4 ms·

He was a great actor, and groundbreaking in this contribution to film. That said, why is this here?

bsanr2 5y ago
- annadane 5y ago
  "This isn't relevant to me therefore it isn't relevant to the entire internet"
  - hunterb123 5y ago
    - annadane 5y ago
      No, but HN is the center for articles on pretty much everything, including "notable celebrity dies". It's ridiculous to apply the usual (tired) trope of HN of "how is this relevant"
      - hunterb123 5y ago
        Yes, I was specifically replying to you, not him, that there are guidelines to a degree about what is on and off topic. How often they are followed is a grey area. Whether or not you're tired of hearing the trope is irrelevant to the guidelines. Those people repeating the trope are probably tired of perceived violations of the guidelines. Maybe those guidelines should be deleted since everyone is tired.
        bsanr2 5y ago
        >How often they are followed is a grey area. It's interesting to note the character of when and when not those guidelines are applied.
- dang 5y ago
  Please don't post unsubstantive comments, and especially please don't be snarky. It's against the site guidelines because we're trying for a different culture here. Humiliating someone for not knowing something is not a good way to communicate and it poisons the local environment. It's much better to respectfully offer correct information. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - bsanr2 5y ago
    It wasn't intended to be snarky, nor unsubstantive, though I suppose that without the necessary context or self-awareness it could come off as either. I'll admit that I may be in my emotions somewhat. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29679505 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29679505 The culture I would like you to try for is one in which people don't feel comfortable questioning (or, rather, vociferously protesting through abuse of the flag feature) the validity of posts celebrating the lives of black luminaries. In general, the level of soft racism on HN is disheartening and certainly warps how I tend to respond. I join you in wishing that I didn't feel the need to mirror a lack of extended dignity with indignation.
    - dang 5y ago
      I'm not sure that's a correct interpretation of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29840535 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29840535. To me it read like the generic "why is this on HN" comment that people routinely post when they see a story that's non-tech or otherwise doesn't fit their (mistaken) model of what HN is supposed to be. (What annadane accurately called "the usual tired trope": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29840915 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29840915.) It shows up a lot on "$Person has died" threads, among other places.
pimlottc 5y ago
It's here because someone though it was worth submitting, and it's on the front page because people thought it was worth upvoting.
- commandlinefan 5y ago
  I see a lot of submissions on here that "someone though it was worth submitting, and people thought it was worth upvoting" that get deleted anyway.
  - rumblestrut 5y ago
    - 1024core 5y ago
      > Also, I've never seen Sneakers. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ What's stopping you? If you do decide to watch it, remember: it was from 1992.
    - legostormtroopr 5y ago
      You really should fine some time to watch it. It has a great ensemble cast and is both a time capsule of 90s computing and a timeless representation of what "real hacking" is (mostly losts of social engineering).
thrower123 5y ago
CobaltFire 5y ago
It's entirely possible that some people here were inspired to become Software Devs, etc. by some of his work (especially "Sneakers"). I'd say that's reason enough.
dang 5y ago
Hacker News is for any story that gratifies intellectual curiosity - see https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html. When someone dies, the story is not just the death of that person, but their life. Such threads are relatively common on HN. It might not be a good thread for HN if the person was too much of a celebrity or if their death was particularly sensational, but those things are not the case here.
C19is20 5y ago
Ricky Gervaise and guitar lessons? https://youtu.be/L3dxMGzt5mU https://youtu.be/L3dxMGzt5mU (And yes, I do appreciate the irony of my replying to your comment :-)

annadane 5y ago
"This isn't relevant to me therefore it isn't relevant to the entire internet"
- hunterb123 5y ago
  - annadane 5y ago
    No, but HN is the center for articles on pretty much everything, including "notable celebrity dies". It's ridiculous to apply the usual (tired) trope of HN of "how is this relevant"
    - hunterb123 5y ago
      Yes, I was specifically replying to you, not him, that there are guidelines to a degree about what is on and off topic. How often they are followed is a grey area. Whether or not you're tired of hearing the trope is irrelevant to the guidelines. Those people repeating the trope are probably tired of perceived violations of the guidelines. Maybe those guidelines should be deleted since everyone is tired.
      - bsanr2 5y ago
        >How often they are followed is a grey area. It's interesting to note the character of when and when not those guidelines are applied.
dang 5y ago
Please don't post unsubstantive comments, and especially please don't be snarky. It's against the site guidelines because we're trying for a different culture here. Humiliating someone for not knowing something is not a good way to communicate and it poisons the local environment. It's much better to respectfully offer correct information. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- bsanr2 5y ago
  It wasn't intended to be snarky, nor unsubstantive, though I suppose that without the necessary context or self-awareness it could come off as either. I'll admit that I may be in my emotions somewhat. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29679505 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29679505 The culture I would like you to try for is one in which people don't feel comfortable questioning (or, rather, vociferously protesting through abuse of the flag feature) the validity of posts celebrating the lives of black luminaries. In general, the level of soft racism on HN is disheartening and certainly warps how I tend to respond. I join you in wishing that I didn't feel the need to mirror a lack of extended dignity with indignation.
  - dang 5y ago
    I'm not sure that's a correct interpretation of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29840535 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29840535. To me it read like the generic "why is this on HN" comment that people routinely post when they see a story that's non-tech or otherwise doesn't fit their (mistaken) model of what HN is supposed to be. (What annadane accurately called "the usual tired trope": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29840915 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29840915.) It shows up a lot on "$Person has died" threads, among other places.

It's here because someone though it was worth submitting, and it's on the front page because people thought it was worth upvoting.

commandlinefan 5y ago
I see a lot of submissions on here that "someone though it was worth submitting, and people thought it was worth upvoting" that get deleted anyway.
- rumblestrut 5y ago
  - 1024core 5y ago
    > Also, I've never seen Sneakers. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ What's stopping you? If you do decide to watch it, remember: it was from 1992.
  - legostormtroopr 5y ago
    You really should fine some time to watch it. It has a great ensemble cast and is both a time capsule of 90s computing and a timeless representation of what "real hacking" is (mostly losts of social engineering).

thrower123 5y ago

CobaltFire 5y ago

It's entirely possible that some people here were inspired to become Software Devs, etc. by some of his work (especially "Sneakers"). I'd say that's reason enough.

dang 5y ago

Hacker News is for any story that gratifies intellectual curiosity - see https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html. When someone dies, the story is not just the death of that person, but their life. Such threads are relatively common on HN. It might not be a good thread for HN if the person was too much of a celebrity or if their death was particularly sensational, but those things are not the case here.

C19is20 5y ago

Ricky Gervaise and guitar lessons? https://youtu.be/L3dxMGzt5mU https://youtu.be/L3dxMGzt5mU (And yes, I do appreciate the irony of my replying to your comment :-)