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Ask HN: Anyone know where Mark Pilgrim went?

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Re: Ask HN: Anyone know where Mark Pilgrim went?

#91

Post by bane »

kenferry wrote: post #84
jerrya wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mark is annoyed? How about Mark is goddamn lucky and should be both embarrassed and grateful that he's enough of a character that a chunk of the internet cares about him. Mark is annoyed? It is Mark Pilgrim's right to disappear, but to disappear in a puff of greasy black smoke and 4̶0̶4̶s̶ 410s is just attention whoring and begging people to look for him and call the police. There is no reason for Mark to be annoyed…

This doesn't make sense to me. Is there any example of a way Mark could have not been okay in a way that is helped by people on the internet tracking him down? Clearly his material was intentionally taken down.. short of "silenced by the gubbermint", I'm not sure how tracking him down could help. It seems more like voyeurism..

Yes, this behavior is a typical pattern of people suffering from long-term depression who are entering a final stage before suicide.

Of the typical signs: a sudden change in behavior, loss of interest in favored activities, setting affairs in order, withdrawing from others, self destructive behavior.

You wouldn't believe the number of suicides who, as their last and final act, cleaned up (shaved, got a hair cut, put on a suit or nice dress, put on makeup, etc.) and prior to that suddenly gave away all of their stuff particularly prized possessions (and for creative types, their lifetime collection of work).

Re: Ask HN: Anyone know where Mark Pilgrim went?

#92

Post by 21231651 »

21231651 wrote: post #89
jerrya wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mark has every right to disappear, I said so. And Mark has every right to delete all of his stuff. Sure. And Mark has every right to delete all of his stuff, stuff that has been widely linked to, stuff heralded as brilliant, and he has the right to delete all of his accounts, but what he has no right to do when he does that and leaves no explanation, is to be annoyed that people wonder what happened to him? This is a…

Why would he explain it to anybody, I didn't know him or his work, but by god if he wants to disappear he disappears. Also he posted no suicidal tendencies as far as I gather, he posted nothing stating he is suicidal or even sad. Maybe just bored, but definitely not sad. Why would he explain his actions to everyone. Who are you to demand an explanation? Did you contribute to his work in any way? Do you hold stake or…

This is seriously pissing me off now. People downvote and never explain why. Did any of my statements ring as aggressive? Am I wrong in my assumptions? Or is it that people cannot stand someone who uses numbers as an account name.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone know where Mark Pilgrim went?

#94

Post by reinhardt »

21231651 wrote: post #92
21231651 wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would he explain it to anybody, I didn't know him or his work, but by god if he wants to disappear he disappears. Also he posted no suicidal tendencies as far as I gather, he posted nothing stating he is suicidal or even sad. Maybe just bored, but definitely not sad. Why would he explain his actions to everyone. Who are you to demand an explanation? Did you contribute to his work in any way? Do you hold stake or…

This is seriously pissing me off now. People downvote and never explain why. Did any of my statements ring as aggressive? Am I wrong in my assumptions? Or is it that people cannot stand someone who uses numbers as an account name.

FWIW I upvoted all your downvoted comments. The sense of entitlement and voyeurism in some other comments is repulsive.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone know where Mark Pilgrim went?

#95

Post by mbrubeck »

21231651 wrote: post #89
jerrya wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mark has every right to disappear, I said so. And Mark has every right to delete all of his stuff. Sure. And Mark has every right to delete all of his stuff, stuff that has been widely linked to, stuff heralded as brilliant, and he has the right to delete all of his accounts, but what he has no right to do when he does that and leaves no explanation, is to be annoyed that people wonder what happened to him? This is a…

Why would he explain it to anybody, I didn't know him or his work, but by god if he wants to disappear he disappears. Also he posted no suicidal tendencies as far as I gather, he posted nothing stating he is suicidal or even sad. Maybe just bored, but definitely not sad. Why would he explain his actions to everyone. Who are you to demand an explanation? Did you contribute to his work in any way? Do you hold stake or…

Some of the people who contacted the police, like Jason Scott, did know Mark Pilgrim. And were probably concerned that a drastic and dramatic action with no explanation was a prelude to something like a suicide attempt. Even if it was just a small chance, I can see why they wouldn't want to risk inaction.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone know where Mark Pilgrim went?

#96

Post by derleth »

21231651 wrote: post #92
21231651 wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would he explain it to anybody, I didn't know him or his work, but by god if he wants to disappear he disappears. Also he posted no suicidal tendencies as far as I gather, he posted nothing stating he is suicidal or even sad. Maybe just bored, but definitely not sad. Why would he explain his actions to everyone. Who are you to demand an explanation? Did you contribute to his work in any way? Do you hold stake or…

This is seriously pissing me off now. People downvote and never explain why. Did any of my statements ring as aggressive? Am I wrong in my assumptions? Or is it that people cannot stand someone who uses numbers as an account name.

