11 ms·

Alex King, an original Wordpress developer, has died

339 points by a5seo 11y ago

staunch 11y ago
Looks like Alex did great work and had a great family. That's a good life in my book. Too bad he didn't get more time.
CaptchaReader 11y ago
In the early 2000s Alex had an opensource project written in PHP. I was then learning PHP and used his project to learn how to build a web app end to end: auth, business logic, db interactions, views, etc. I was in my late teens, and using his project as a guide I built several products that people used and were keen to even pay for, learnt lots back then. Thanks Alex!
rabino 11y ago
He was a great person, a great developer and a great businessmen. And fun piece of trivia, he invented the share icon http://alexking.org/project/share-icon http://alexking.org/project/share-icon
filmgirlcw 11y ago
This is a huge loss. He was a great person and developer and it was so clear how much he loved his family. My thoughts are with the Kinf family and his friends.
nikolay 11y ago
How come we haven't heard he was sick!? Rest in piece, Alex!
lloydde 11y ago
If you did cross paths with Alex King, please share your stories with his wife at heatherkingcom@gmail.com . From http://alexking.org/blog/2015/08/24/rememberances http://alexking.org/blog/2015/08/24/rememberances One of the things my wife and I are trying to do is put together some information about my career that will hopefully give my 6 year-old daughter a better sense of who I was as an adult. She knows me as “dad”, but when she gets older she’ll be curious about who I was to my peers and colleagues. I’ve spent more than a decade in the WordPress community and I’d like to request that you to share a few thoughts or remembrances about me that we can compile and share with her when the time is right. If we have crossed paths or if I have managed to do something that you found helpful, I’d love it if you would take a few minutes to write it down and send it to me or my wife: heatherkingcom@gmail.com. If you’re willing to have the story shared publicly, please indicate that accordingly. By default, we will keep everything confidential.
- addamh 11y ago
  "that will hopefully give my 6 year-old daughter a better sense of who I was as an adult" ... :( heartbreaking
  - Killswitch 11y ago
    Yeah, reading that made me think alot about myself and my 6 month old daughter and what would happen if I died as young as my father did (he was 48, I am now 30)
firasd 11y ago
As someone who got into web development, and thus my career, through the WordPress community, I was definitely aware of Alex and followed his work. I recall that he once mentioned using a plugin I wrote and that just shows how interconnected everything was back in those early, indie days. RIP Alex King, and may we carry your torch by being creative in our work, astute in our enterprise, and cherished by our communities and families.
alxmdev 11y ago
I remember often ending up on his blog when looking up various Wordpress and web development topics back in the 2000s. The about page (http://alexking.org/about http://alexking.org/about) on his website reveals an exciting and accomplished career, no doubt he would have kept doing ever greater things. Rest in peace!
davidu 11y ago
I hadn't kept up with Alex, but I do remember interacting with him and looking up to him while I was in college and even after. He was always so impressive. While I always admired him, I'm even more in awe now. It takes someone really special and thoughtful to create the kind of lasting impression he has left on his site for his daughter, his wife, and his family and friends. You can get a taste here: http://alexking.org/blog/2015/08/24/rememberances http://alexking.org/blog/2015/08/24/rememberances To all his friends and family, so sorry for your loss. Alex impacted so many people, many who will never know, but all of whom benefit from his far-reaching technical work and his community-building efforts.
ogezi 11y ago
God bless his soul.
aurora72 11y ago
http://phkillscancer.com/ http://phkillscancer.com/
- voltagex_ 11y ago
  https://www.metabunk.org/debunked-alkaline-diets-cure-cancer.t5401/ https://www.metabunk.org/debunked-alkaline-diets-cure-cancer... but really, this is not the time nor place.
JupiterMoon 11y ago
This is going to sound heartless and for that I apologise. I am curious what happens with his copyrights on his opensource code now? Not many significant projects have suffered such loses yet. Condolences to his family and friends if they ever read this.
- thenipper 11y ago
  I'd assume they just go to his estate unless he specifically specified otherwise.
  - JupiterMoon 11y ago
    I'd assume that his immediate descendants would respect his involvement in open source. Is there a risk (maybe in other cases) that inheritors of an estate can retrospectively change licenses on code for which they have inherited the copyright to? (Maybe I'm missing some understanding of software licenses though.)
    - lloydde 11y ago
      IANAL and this is not legal advice. There is no risk in any event as the work was published under specific copyright terms and conditions.
    - leoedin 11y ago
      Pretty much every free software license is irrevocable - if you make software available under that license, you can't retroactively remove those licensing terms later. This applies whether the copyright is owned by a person or corporation. It's a fundamental building block of the concept of free software - that once software becomes free, it cannot be made non-free again. I'm not a lawyer and I'm not sure whether this has been tested in court, so I'd suggest further research on your own. There's some discussiof this on Groklaw - http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2006062204552163 http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2006062204552163
splitbrain 11y ago
Damn. I never met Alex, but was subscribed to his blog for several years. This makes me genuinely sad. fuck cancer.
junto 11y ago
Colon / bowel cancer has a relatively high success rate when treated (compared to other cancers), but as with all cancers, it is important to catch it early. Not to be to graphic, but if you have blood in your stool (especially if it is dark red in colour rather than bright red), then you should take yourself immediately to the doctors and tell them. They can take a stool sample and if necessary, refer you for a colonoscopy. You can be sedated for the colonscopy if you don't like the idea of being awake for it under a local. You normally get a dose of Propofol injected into you (like Michael Jackson) and you wake up feeling refreshed and slightly pissed off that the nurse dared to wake you up from your beautiful embracing slumber. The procedure really isn't as bad as you think it is going to be. The preparation for it is much worse (not painful, just unpleasant). You will then know for certain whether or not you have a really nasty cancer problem, or just plain old piles. People with Ulcerative Collitis and Crohn's have a higher risk of bowel cancer, so it important that they get checked regularly (talk to your doctor). Don't delay. It could cost you your life. Men are often the worst for procrastinating over such a decision. Update - I don't want anyone to think that I'm am suggesting Alex delayed seeing a doctor btw. I just wanted to impart some general wisdom that might save someone else's life.
- rplnt 11y ago
  Also think about what you ate before panicking. Beets will color your stool as well.
  - agumonkey 11y ago
    Iron supplements will make stools black too. I almost fainted the first day I used them thinking the iron revealed something.
  - thomnottom 11y ago
    Definitely good to keep in mind. Although from my own personal experience, actual blood in my stool was much more dramatic and very obvious compared to beets. Blood tends to come out much darker than you would expect. Mine was also very bloody - so I knew it wasn't coloring from food. But I don't know how close my experience is to other's And that doesn't mean that I don't have a mild panic attack the day after I have beets!
larrywright 11y ago
I didn't know Alex personally, but I was a paying customer for his site FeedLounge back in the days before Google Reader came along. It was a great web-based RSS reader, and was the first web site I used that felt like a desktop app in terms of responsiveness. I didn't really know him, just of him, but as someone only a couple of years older with three kids myself, this is heartbreaking to see. RIP, Alex.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

