I’m hoping to organize a session at Known World Heralds in Philly this June to talk about the future of the software infrastructure that supports the College of Arms.
Here’s my draft panel proposal:
The College of Arms depends on technology, including the CoA website, the O&A, and OSCAR. But that software is all decades old, and it relies on a very small crew of dedicated volunteers to make improvements and keep it running.
What new heraldic software will be built in the decade ahead, and how can we enlarge the community of technologists who will create and maintain it? What are the biggest challenges and opportunities we face? How can we facilitate collaboration and improve software quality? Which projects need to be undertaken by the College as such, and which can be tackled by individuals?
Join us for an hour-long conversation with some of the heralds who currently work on technology used by the College as we review existing systems, talk about their future and possible new projects, and identify ways for technically-savvy volunteers to get involved and contribute.
Beyond brainstorming, my real goal is to open and expand the community of herald coders by engaging some new folks with technical skills and making it clear that there are ways they can leverage their talents to play a meaningful role in the College.
From a selfish perspective, I’ve got a list of heraldic software projects a mile long that I would love see built, but I’ll never be able to tackle them all — if I get lucky, perhaps we’ll find some new folks with development experience who might be interested in adopting some of them.
[Updated to add:] To address a question raised in commentary, this discussion is intended to cover both official projects sponsored by the College and independent efforts undertaken by individuals. I’ve adjusted the description to try to make that clearer.
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