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James Dolan, co-creator of SecureDrop, has died

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Re: James Dolan, co-creator of SecureDrop, has died

#71

Post by conorsch »

metafour wrote: post #40

Does anyone know if James had taken a short hiatus between jobs to travel by motorcycle for a while in Southern California? I ran it someone one day at The Rock Store that had worked with Aaron Swartz and a friend and I had a great conversation with him and I’m now wondering whether it was James.

Yes, indeed he did! After leaving FPF, he unplugged for a while, taking a road trip on his bike. He spent a lot of time working on that bike.

The road trip was a great excuse to unwind after a lot of stressful security work. He ended up rejoining the industry—good luck stopping that guy from anything—and continued for many years helping other projects.

So, yes, it does sound like you were fortunate enough to cross paths with a terribly interesting individual. Cheers, in his honor.

Re: James Dolan, co-creator of SecureDrop, has died

#72

Post by petecooper »

averagewall wrote: post #68

It turns out he helped to invade Iraq. Why doesn't American and global society shun people who cause such devastating destruction? That needlessly led to the deaths of 100's of thousands of people, but nobody blames the perpetrators.

>It turns out he helped to invade Iraq.

Respectfully, I don't think this is the right thread to bring this up.

Re: James Dolan, co-creator of SecureDrop, has died

#73

Post by hestipod »

MattSayar wrote: post #20
Blinks- wrote: post #13

This one really got to me, my confidence is shot when I see people I really respect struggling and succumbing to the same despair I feel sometimes. On an even darker note, anyone hear anything suspicious about this... ?

This too shall pass

I know you mean well but this sort of comment really upsets me because for many of us that means "when we die" as there is no obvious realistic hope.

I have been suffering for 15+ years since medical mistakes took my life and future. I have the whole cocktail of physical and mental pain as a result and every day is hell just surviving. I have lost everything including my means to meet even the basic needs of life independently and have fallen in nearly every crack when it comes to assistance as system after system failed me. I have only survived this long due to a large savings at the time of insult and a partial pension from my job. Friends and family have nearly all abandoned me. Despite my efforts haven't been able to "create" a path either.

This post is timely as I've been working on a draft for an AskHN last ditch post I intend to make soon to see if anyone has a plan or idea I have not already heard of for someone with so many limits to earn and survive. The things most people think are facts about options just don't work that way in reality. We are fighting the same issues everyone else in life is on TOP of the unimaginable physical and mental pain. Many people are left behind and many systems are broken. My life is filled with seemingly insurmountable barriers...my physical condition, access to needs, finances, age...and ending things is a daily consideration. I don't WANT to die but my wants don't pay the bills nor reduce pain. I have one option to live...start over and compete with every healthy person who is also trying to survive. I don't see how I can...

I have never talked to a suicidal person who WANTED to die when you drill down...they just wanted their pain to end (whatever that pain is) and there was no way in this life they could find to do that. For them it did pass...when they did. So that phrase brings me no comfort as intended.

Re: James Dolan, co-creator of SecureDrop, has died

#74

Post by myaso »

captain_crabs wrote: post #33
Blinks- wrote: post #13

This one really got to me, my confidence is shot when I see people I really respect struggling and succumbing to the same despair I feel sometimes. On an even darker note, anyone hear anything suspicious about this... ?

Here's the line of reasoning I use that keeps me in the game. Sorry if this is way off the deep end! :) "The impediment to action advances action. The obstacle is the way." - Marcus Aurelius In the face of overwhelming despair, there's always a choice you can take that is hope. Right action is training yourself to habitually choose that, and continue with it, regardless of the circumstances. Those deepest moments of…

Hope can lead you to a dead end if you're on the wrong path to begin with.

Re: James Dolan, co-creator of SecureDrop, has died

#75

Post by hkmurakami »

free_throw wrote: post #21
Blinks- wrote: post #13

This one really got to me, my confidence is shot when I see people I really respect struggling and succumbing to the same despair I feel sometimes. On an even darker note, anyone hear anything suspicious about this... ?

Thanks for the succinct summary. I feel much the same. The role model I think about the most is David Foster Wallace. from all viewpoints but his own, a hugely successful author, journalist, and professor. Always precocious, He stuck his head through a window and got a view of marketing/consumption/entertainment/addiction/education/the direction of life in modern America that he just couldn't come back from. He commi…

What cost, personal or public, is worth fighting the good fight for? This seems to happen far too often: our best minds and best hearts pushing themselves to the brink in their fighting the good fight.

Re: James Dolan, co-creator of SecureDrop, has died

#76

Post by dang »

zouhair wrote: post #35

Now we have two suicides of people working in this facet of human right activism. At what number should we start thinking about foul play? There are ways to push people to such extreme acts.

> foul play

I'm sure you didn't mean it that way, but this is bottom of the barrel stuff: off topic, disrespectful, and way below the quality line. Please don't bring it in here.

Re: James Dolan, co-creator of SecureDrop, has died

#78

Post by sk5t »

chrisper wrote: post #64
Blinks- wrote: post #13

This one really got to me, my confidence is shot when I see people I really respect struggling and succumbing to the same despair I feel sometimes. On an even darker note, anyone hear anything suspicious about this... ?

I think the worst part of any depressive phase is that it makes you feel you are the only one deep down this hole. Everyone around you has a perfect life. Every stranger on the bus seems to be happy. But the truth is you are not looking hard enough. There is more depression (medical or not) than we think and like to admit. Most likely all the people around you have a reason to be depressed one way or the other. You a…

Two bits from one of John Updike's _Rabbit_ books always come to mind: upon looking through his host's medicine cabinet, Rabbit muses, "people are always a little sicker than you think." And there's a description of looking down on cars from the window of an airplane in flight--how smoothly, from a distance, the cars seem to travel. Almost everyone has troubles that disappear from a distance.

Re: James Dolan, co-creator of SecureDrop, has died

#79

Post by dang »

averagewall wrote: post #68

It turns out he helped to invade Iraq. Why doesn't American and global society shun people who cause such devastating destruction? That needlessly led to the deaths of 100's of thousands of people, but nobody blames the perpetrators.

That is so cheap, smug, and uncivil a comment as to be a bannable offence on Hacker News. I'm not going to ban you because you've posted good comments as well, but please don't do it again. If I could sentence you to a moment's self-reflection, though, I sure would.

Taking the occasion of someone's death to smear him like this is staggering—or would be if it weren't so trivial. One expects nothing better of any internet forum, but please don't drag this one down.

Re: James Dolan, co-creator of SecureDrop, has died

#80

Post by [deleted] »

hueving wrote: post #42
cantrip wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anything can be funny given the right person saying it at the appropriate time in the right context Seeing a suicide joke from a person I don't know in the Hacker News thread about the death an individual I respect an hour after it's been released is not my idea of funny.

People cope with death in different ways. Avoid taking things strangers say very seriously.

[deleted]
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