Dean Allen

{{Short description|Canadian typographer, web developer and blogger}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

Dean Cameron Allen (June 2, 1966{{spaced ndash}}January 13, 2018) was a Canadian typographer, web developer and early blogger.{{cite web|last1=Malik|first1=Om|title=Dean Allen, R.I.P.|url=https://om.co/2018/01/18/dean-allen-rest-in-peace/|website=Om.co|date=18 January 2018 |accessdate=22 February 2018}}{{cite news|title=DEAN CAMERON ALLEN|url=http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/Deaths.20180206.93398674/BDAStory/BDA/deaths|accessdate=22 February 2018|work=Globe and Mail|date=Feb 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429031251/http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/Deaths.20180206.93398674/BDAStory/BDA/deaths|archive-date=2018-04-29}} He created the markup language Textile, the open source content management system Textpattern, and the web hosting service TextDrive.{{cite news|last1=Finley|first1=Klint|title=Cloud Computing Company Joyent Leaves Early Supporters Out In The Cold|url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/08/16/cloud-computing-company-joyent-leaves-early-supporters-out-in-the-cold/|accessdate=22 February 2018|work=TechCrunch|date=Aug 16, 2012}} Textile, called "the world's greatest markup language" by Alec Kinnear of Foliovision, has been used in products such as Salesforce's Desk.com, Know Your Meme, and issue tracking application Jira.{{cite web|last1=Kinnear|first1=Alec|title=Textile: How to write in the world's greatest markup language|url=https://foliovision.com/2011/11/how-to-write-in-textile-markup|website=Foliovision|date=16 November 2011 |accessdate=22 February 2018}}

Allen was an early blogger and essayist in the late 1990s at his sites Cardigan Industries and Textism.{{cite web|last1=Allen|first1=Dean|title=About|url=http://www.cardigan.com:80/about/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010501181949/http://www.cardigan.com:80/about/|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 May 2001|website=Cardigan Industries (archived)|accessdate=22 February 2018}}{{cite web |last1=Allen |first1=Dean |date=2008-09-11 |title=Textism |url=http://www.textism.com/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615064820/http://www.textism.com/ |archive-date=2011-06-15 |accessdate= |website=Textism (archived)}} He created Textile so that writers could "...Just Write and everything else should be there to support that endeavour."{{cite web|last1=Dawson|first1=Stef|title=Memories of Dean Allen|url=https://textpattern.com/weblog/404/memories-of-dean-allen|website=Textpattern|date=24 January 2018 |accessdate=22 February 2018}}