Bill Thoen has been involved with the on-line world of earth sciences and GIS since 1985 when he started COGSnet? BBS for the Computer Oriented Geological Society (COGS) in Denver. He started GISnet in 1989, and still manages it today. In 1990 he wrote Online Resources for Earth Scientists (ORES), which was the first online guide in this field and was very widely cited. It's now forgotten, alas. Sic gloria transit mundi.

In 1994, with John McCombs, he set up MapInfo-L, the MapInfo users group mailing list on the Internet. From 1994 to 2001 he wrote the GIS Online column for GEO World magazine and has written numerous other articles about digital mapping and the Internet in trade magazines and journals specializing in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the earth sciences. Currently he is a consultant specializing in MapBasic?/GIS applications development and teaches a course on MapBasic? programming in Denver.

In his spare time he enjoys restoring and flying used space craft, stealing apples from the tree of knowledge, and quaffing with the gods while swapping rude tales and glorious.

He can be reached at bthoen@gisnet.com , or by phone at GISnet?'s US western regional offices at 303-786-9961.