Interview with Margo Seltzer

;login: Enters a New Phase of Its Evolution

For over 20 years, ;login: has been a print magazine with a digital version; in the two decades previous, it was USENIX’s newsletter, UNIX News. Since its inception 45 years ago, it has served as a medium through which the USENIX community learns about useful tools, research, and events from one another. Beginning in 2021, ;login: will no longer be the formally published print magazine as we’ve known it most recently, but rather reimagined as a digital publication with increased opportunities for interactivity among authors and readers.

Since USENIX became an open access publisher of papers in 2008, ;login: has remained our only content behind a membership paywall. In keeping with our commitment to open access, all ;login: content will be open to everyone when we make this change. However, only USENIX members at the sustainer level or higher, as well as student members, will have exclusive access to the interactivity options. Rik Farrow, the current editor of the magazine, will continue to provide leadership for the overall content offered in ;login:, which will be released via our website on a regular basis throughout the year.

As we plan to launch this new format, we are forming an editorial committee of volunteers from throughout the USENIX community to curate content, meaning that this will be a formally peer-reviewed publication. This new model will increase opportunities for the community to contribute to ;login: and engage with its content. In addition to written articles, we are open to other ideas of what you might want to experience.

I first noticed Margo Seltzer because she had brought her baby to a USENIX conference in the late '90s. That was unusual, as I had seen few parents with their children at conferences. Later on, I got to know Margo better when she was on the USENIX Board and I was routinely attending board meetings.

What prompted me to ask someone as busy as Margo for an interview was her keynote address at the 2020 USENIX Annual Technical Conference entitled "The Fine Line between Bold and Fringe Lunatic". I recommend watching Margo's talk, but the gist is simply this: you are likely to have a more interesting career if you are willing to take risks. That's not what Margo actually says, just my own interpretation. She wants researchers to broaden the subject areas they keep abreast of as well as to consider researching at the frontier of knowledge.

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