[Kirkman14]

This is the second part of a new multi-part deep dive into "Instant Graphics and Sound." IGS was a plain-text protocol for displaying vector graphics, animation, music and sound on Atari ST BBSes, which debuted in 1988.

This part profiles IGS creator Larry Mears.

A self-described “working man without a degree,” Mears was a shipping clerk for a local bakery, who often downplayed his own coding ability. “I am not an advanced-level programmer,” he once wrote.

Still, he enjoyed programming because it exercised his mind.

“My job takes care of the old back,” he joked.