Talk:William Crowther (programmer)

message: In the interview from Peterson, Crowther himself refers to "caving," not "spelunking."  There is no Wikipedia entry for "spelunking," but there is one for "caving" -- and that entry refers to the bumper-stickers and T-shirts that one often encounters in caving areas: "Cavers rescue spelunkers."  The Wikipedia article on "speleology" lists "caving" before "spelunking" as an informal name for speleology.  My recent article on Adventure addresses the spelunker/caver distinction here:
:Woods's 1977 expansion of "Adventure" features "RECENT ISSUES OF 'SPELUNKER TODAY' MAGAZINE," and sources often describe Crowther as a "spelunker." Yet "[c]avers haven't called themselves spelunkers for almost 40 years now. They may belong to the National Speleological Society, but they don't spelunk. They cave." " (Cahill 2001) http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/001/2/000009.html
:Cahill 2001 Cahill, T. "A Rudiment for Cavers." In Taylor, R., Caves: Exploring Hidden Realms. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2001: 187. 
Having said all that, Crowther told an interviewer, of his early days on the ARPANET project, "In those days, the thing I cared most about was rock climbing":  http://www.cbi.umn.edu/oh/pdf.phtml?id=97 There's also a note on this page that says Crowther is still active as a rock climbing instructor, so it's probably more accurate to introduce Crowther as a rock climber who has also explored, mapped, and created a game about caves. Dennis G. Jerz (talk) 04:56, 9 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Caver vs. Spelunker

message: Shouldn't the "References" section be reserved for sources that are actually referenced by the article? Dibbell's article does a great job introducing the issues to the general reader, but the article doesn't actually cite it.  Of course, I may have a too-strict opinion of what the "References" label means. Dennis G. Jerz (talk) 02:08, 1 October 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Yeah, the page should go on cleanup.  Crowther is encyclopedic (I think, anyway) as co-author of Adventure, the first computer adventure type game.  We already have a decent page for his co-author, Don Woods -- Finlay McWalter 01:02, 7 Nov 2003 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes, I know this is four years after this ^^ post. But I just want to make one thing clear. Don Woods was not coauthor of Adventure. Will Crowther wrote it originally, but never really polished it up due to problems in his personal life (a divorce, among other things). Don Woods came across it and realized its potential, despite its many bugs. He found Crowther and asked him if he could finish the game. After receiving his blessing, Woods completed the standard 350-point version we have today. Just wanted to set the record straight. Alinnisawest (talk) 19:49, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

text: Crowther began his version of the game after his divorce, so it's difficult to imagine how his divorce kept him from finishing it.  He lost interest in it, and Woods roughly doubled the size of the map and more than triple the size of the source code.  While your'e right to point out that Crowther did write the original version alone, it's still fair to say that Woods is the co-author of the 350-point version that spread across the primitive internet in the spring of 1977. Dennis G. Jerz (talk) 04:56, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

text: Although they called the Control Data machines supercomputers in the 1970s, what we usually refer to as this term now started with Cray in the 1980s.  Mini's took the entirety of a desktop, but not an entire room.  So this is simply an error to be fixed. MobyMimic 07:21, 28 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Purpose of "References" Section

message: I read somewhere that Willie Crowther was John Stannard's mentor in the Gunks Does anyone have any info? Lhclayton 18:31, 23 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Plenty of info in "Yankee Rock and Ice." I'm skeptical of the claim in the article that Crowther placed bolts on rappel; the Watermans mention examining the route on rappel, maybe placing pitons, and climbing a route (The Arrow in particular) on toprope first, but no mention of bolts. I'd feel awkward asking him. Will's contribution to climbing continues as a very active instructor in the AMC Boston chapter's annual rock program; see . --Jnik (talk) 22:57, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  I was flipping through someone else's copy of Williams while waiting for a climb; he mentions three bolts on Arrow were placed on rap by the FA team. So there's a citation if someone has a copy and cares to add it properly. --Jnik (talk) 14:22, 23 May 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Willie Crowther Climber? 

message: This book details the birth of the internet. http://www.amazon.com/Where-Wizards-Stay-Up-Late/dp/0684832674
Also available as an online pdf. It details many of Crowthers' exploits and his work at BBN where he apparently warmed up by doing chin ups using door lintels.
=== Trying to expand the article on Will===
I am Will Crowther's wife and would like to clean up his wikipedia article.  In particular I'd like to add his picture to the article.  When you google "Will Crowther" you get a brief citation, accompanied by a photograph of Don Woods, mistakenly identified as Will.  I was trying to add a photo of Will to his wikipedia article so that goole will pick that up as the right photo of Will.  I can't figure out how to add a photo.  Can someone please fill me in?   Also, what do I put for references -- I know what happened in his later life because I lived it with him.
Nancyscrowther (talk) 02:06, 1 May 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: First you have to upload the image -- make sure you have the rights to do so. I also appreciate your frank admission of your relationship to the subject though it is kind of obvious from your username. Because of your relationship, you should read WP:COI and especially WP:AUTO and follow them carefully. Your first hand knowledge of his later life will not suffice as a reliable source. In fact, it is original research. I appreciate your efforts and want to encourage and help you in any way I can. Feel free to ask on my talk page if I can be of assistance. Thanks, WTucker (talk) 05:58, 1 May 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  More information can be found in a book called Where Wizards stay up Late 

message: I am Will Crowther's wife and would like to clean up his wikipedia article.  In particular I'd like to add his picture to the article.  When you google "Will Crowther" you get a brief citation, accompanied by a photograph of Don Woods, mistakenly identified as Will.  I was trying to add a photo of Will to his wikipedia article so that goole will pick that up as the right photo of Will.  I can't figure out how to add a photo.  Can someone please fill me in?   Also, what do I put for references -- I know what happened in his later life because I lived it with him.
Nancyscrowther (talk) 02:06, 1 May 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: First you have to upload the image -- make sure you have the rights to do so. I also appreciate your frank admission of your relationship to the subject though it is kind of obvious from your username. Because of your relationship, you should read WP:COI and especially WP:AUTO and follow them carefully. Your first hand knowledge of his later life will not suffice as a reliable source. In fact, it is original research. I appreciate your efforts and want to encourage and help you in any way I can. Feel free to ask on my talk page if I can be of assistance. Thanks, WTucker (talk) 05:58, 1 May 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Trying to expand the article on Will

message: Where was he born? Nationality? Why is this information missing?  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.153.234.229 (talk) 23:45, 31 July 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Yeah, I'd like to see a mention of his work on TCP/IP, particularly the inner loop. We'd have no internet without that.Shtanto (talk) 11:30, 9 June 2015 (UTC)
replies: text:  Late to the party. WurmWoodeT 17:05, 8 September 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: John Wilcox and William Crowther are not the same person, Crowther's ex-wife Patricia remarried to Wilcox after divorcing Crowther. I can't find any report of Crowther's death, so I presume he is still alive. Changes reverted. 73.222.100.114 (talk) 06:24, 15 September 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Vital Info missing