> Did any of my statements ring as aggressive?

Yes. You come off as someone trying to be insulting.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone know where Mark Pilgrim went?

#97

Post by snotman »

saurik wrote: post #81
jerrya wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mark is annoyed? How about Mark is goddamn lucky and should be both embarrassed and grateful that he's enough of a character that a chunk of the internet cares about him. Mark is annoyed? It is Mark Pilgrim's right to disappear, but to disappear in a puff of greasy black smoke and 4̶0̶4̶s̶ 410s is just attention whoring and begging people to look for him and call the police. There is no reason for Mark to be annoyed…

He probably/hopefully/certainly also has friends and family that he interacts with on a day-to-day basis that, were he to actually-really-really disappear, would care about him and call the police. It is frankly kind of creepy/scary that a bunch of people he barely knows think it is their place to /call the police/ if he gets sick of the weird kind of attention you get from that kind of audience (and frankly reinforc…

I do not know Mark nor have I ever read his books, but this has been an interesting phenom he pulled and it is attention getting - I came to this story through slashdot. I think it is small-minded to imagine that things are different when people all over the world have been consuming Mark's works and have relied on that material as a resource day in and day out. Pretty bizarre. Wake up to the new world that Mark blogged about... HTML is the medium for publishing in our age and maybe one of the unintended consequences of that model is celebrity. There is nothing anyone can do to remove their internet likeness from the internet which seems silly that Mark of all people would attempt it without the world reacting - isn't that referred to as naive. It would have been easier to let all the resources rot to obscurity and no attention would have been drawn to his disappearance.

Did it occur to you that disappearing in such a manner might be similar to death and cause a similar reaction in people? Maybe their is a grievance cycle going on with people with such a sudden departure from their lives. One day the site is up, the next is a 410 with no explanation. For those where Mark's works were a reality, the sudden disappearance may be experienced like death as there is no explanation as to what was important to you is no longer and never will be. Are you a psychologist or sociologist that understands what is happening? Aren't you curious as to how it became that so many people depended on Mark's reality that do not know Mark personally? Who are you to react to those that are impacted psychologically to his disappearance? Do you claim to understand these things and how profound the internet affects us? I think you presume much about things you do not know about.

Good day to you.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone know where Mark Pilgrim went?

#98

Post by areyoujoking »

Tichy wrote: post #90
saurik wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Firstly, let me point out that I am responding to jerrya, not Jason Scott (whom I have also interacted with on a few occasions, and is a friend-of-a-friend enough that when I heard about this mess I turned to someone else in the room and asked them about what was up). "Mark is goddamn lucky and should be both embarrassed and grateful that he's enough of a character that a chunk of the internet cares about him" I beli…

Well if you disappeared for a serious reason, maybe you would appreciate people caring. Other than that, just tweet "taking a weekend off".

oh right, because we're all married to the internet, and therefore should check in with them whenever we step out for a minute.

Seriously, take a step back and re-read what you just said.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone know where Mark Pilgrim went?

#99

Post by Tichy »

areyoujoking wrote: post #98
Tichy wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well if you disappeared for a serious reason, maybe you would appreciate people caring. Other than that, just tweet "taking a weekend off".

oh right, because we're all married to the internet, and therefore should check in with them whenever we step out for a minute. Seriously, take a step back and re-read what you just said.

It seems the person in question is married enough to the internet for others to notice if he goes silent for two days.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone know where Mark Pilgrim went?

#100

Post by saurik »

Tichy wrote: post #99
areyoujoking wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

oh right, because we're all married to the internet, and therefore should check in with them whenever we step out for a minute. Seriously, take a step back and re-read what you just said.

It seems the person in question is married enough to the internet for others to notice if he goes silent for two days.

I think a key issue here is: it isn't any of their business. I did not promise I would be around 24 hours a day, and they have no introspection into my life to know when something is normal behavior or not.

There are tons of people who do, though: my girlfriend, the people I hang out with at my office every day, and even a few "long term allies" (as it were) I've come to know only online (and talk with on IRC). Some (in fact, many) of these people even have access to my exact location at all times via Latitude.

But the people I meet at conferences, the people who follow me on Twitter, or even the people who lurk in IRC channels I'm in? It is simply not any of their business where I am or what I am doing, and it is absolutely silly for them to expect me to tell them how long I'm going to be gone.

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