339 points by a5seo 11y ago

Looks like Alex did great work and had a great family. That's a good life in my book. Too bad he didn't get more time.

In the early 2000s Alex had an opensource project written in PHP. I was then learning PHP and used his project to learn how to build a web app end to end: auth, business logic, db interactions, views, etc. I was in my late teens, and using his project as a guide I built several products that people used and were keen to even pay for, learnt lots back then. Thanks Alex!

rabino 11y ago

He was a great person, a great developer and a great businessmen. And fun piece of trivia, he invented the share icon http://alexking.org/project/share-icon http://alexking.org/project/share-icon

filmgirlcw 11y ago

This is a huge loss. He was a great person and developer and it was so clear how much he loved his family. My thoughts are with the Kinf family and his friends.

nikolay 11y ago

How come we haven't heard he was sick!? Rest in piece, Alex!

lloydde 11y ago

If you did cross paths with Alex King, please share your stories with his wife at heatherkingcom@gmail.com . From http://alexking.org/blog/2015/08/24/rememberances http://alexking.org/blog/2015/08/24/rememberances One of the things my wife and I are trying to do is put together some information about my career that will hopefully give my 6 year-old daughter a better sense of who I was as an adult. She knows me as “dad”, but when she gets older she’ll be curious about who I was to my peers and colleagues. I’ve spent more than a decade in the WordPress community and I’d like to request that you to share a few thoughts or remembrances about me that we can compile and share with her when the time is right. If we have crossed paths or if I have managed to do something that you found helpful, I’d love it if you would take a few minutes to write it down and send it to me or my wife: heatherkingcom@gmail.com. If you’re willing to have the story shared publicly, please indicate that accordingly. By default, we will keep everything confidential.

addamh 11y ago
"that will hopefully give my 6 year-old daughter a better sense of who I was as an adult" ... :( heartbreaking
- Killswitch 11y ago
  Yeah, reading that made me think alot about myself and my 6 month old daughter and what would happen if I died as young as my father did (he was 48, I am now 30)

firasd 11y ago

As someone who got into web development, and thus my career, through the WordPress community, I was definitely aware of Alex and followed his work. I recall that he once mentioned using a plugin I wrote and that just shows how interconnected everything was back in those early, indie days. RIP Alex King, and may we carry your torch by being creative in our work, astute in our enterprise, and cherished by our communities and families.

