Stephen Wilhite, Inventor Of The GIF, Has Passed Away, Inspiring Tributes And (G)okes Online

Stephen Wilhite, inventor of the GIF or "Graphics Interchange Format," passed away last week at the age of 74 due to complications of COVID-19.

Wilhite invented the GIF while working at CompuServe in the 1980s, giving the internet its dominant tool for memes and reactions. He retired as Chief Architect from America Online in the 2000s and spent his golden years traveling, camping and working on model trains, his wife Kathleen told The Verge.

Publicly, Wilhite gamely played along with the internet's ongoing debate about how to pronounce his creation, as some argue "GIF" should be pronounced with a hard "G" as in "Gun," while others argue it should be a soft "G," as in "Gin." Wilhite staunchly defended the soft-G pronunciation of GIF. In 2013, he told The New York Times, "The Oxford English Dictionary accepts both pronunciations. They are wrong. It is a soft ‘G,’ pronounced ‘jif.’ End of story." While receiving a lifetime achievement Webby Award, Wilhite played a dramatic video intending to end the debate once and for all (it didn't succeed).

News of Wilhite's passing led to an outpouring of tributes and gentle jokes at his pronunciation of "GIF" on social media.

he’s gone to be with gesus https://t.co/cXj2d6rktG

— Local Man (@Whoabot) March 24, 2022

An invention that improved the www and changed everything. Thanks Stephen.
Out of respect, just for tomorrow I'll pronounce it "jif". https://t.co/71ajDM4OCX

— Jim Barry (@JimBarry) March 24, 2022

Buried in a beautiful jrave, no doubt. Hope the Cemetery Jroundskeeper is worth his pay. Relax guys I’m goking, I’m goking https://t.co/642IhF6pzA

— Jeff The True Real Gamer and Pizza Guy (@VulcanMoron) March 24, 2022

All of tumblr needs to give him a moment of silence. Tumblr had the best gifs https://t.co/wwmBK1Xt6n

— Lex | Houston Lifestyle Blogger (@alexissTyler) March 24, 2022

Stephen Wilhite: Ahhh, the pearly jates
St. Peter: Double Hell. https://t.co/WP83TqoLBY

— The ReBradying (@5glebs) March 24, 2022

He was a jood man. https://t.co/OIowuMS88v

— Michael Knowles (Not A Biologist) (@michaeljknowles) March 24, 2022

In 2013, Wilhite said his favorite GIF was the Dancing Baby meme. In honor of Mr. Wilhite, this writer humbly presents his favorite.