# Thomas Fitzsimmons

> software developer at Red Hat

**Wikidata**: [Q130459418](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q130459418)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/thomas-fitzsimmons

## Summary
Thomas Fitzsimmons is a software developer and programmer currently employed at Red Hat. He is a member of the GNU Project and is best known for developing and maintaining emacs-slime-volleyball, an SVG-based game for the Emacs ecosystem.

## Biography
- Education: University of Toronto
- Known for: Development and maintenance of emacs-slime-volleyball
- Employer(s): Red Hat
- Field(s): Software engineering, open-source development

## Contributions
Thomas Fitzsimmons is a software developer who contributes to the open-source community through his professional role at Red Hat and his membership in the GNU Project. One of his specific technical contributions is the creation and maintenance of emacs-slime-volleyball, which is an SVG-based Slime Volleyball game designed specifically for the Emacs environment. As the maintainer of this package, he oversees its development and ensures its availability via the GNU Emacs Lisp Package Archive (ELPA). 

His work involves programming and software engineering within the ecosystem of free and open-source software. He maintains an active presence on development platforms such as GitHub and GNU Savannah under the username "fitzsim," where he manages his various software projects and collaborations. His professional activities are centered around the development of computer software, aligning with his classifications as both a programmer and a software engineer. He has also been involved in the broader developer community as a speaker at industry events such as FOSDEM, where he has shared insights related to his work in the field.

## FAQs
### Q: Who is Thomas Fitzsimmons?
A: Thomas Fitzsimmons is a software developer at Red Hat and a member of the GNU Project. He is recognized for his contributions to open-source software, particularly as the developer and maintainer of the emacs-slime-volleyball game.

### Q: What is emacs-slime-volleyball?
A: It is an SVG-based Slime Volleyball game created for the Emacs text editor. Thomas Fitzsimmons developed the game and continues to serve as its maintainer on the GNU ELPA.

### Q: Where is Thomas Fitzsimmons based?
A: Thomas Fitzsimmons resides in Toronto, Canada. He also attended the University of Toronto for his education.

## Why They Matter
Thomas Fitzsimmons is significant within the software development community for his dual role as a corporate software engineer at Red Hat and a dedicated contributor to the GNU Project. His work at Red Hat places him within the sphere of enterprise-level open-source development, while his membership in the GNU Project demonstrates a commitment to the technical foundations of free software. 

By maintaining projects like emacs-slime-volleyball, he contributes to the diversity of the Emacs ecosystem, ensuring that the platform remains a versatile environment for both utility and community-created content. His presence on GNU Savannah and GitHub as "fitzsim" facilitates the transparent, collaborative development that is essential to the open-source model. The maintenance of specific packages on the GNU ELPA is vital for the long-term health of the Emacs community, providing users with reliable and vetted software. Fitzsimmons’ career illustrates the impact of individual developers who bridge the gap between academic training at institutions like the University of Toronto and high-level industry roles, all while fostering the growth of the global open-source software movement.

## Notable For
*   Maintainer of the emacs-slime-volleyball package on GNU ELPA.
*   Member of the GNU Project.
*   Software developer at Red Hat.
*   Active contributor to the GNU Savannah and GitHub open-source communities.

## Body
### Professional Background
Thomas Fitzsimmons is a software engineer and programmer. He is currently employed by Red Hat, where he focuses on software development. His professional profile is characterized by a focus on open-source technologies and engineering practices.

### Education and Residence
Fitzsimmons attended the University of Toronto for his higher education. He is currently based in Toronto, Canada, where he continues his professional and community work.

### Open Source Contributions
As a member of the GNU Project, Fitzsimmons is deeply involved in the free software community. He maintains a profile on GNU Savannah (username: fitzsim) and GitHub to manage his code contributions.

His most notable independent project is emacs-slime-volleyball. This project is an SVG-based implementation of the Slime Volleyball game. He serves as the primary maintainer for the package, which is hosted on the GNU ELPA. His work on this project involves maintaining the codebase and ensuring compatibility within the Emacs environment.

### Online Presence
Fitzsimmons maintains a personal website at fitzsim.org, which serves as a hub for his professional and personal projects. He also maintains a presence on various developer platforms, including GitHub and GNU Savannah, where he participates in the collaborative development of software.

## References

1. [Source](https://elpa.gnu.org/packages/slime-volleyball.html)
2. [Source](https://archive.fosdem.org/2008/schedule/speakers/thomas%2Bfitzsimmons.html)
3. [Source](https://savannah.gnu.org/users/fitzsim)
4. [Source](https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Interviews/ThomasFitzsimmons)