My name is Paul Dixon, and I live around 30 miles north of London, UK.

I’m not a real lord *, but you could probably guess that. The “LordElph” moniker is derived from Elphin, the name of a company I set up when I was an independant software developer. When I started it 15 years ago friends began calling me Lord Elphin of Elphinshire – I logged into so many things as “LordElph” it became my online nickname of choice. (*Edit! My rather wonderful better half made me a Scottish “laird” through the purchase of a square foot of land near Fort William, so I am a lord now. I have a very nice certificate, so it must be true).

I’ve been a software developer since graduating in 1992 with a BSc in Computer Science from UMIST (now the University of Manchester). I’ve worked for a variety of multimedia / Internet companies such as Granada Media before setting up my own company Elphin in 1998.

I am currently the CTO for LibLynx, which provides an authentication and authorization platform for electronic publishers.

I’m particularly proud of my involvement in establishing Geograph British Isles, which as well as being my first major open source project, was also my first foray into the application of Creative Commons licences. Through the use of the GPL and CC licences, we’ve hopefully created a useful online photographic resource which can remain freely accessible forever.

When I’m not in front of computer, I like to spend my time geocaching, as it lends some purpose to me being outdoors. I’m married with two young children, and they keep me pretty occupied too…

Contact

• email: paul at elphin.com
• skype: lordelph
• twitter: @lordelph
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• StackOverflow profile