Michael was a wise, gentle, generous man who was also brilliant. At the Balisage conference, he always gave the final speech, which pulled together themes from all the presentations given that year. He had a knack for finding what was good in each presentation, sometimes expressing it better than the presenters had, then showing how the presentations were all related, pulling them together to a common theme.

He did that when he chaired XML working groups, too. I was part of the XML Schema Working Group and really enjoyed watching this in action. He found ways to make sure that each view was weighed and heard, and made sure we had time to understand the details and consequences of our decisions before each vote. He also did well at pushing back on the power of large corporations to create a level playing field in the group.

Michael particularly loved the digital humanities. He read more widely than anyone I have ever met, and remembered what he read. You could talk to him about classics, philosophy, medieval German literature, theoretical computer science, or Marvel comic books, and he always seemed to know a little more than I did. But he also treated me as though I was the one who knew more.

But most of all, he was a warm, generous, kind person. As impressive as his mind was, his heart was what really impressed me.

Rest in peace, Michael.