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> We should be better than making this into news. So the most favored Rubyist has returned from hiding with a fun new puzzle. Further down, folks are posting i

> We should be better than making this into news. So the most favored Rubyist has returned from hiding with a fun new puzzle. Further down, folks are posting interesting stuff about it. But the finger wagging – people just can't get enough of telling people what they should do and feel. And apparently that's what they want, for behold this top comment.

apawloski 14y ago
Yup, you caught me. My point though, is that _why has made it clear that he wants to be left alone, and this HN endeavour seems to violate that. Maybe you're right and it is a new puzzle. And maybe he's back. (For what it's worth I posted that before most of the investigation.) Nevertheless though, given _why's wishes, this makes me uncomfortable, and I don't think it's unreasonable for me to acknowledge that.
- avree 14y ago
  You have it wrong. The man behind _why deleted his online presence because he grew tired of the persona and everything around it. At that point, people began searching for _why. This culminated in a Slate article that openly divulged his identity. That, is of course, crossing the line. If someone wants to distance themselves from an online tag, they should be allowed to in peace. Now, however, it seems that he's brought that persona back to life. He's posted a new puzzle, and brought his site back. Obviously, he wouldn't do that if he still "just wanted to be left alone." That's why people are excited.
  - sha90 14y ago
    This timeline of events is inaccurate. _why's name was called out on a mailing list prior to the Slate article publication-- and prior to his vanishing. Please don't rewrite history in favor by pretending "he grew tired of the persona". He didn't quit because he wanted to move on with his life, he quit in a hissy fit because he was outed.
  - wyclif 14y ago
    First, many of us knew _why's identity long before that Slate article. In the Ruby community, _why was a little like Santa Claus for a while. Just because people were protective of him and didn't want to divulge his identity doesn't mean they didn't know. Second, I think you're attributing motives to _why that none of us can possibly know. He's never discussed his rationale for leaving, so I try not to project motives onto him.
    - jacquesm 14y ago
      Let's also not assume that stalking the guy like this is A-Ok because he didn't say you couldn't.
      - wyclif 14y ago
        Nobody's stalking him.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
- mikeash 14y ago
  Given that his web site is back up with an interesting message, I'd say it's no longer clear that he wants to be left alone.

apawloski 14y ago

Yup, you caught me. My point though, is that _why has made it clear that he wants to be left alone, and this HN endeavour seems to violate that. Maybe you're right and it is a new puzzle. And maybe he's back. (For what it's worth I posted that before most of the investigation.) Nevertheless though, given _why's wishes, this makes me uncomfortable, and I don't think it's unreasonable for me to acknowledge that.

avree 14y ago
You have it wrong. The man behind _why deleted his online presence because he grew tired of the persona and everything around it. At that point, people began searching for _why. This culminated in a Slate article that openly divulged his identity. That, is of course, crossing the line. If someone wants to distance themselves from an online tag, they should be allowed to in peace. Now, however, it seems that he's brought that persona back to life. He's posted a new puzzle, and brought his site back. Obviously, he wouldn't do that if he still "just wanted to be left alone." That's why people are excited.
- sha90 14y ago
  This timeline of events is inaccurate. _why's name was called out on a mailing list prior to the Slate article publication-- and prior to his vanishing. Please don't rewrite history in favor by pretending "he grew tired of the persona". He didn't quit because he wanted to move on with his life, he quit in a hissy fit because he was outed.
- wyclif 14y ago
  First, many of us knew _why's identity long before that Slate article. In the Ruby community, _why was a little like Santa Claus for a while. Just because people were protective of him and didn't want to divulge his identity doesn't mean they didn't know. Second, I think you're attributing motives to _why that none of us can possibly know. He's never discussed his rationale for leaving, so I try not to project motives onto him.
  - jacquesm 14y ago
    Let's also not assume that stalking the guy like this is A-Ok because he didn't say you couldn't.
    - wyclif 14y ago
      Nobody's stalking him.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
mikeash 14y ago
Given that his web site is back up with an interesting message, I'd say it's no longer clear that he wants to be left alone.