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Near, the emulator developer of bsnes, higan, and more, has died

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Re: Near, the emulator developer of bsnes, higan, and more, has died

#161

Post by ta2163 »

badRNG wrote: post #128
ATsch wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't say it has failed, but succeeded. The framing of the "marketplace of ideas" has really always been about paving over power dynamics and justify continuing harm by appealing to something external. In your marketplace of ideas, the hundreds of abstract individuals that are hararassers are equally as valid as one abstract individual just trying to live their life. It's working as intended.

It might be more accurate to say that the marketplace of ideas isn't all it's cracked up to be. It has failed to be the utopian dream some hoped it would.

But it's still better than the alternatives.

Re: Near, the emulator developer of bsnes, higan, and more, has died

#162

Post by entropicdrifter »

snypher wrote: post #33
TheFreim wrote: post #29

Very sad that they are gone, byuu's work on emulators has been very useful. Weird to hear about things like this and realize that people are real on the other end of the computer. Skimming through, I don't see a reason why they were harassed by Kiwi Farms. I don't get it, what caused that?

Kiwi Farms whole deal is to harass people online. I'm not sure they need a reason. A girl set herself on fire due to their harassment in 2013.

She set herself on fire in 2018 after 5 years of harassment over something she did in 2013

Re: Near, the emulator developer of bsnes, higan, and more, has died

#163

Post by traway1121 »

First off, I have nothing but respect for Near/Byuu. I have followed his work for years and enjoyed his blog posts. Their death came as a complete surprise to me and impacted me more than I ever thought something like this would.

With that being said, I think there was more going on here than simple bullying-- the weeks/months leading up to their death, Near did a number of things that (in retrospect) make it seem he knew very well he was going to take his life.

The KF thread was only 13 pages long and quite "tame". He replied to the thread himself and wasn't really bullied. A lot of the posters on KF seemed to actually respect him. The thread wasn't updated in over two years prior to his death. Although the thread may have impacted him greatly, it doesn't seem like it was the main factor.

Shortly before his death he re-licensed all of his software with quite open licenses. The year or two leading up to his death he separated himself from his work quite a bit (made separate standalone domains for each project, abandoned his old online name(s)).

This really looks like he knew he was going to take his life over a year ago. We will obviously never know, but it seems like he wanted to take his life and as a bonus, maybe take KF down with him.

Obviously some finger pointing at KF is justified, but at the end of the day I think there was more going on here. Near was an incredibly talented and troubled person that didn't (or couldn't) get the help they needed. I think that should be focused on a bit more, especially if we want to prevent things like this from happening again.

Re: Near, the emulator developer of bsnes, higan, and more, has died

#164

Post by BigsQuickly »

We really need proof that they're actually dead. A police report, a mention in the local paper would work but something. We don't even know their name to look into the matter, despite being doxxed. Let's first confirm that a person has actually died, then we can take concrete action against Kiwi Farms. Otherwise they will always be able to claim that no suicide even took place.

Re: Near, the emulator developer of bsnes, higan, and more, has died

#165

Post by moralestapia »

traway1121 wrote: post #163

First off, I have nothing but respect for Near/Byuu. I have followed his work for years and enjoyed his blog posts. Their death came as a complete surprise to me and impacted me more than I ever thought something like this would. With that being said, I think there was more going on here than simple bullying-- the weeks/months leading up to their death, Near did a number of things that (in retrospect) make it seem he…

For sure, we will never see the full picture. I personally find the whole situation a bit strange, like ... something about it doesn't make sense. Time clears everything up.

Re: Near, the emulator developer of bsnes, higan, and more, has died

#166

Post by treloon »

bjt2n3904 wrote: post #46
nchase wrote: post #38

The behavior Kiwi Farms encourages seems like it should be illegal. How is this not murder?

In 2017, a Massachusetts woman was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for coaxing her (then) boyfriend to suicide.

Is there any evidence that any member of the Farms did anything like that chick did, or is this a horrible comparison?

Re: Near, the emulator developer of bsnes, higan, and more, has died

#168

Post by shitler »

geofft wrote: post #5
TazeTSchnitzel wrote: post #2

Kiwi Farms is the scum of the earth. Sadly it has many victims.

This terrifies me: > Near survived that. Many wouldn’t, but Near was strong enough to overcome that level of emotional abuse. But Kiwi Farms is relentless. Not to be defeated in their pursuit of utter emotional and psychological destruction, they went after who Near treasured most: their friends. Doxing some, directly harassing others, and even specifically seeking out suicidal people to target. > That broke Near. [.…

Please provide any evidence that anyone from kiwi farms has ever swatted anyone, you quivering little Karen. "What if a Twitter bluecheck literally shoots someone with a gun? This is terrorism." Like sure, if you make things up that involve actual violence and not fee fees being hurt it sounds bad.

Re: Near, the emulator developer of bsnes, higan, and more, has died

#169

Post by shitler »

orf wrote: post #124
_etyf wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, this sounds exactly like Twitter. On Twitter, self-appointed mobs of the morally righteous call for violence against children [0], farm lulz from the killings of police officers [1], dox strangers to get them fired over off-color jokes [2], and endlessly harass and threaten certain conservative journalists and activists [3]. Actual Twitter employees harassed right-wing reporter Andy Ngo [4] after a real-world mob…

No, it still doesn’t sound like Twitter.

Right, because when the harassers are woke it's heckin good and valid activism and when they're based it's bad and bullying.

Re: Near, the emulator developer of bsnes, higan, and more, has died

#170

Post by andxor »

colanderman wrote: post #58
Klonoar wrote: post #41

I'm sure some will disagree, but I'd argue this should be a black bar moment. So many of us grew up in the early-to-late-2000s internet, likely on many of the forums that touched on emulation. Near/byuu's achievements in emulation/game preservation are insane and arguably unmatched, and they also posted here from time[1] to time[2]. So sad to see this all unfold. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=near

Another vote for black bar. Near was inspirational and a true hacker. @dang, can we get one?

Yes please.
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