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I, for one, don't care. It was his personal decision to end it this way. Also I'd like to know how many of you will think of his 'legacy' on a daily basis in 6

I, for one, don't care. It was his personal decision to end it this way. Also I'd like to know how many of you will think of his 'legacy' on a daily basis in 6 months time.

ashraful 14y ago
That's a very narrow minded way to look at it. It's difficult to comprehend what he was going through to take such a drastic step. I understand that he was facing a unreasonably long prison sentence for downloading academic papers. As someone points out in another thread, that basically meant he didn't have the freedom to really move forward with his life, even before being sentenced he had lost his freedom. Thats a horrible life to lead. Perhaps he finally lost hope... His legacy will live on as long as people use Reddit or RSS (or perhaps even anything derived from it), you don't necessarily need to "think" of him. I'm sure a lot of people will be using RSS and Reddit in 6 months.
deleted 14y ago
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- jacquesm 14y ago
  > it would be the first time that someone who committed suicide had a black bar on HN to mourn them. You are wrong.
mikedmiked 14y ago
> I, for one, don't care Goddamnit, have some sensitivity, he only just died and many people on here know him personally. If this is a troll then why don't you go reevaluate your priorities in life? Take some magic mushrooms and think about how your actions alter the world.
mcdowall 14y ago
They may not 'think' about it as you refer, but will likely be using RSS in some form, or reading a link via reddit or some other interesting achievement. Have some bloody respect.
zero_intp 14y ago
Indeed, suicide should not be illegal, or stigmatized as it is, but nor should we not care. Every outpouring of empathy and hurt from a suicide's community might impact the actions of another contemplating the action. The ill conceived and hasty suicides are the ones community should and can help to prevent.
shock 14y ago
I don't know whether I'll be thinking of his legacy or not in 6 months time. For me his legacy is not technical, it's personal. His series "Raw Nerve" gave me courage and hope. For this, I do care and feel sadness.
sneak 14y ago
A link I read today that I followed from Aaron's own writings: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_inconsistency http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_inconsistency Just because it was his own personal decision while depressed doesn't mean it was the right thing to happen. I don't believe in removing people's personal agency but don't dismiss something (the irreversible decisions made under vast psychological duress) that you don't understand as a given.
Pitarou 14y ago
> It was his personal decision to end it this way. I'm not one for flaming people and calling them a dumbass, but I can't let this one go. Your attitude shows you don't know shit about what really goes on when people kill themselves. It's most likely that Swartz killed himself because he was severely depressed. You can't really call a depression-induced-suicide a decision, because severe depression robs people of their ability to make decisions. It massively distorts perceptions, and literally shuts down the parts of the brain involved in decision making. If Swartz had survived and recovered, I'm pretty sure he'd have told you himself that he wasn't in his right mind at the time. > And I'd like to know how many of you will think of his 'legacy' on a daily basis in 6 months time. So what? We show our sorrow now because that is when we feel the loss the most keenly. This is the normal human response. Are you any different?

I, for one, don't care. It was his personal decision to end it this way. Also I'd like to know how many of you will think of his 'legacy' on a daily basis in 6 months time.

ashraful 14y ago

That's a very narrow minded way to look at it. It's difficult to comprehend what he was going through to take such a drastic step. I understand that he was facing a unreasonably long prison sentence for downloading academic papers. As someone points out in another thread, that basically meant he didn't have the freedom to really move forward with his life, even before being sentenced he had lost his freedom. Thats a horrible life to lead. Perhaps he finally lost hope... His legacy will live on as long as people use Reddit or RSS (or perhaps even anything derived from it), you don't necessarily need to "think" of him. I'm sure a lot of people will be using RSS and Reddit in 6 months.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

jacquesm 14y ago
> it would be the first time that someone who committed suicide had a black bar on HN to mourn them. You are wrong.

mikedmiked 14y ago

> I, for one, don't care Goddamnit, have some sensitivity, he only just died and many people on here know him personally. If this is a troll then why don't you go reevaluate your priorities in life? Take some magic mushrooms and think about how your actions alter the world.

mcdowall 14y ago

They may not 'think' about it as you refer, but will likely be using RSS in some form, or reading a link via reddit or some other interesting achievement. Have some bloody respect.

zero_intp 14y ago

Indeed, suicide should not be illegal, or stigmatized as it is, but nor should we not care. Every outpouring of empathy and hurt from a suicide's community might impact the actions of another contemplating the action. The ill conceived and hasty suicides are the ones community should and can help to prevent.

shock 14y ago

I don't know whether I'll be thinking of his legacy or not in 6 months time. For me his legacy is not technical, it's personal. His series "Raw Nerve" gave me courage and hope. For this, I do care and feel sadness.

sneak 14y ago

A link I read today that I followed from Aaron's own writings: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_inconsistency http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_inconsistency Just because it was his own personal decision while depressed doesn't mean it was the right thing to happen. I don't believe in removing people's personal agency but don't dismiss something (the irreversible decisions made under vast psychological duress) that you don't understand as a given.

Pitarou 14y ago

> It was his personal decision to end it this way. I'm not one for flaming people and calling them a dumbass, but I can't let this one go. Your attitude shows you don't know shit about what really goes on when people kill themselves. It's most likely that Swartz killed himself because he was severely depressed. You can't really call a depression-induced-suicide a decision, because severe depression robs people of their ability to make decisions. It massively distorts perceptions, and literally shuts down the parts of the brain involved in decision making. If Swartz had survived and recovered, I'm pretty sure he'd have told you himself that he wasn't in his right mind at the time. > And I'd like to know how many of you will think of his 'legacy' on a daily basis in 6 months time. So what? We show our sorrow now because that is when we feel the loss the most keenly. This is the normal human response. Are you any different?