the rules.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canonical (company)</span> UK-based software company that maintains the Ubuntu OS

Canonical Ltd. is a UK-based privately held computer software company founded and funded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth to market commercial support and related services for Ubuntu and related projects. Canonical employs staff in more than 70 countries and maintains offices in London, Austin, Boston, Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei, Tokyo and the Isle of Man.

Technical variations of Linux distributions include support for different hardware devices and systems or software package configurations. Organizational differences may be motivated by historical reasons. Other criteria include security, including how quickly security upgrades are available; ease of package management; and number of packages available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free and open-source software</span> Software whose source code is available and which is permissively licensed

Free and open-source software (FOSS) is software that is available under a license that grants the right to use, modify, and distribute the software, modified or not, to everyone free of charge. The public availability of the source code is, therefore, a necessary but not sufficient condition. FOSS is an inclusive umbrella term for free software and open-source software. FOSS is in contrast to proprietary software, where the software is under restrictive copyright or licensing and the source code is hidden from the users.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Michlmayr</span>

Martin Michlmayr is a free and open-source software advocate and Debian developer, formerly president of Software in the Public Interest.

This comparison only covers software licenses which have a linked Wikipedia article for details and which are approved by at least one of the following expert groups: the Free Software Foundation, the Open Source Initiative, the Debian Project and the Fedora Project. For a list of licenses not specifically intended for software, see List of free-content licences.

gNewSense Linux distribution

gNewSense was a Linux distribution, active from 2006 to 2016. It was based on Debian, and developed with sponsorship from the Free Software Foundation. Its goal was user-friendliness, but with all proprietary and non-free software removed. The Free Software Foundation considered gNewSense to be composed entirely of free software.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of free and open-source software</span>

In the 1950s and 1960s, computer operating software and compilers were delivered as a part of hardware purchases without separate fees. At the time, source code, the human-readable form of software, was generally distributed with the software providing the ability to fix bugs or add new functions. Universities were early adopters of computing technology. Many of the modifications developed by universities were openly shared, in keeping with the academic principles of sharing knowledge, and organizations sprung up to facilitate sharing. As large-scale operating systems matured, fewer organizations allowed modifications to the operating software, and eventually such operating systems were closed to modification. However, utilities and other added-function applications are still shared and new organizations have been formed to promote the sharing of software.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to free software and the free software movement:

Debbugs is the software powering the Debian project's issue tracking system. Uniquely it doesn't have any form of web-interface to edit bug reports – all modification is done through email. Debbugs was mainly written by Ian Jackson, former Debian project leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GNU General Public License</span> Series of free software licenses

The GNU General Public License is a series of widely used free software licenses, or copyleft, that guarantee end users the four freedoms to run, study, share, and modify the software. The license was the first copyleft for general use, and was originally written by Richard Stallman, the founder of the Free Software Foundation (FSF), for the GNU Project. The license grants the recipients of a computer program the rights of the Free Software Definition. The licenses in the GPL series are all copyleft licenses, which means that any derivative work must be distributed under the same or equivalent license terms. It is more restrictive than the Lesser General Public License, and even further distinct from the more widely-used permissive software licenses BSD, MIT, and Apache.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linux user group</span> Organization of computer users

A Linux User Group or Linux Users' Group (LUG) or GNU/Linux User Group (GLUG) is a private, generally non-profit or not-for-profit organization that provides support and/or education for Linux users, particularly for inexperienced users. The term commonly refers to local groups that meet in person but is also used to refer to online support groups that may have members spread over a very wide area and that do not organize, or are not dependent on, physical meetings. Many LUGs encompass FreeBSD and other free-software / open source Unix-based operating systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linspire</span> Linux distribution

Linspire is a commercial operating system based on Debian and Ubuntu and currently owned by PC/OpenSystems LLC. It had been owned by Linspire. Inc. from 2001 to 2008, and then by Xandros from 2008 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Q4OS</span> Lightweight Linux distribution, based on Debian

