EDITORIAL REMARKS

We are favored in this issue with a wide variety of content, including an interview, book reviews, memorials, a column, letters, photos, and a tragic announcement. This was the result of efforts by many mathematicians whose names appear along with their contributions. Topological Commentary depends also on substantial efforts by those who get them ready to appear on the world wide web.

Until a decade ago, most mathematicians turned hand written papers or articles over to secretaries who typed them in a form suitable submitting them for publication. Since the advent of the personal computer, we get to type them ourselves. The good news is the ease with which we can edit our manuscripts. The bad news is that we must type them in Tex, or one of its many dialects. (There are nearly as many as there are Indian languages spoken in Mexico.) This lack of standardization creates mountains of headaches for authors and editors alike. Efforts at standardization always seem to be confounded by changes in operating systems and "improvements" in the form of bells and whistles we are persuaded are indispensable. Every half a year or so, we are urged to "upgrade" our software before we have had a chance to master it. Those who resist such blandishments find what they are using "obsolete" software within two or three years.

Just as the development of the personal computer revolutionized the way in which we prepare papers for publication, the internet is revolutionizing the way in which we publish. the number of electronic journals is increasing rapidly, and while electronic publishing is not cost free, it is considerably less expensive than paper publication. It seems safe to predict that within a decade, or two at the most, much more mathematics will be published on the web than in paper journals.

The main deterrent to this growth is that there are even more headaches in getting papers on the web than getting it into Tex. Before an issue of TopCom can be released, the inconsistency of different forms of Tex must be overcome, and the results must be converted into Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML). Like Tex and other software, it is constantly being "improved" so rapidly that it is difficult, if not impossible to master one version before having to cope with another. Its symbolic capability is limited and introducing mathematical symbols takes imagination and talent. Many able mathematicians are needed to make this possible; too many for me to mention individually. To find out who they are, stroll through the links in Topology Atlas. Better yet, volunteer and join the team!

TRAGIC ANNOUNCEMENT

An announcement of a tragic accident of Amer Beslagic (1959-1997)
By Mary Ellen Rudin

Amer Beslagic, a Set Theoretic Topologist of George Mason University, was killed instantly on June 24 by a long fall when he slipped on the ice of a mountain trail while climbing in the Teton Mountains. He loved the mountains. He loved mathematics. He loved beautiful, elegant proofs and ideas. He enjoyed testing his skills and never chose the easy problems. He was a good friend.

Mary Ellen Rudin