alxmdev 11y ago

I remember often ending up on his blog when looking up various Wordpress and web development topics back in the 2000s. The about page (http://alexking.org/about http://alexking.org/about) on his website reveals an exciting and accomplished career, no doubt he would have kept doing ever greater things. Rest in peace!

davidu 11y ago

I hadn't kept up with Alex, but I do remember interacting with him and looking up to him while I was in college and even after. He was always so impressive. While I always admired him, I'm even more in awe now. It takes someone really special and thoughtful to create the kind of lasting impression he has left on his site for his daughter, his wife, and his family and friends. You can get a taste here: http://alexking.org/blog/2015/08/24/rememberances http://alexking.org/blog/2015/08/24/rememberances To all his friends and family, so sorry for your loss. Alex impacted so many people, many who will never know, but all of whom benefit from his far-reaching technical work and his community-building efforts.

ogezi 11y ago

God bless his soul.

aurora72 11y ago

http://phkillscancer.com/ http://phkillscancer.com/

voltagex_ 11y ago
https://www.metabunk.org/debunked-alkaline-diets-cure-cancer.t5401/ https://www.metabunk.org/debunked-alkaline-diets-cure-cancer... but really, this is not the time nor place.

JupiterMoon 11y ago

This is going to sound heartless and for that I apologise. I am curious what happens with his copyrights on his opensource code now? Not many significant projects have suffered such loses yet. Condolences to his family and friends if they ever read this.

thenipper 11y ago
I'd assume they just go to his estate unless he specifically specified otherwise.
- JupiterMoon 11y ago
  I'd assume that his immediate descendants would respect his involvement in open source. Is there a risk (maybe in other cases) that inheritors of an estate can retrospectively change licenses on code for which they have inherited the copyright to? (Maybe I'm missing some understanding of software licenses though.)
  - lloydde 11y ago
    IANAL and this is not legal advice. There is no risk in any event as the work was published under specific copyright terms and conditions.
  - leoedin 11y ago
    Pretty much every free software license is irrevocable - if you make software available under that license, you can't retroactively remove those licensing terms later. This applies whether the copyright is owned by a person or corporation. It's a fundamental building block of the concept of free software - that once software becomes free, it cannot be made non-free again. I'm not a lawyer and I'm not sure whether this has been tested in court, so I'd suggest further research on your own. There's some discussiof this on Groklaw - http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2006062204552163 http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2006062204552163

splitbrain 11y ago

Damn. I never met Alex, but was subscribed to his blog for several years. This makes me genuinely sad. fuck cancer.

junto 11y ago

Colon / bowel cancer has a relatively high success rate when treated (compared to other cancers), but as with all cancers, it is important to catch it early. Not to be to graphic, but if you have blood in your stool (especially if it is dark red in colour rather than bright red), then you should take yourself immediately to the doctors and tell them. They can take a stool sample and if necessary, refer you for a colonoscopy. You can be sedated for the colonscopy if you don't like the idea of being awake for it under a local. You normally get a dose of Propofol injected into you (like Michael Jackson) and you wake up feeling refreshed and slightly pissed off that the nurse dared to wake you up from your beautiful embracing slumber. The procedure really isn't as bad as you think it is going to be. The preparation for it is much worse (not painful, just unpleasant). You will then know for certain whether or not you have a really nasty cancer problem, or just plain old piles. People with Ulcerative Collitis and Crohn's have a higher risk of bowel cancer, so it important that they get checked regularly (talk to your doctor). Don't delay. It could cost you your life. Men are often the worst for procrastinating over such a decision. Update - I don't want anyone to think that I'm am suggesting Alex delayed seeing a doctor btw. I just wanted to impart some general wisdom that might save someone else's life.

rplnt 11y ago
Also think about what you ate before panicking. Beets will color your stool as well.
- agumonkey 11y ago
  Iron supplements will make stools black too. I almost fainted the first day I used them thinking the iron revealed something.
- thomnottom 11y ago
  Definitely good to keep in mind. Although from my own personal experience, actual blood in my stool was much more dramatic and very obvious compared to beets. Blood tends to come out much darker than you would expect. Mine was also very bloody - so I knew it wasn't coloring from food. But I don't know how close my experience is to other's And that doesn't mean that I don't have a mild panic attack the day after I have beets!

larrywright 11y ago

I didn't know Alex personally, but I was a paying customer for his site FeedLounge back in the days before Google Reader came along. It was a great web-based RSS reader, and was the first web site I used that felt like a desktop app in terms of responsiveness. I didn't really know him, just of him, but as someone only a couple of years older with three kids myself, this is heartbreaking to see. RIP, Alex.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]