Q4OS is a light-weight Linux distribution, based on Debian, targeted as a replacement for operating systems that are no longer supported on outdated hardware. The distribution is known for an addon called XPQ4, which adds themes intended to replicate the look and feel of Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

References

  1. ↑ "Lessig, Stallman on 'Open Source' DRM • The Register". The Register .
  2. 1 2 "Hackers' wedding vows based on Pi and Phi – Boing Boing". June 8, 2006.
  3. ↑ "Hill, Benjamin Mako". University of Washington. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Benjamin Mako Hill's CV" (PDF). Benjamin Mako Hill. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  5. ↑ "University of Washington, Department of Communication". University of Washington. September 9, 2013. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  6. ↑ "GNU speakers". Free Software Foundation. July 17, 2007. Retrieved July 17, 2007.
  7. ↑ "Art, Activism and Other Fun Projects :: Benjamin Mako Hill". Mako.cc. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Non-Profit". Debian. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  9. ↑ Akkerman, Wichert (February 22, 2003). "Result for vote regarding new members for the board of directors" . Retrieved July 16, 2007.
  10. ↑ Hill, Benjamin (July 5, 2006). "Stepping Down From Software in the Public Interest, Inc" . Retrieved July 16, 2007.
  11. ↑ Graham, David (September 7, 2004). "Minutes for August 10th, 2004" . Retrieved July 16, 2007.
  12. ↑ Linton, Susan (July 14, 2013). "Has Ubuntu lost it? Some say Canonical has lost its way. Are they right?". Tech Radar Pro. Future US, Inc. Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  13. ↑ Paul, Ryan (October 20, 2009). "5 years later, 5 ways that Ubuntu has made Linux more human". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  14. ↑ Graner, Amber (February 10, 2011). "Ubuntu Increasing Its Diversity". Linux Pro Magazine. Linux New Media USA. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Google Scholar Citations" . Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  16. ↑ Hill, Benjamin Mako (May 13, 2014). "Don't use Gmail? Here's how to determine how many of your emails Google may have". Slate. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Benjamin Mako-Hill on Open Source vs. Free, GPL and Prepping for OSCON".
  18. ↑ "Penguicon 6.0 -- Penguins in Space!".
  19. ↑ Doctorow, Cory (February 5, 2011). "Antifeatures: deliberate, expensive product features that no customer wants". Boing Boing. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  20. ↑ "The contribution conundrum: Why did Wikipedia succeed while other encyclopedias failed?" . Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Wikipedia Editor Threatened With Lawsuit For Participating In Discussion Leading To Deletion Of Entry". April 2, 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  22. ↑ Doctorow, Cory (May 10, 2013). "What makes a project remixable?". Boing Boing. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  23. ↑ Steadman, Ian (May 13, 2013). "Study: open source remixing seems to lead to less original work". Wired.co.uk. Conde Nast UK. Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  24. ↑ "OSCON 2008 talks". Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  25. ↑ "Free Software Project Management HOWTO" . Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  26. ↑ Peek, Robin (April 1, 2007). "Stickers, a Pit Bull, and Brussels: A Busy Month for OA". Information Today .[ dead link ]
  27. ↑ Berkman Center for Internet & Society. "Berkman Center Fellow" . Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  28. ↑ MIT Center for Civic Media. "MIT Center for Civic Media Fellow". Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  29. ↑ Beesley, Angela; Devouard, Florence; KIZU, Naoko; Möller, Erik; Dillen, Oscar; Moreau, Nicholas; Kaganer, Paul; Pathoschild; Aprabhala. "Advisory Board". Archived from the original on June 9, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2007.
  30. ↑ "Advisory Council". Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  31. ↑ "Staff and Board" . Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  32. ↑ "Poll Results: Ubuntu Community Council 2009" . Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  33. ↑ "Shannon's Ghost | Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences". casbs.stanford.edu. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  34. ↑ "Benjamin Mako Hill is a Research Symbiont". Department of Communication, University of Washington. January 9, 2019. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
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