by Michael S. Kaplan, published on 2015/02/04 19:21 +00:00, original URI: http://www.siao2.com/2015/02/04/8770668856267196281.aspx
The persona of SiaO started out on the CompuServe MS Access forum hosted by Microsoft many years ago.
And starting in the end of 2004, it took on the support of Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, Unicode, and language/linguistic issues in general as a theme.
Then, it died for having the nerve to be outraged at certain specific aspects of Microsoft's patent policy -- ending on one patent plaque representing a specific patent based entirely on prior art (which I contrasted with another patent that Google fought for and eventually lost despite the fact that Microsoft specifically chose to not develop and two other technologies -- MSLU and MSKLC -- that I chose not to pursue patents for since despite some of their groundbreaking, industry changing themes were also based on prior art).
As an aside, I'll mention my outrage over the fact that to date despite the decreasing relevance for both Microsoft and the entire industry for MSLU coupled with the opposite for MSKLC, the former has a specific Wikipedia article while the latter does not.
And finally, SiaO has been reborn as a hosted WordPress Blog in large part to help keep the information -- and faith -- alive, despite Microsoft's efforts to squelch it.
In one sense, Microsoft has won, since they have obliterated most of my samples.
In another, deeper sense, Microsoft has lost, since the entire season SiaO Blog has mainly been about something else the entire time.
Sex.
Not just the obvious flirting in almost the very beginning between Andrea and I in http://www.siao2.com/2004/12/14/284838.aspx which led shortly thereafter into one of the most more intense yet brief sexual relationships in my life, followed by one of the best friendships unafraid to overtly hint at a sex life neither of us could ever have.
And not in one of the more longer running friendships of my life -- my one with Liz http://www.siao2.com/2008/01/01/6921032.aspx that would have been a lot about sex if I had only been smart enough to realize that love and sex was what it was about, until she was gone, leaving only an easter egg type reference in a DLL name in Microsoft Windows (which would have been much more brilliant had it been intentional but even so).
Or one of the blogs that was almost more about sex than any other -- the one about alphabet soup http://www.siao2.com/2007/12/25/6857659.aspx -- a blog that never had to stoop to such obvious -- and tacky -- clichés as "cunning linguist" to make it's obfuscationarily obvious point.
I could even point out blogs like the one about the power over women (and men!) by knowing more about Schrödinger's cat than even Erwin intended -- http://www.siao2.com/2006/04/23/581531.aspx but that just of proves the point. Besides, Erwin might've been gettin some out of it, too!
Of course, the interest in talented singer/songwriters in general has led to its own share as well, mostly not from the singer/songwriters themselves. It is just something their creativity inspires, I suppose.
I cannot underestimate the fans of SiaO Blog and even the CompuServe MS Access forum who each decided that if I was anything like my online persona that I would be worth at least a thirty day try. Thus from Claire to Trisha to Lynn to Debra to Clarissa to the rest of the women who were intrigued enough by me to give me a try but smart enough to escape, I suppose in the end it was largely about sex too.
Finally, there were the literally dozens and dozens of blogs about genitive date formats.
Though I guess those were principally based on gender.
Which is another word for sex, of course.