Rusty Foster

Lawrence Calvin Foster III, commonly known as Rusty Foster, is an American media critic and programmer. He has been described as "something of a Zelig-like figure in internet history, popping up in key roles at various stages in the web’s development." He is the author of Today in Tabs, the founder of Kuro5hin, and the creator of Scoop, a collaborative media application used by several websites. He also helped develop Scripto, the screenwriting software company founded by Stephen Colbert.

In 2013, his Facebook account was subject to a 'prank' reporting him dead, drawing the attention of a number of major news outlets.

Since 2013, Foster has written occasionally for The New Yorker magazine, including on the Healthcare.gov debacle.

Kuro5hin
Kuro5hin (K5; read "corrosion") was a collaborative discussion website founded by Rusty Foster in 1999, having been inspired by Slashdot. Around 2005, its membership numbered in the tens of thousands. On May 1, 2016, the site was closed down permanently with all content taken offline.

Today in Tabs
Over the years, Foster has written an influential news media and Internet culture newsletter called Today in Tabs. Its first iteration, which ran from 2013 to 2016, was syndicated on Fastcolabs and Newsweek and reached about 12,000 subscribers.

He restarted the newsletter in January 2021 on the Substack platform, with a Discord server for subscribers. In early 2024, Foster moved the newsletter to Beehiiv, citing Substack's refusal to censor Nazis or extremist speech.

Personal life
Foster currently lives on Peaks Island with his wife and three children.