Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Hans Reiser on ReiserFS deprecation in the Linux kernel

ftp.mfek.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 472 posts

Re: Hans Reiser on ReiserFS deprecation in the Linux kernel

#12

Post by TomK32 »

belltaco wrote: post #4

From Wiki: > On August 29, 2008, Reiser was sentenced to 15 years to life, the maximum sentence for second-degree murder. As a result of his plea bargain, Reiser cannot appeal his conviction or sentence That would be August 2023, anyone know if he's out of prison?

He was found guilty by the jury in April 2008 and led police to her body in July.

Re: Hans Reiser on ReiserFS deprecation in the Linux kernel

#16

Post by JadeNB »

iaw wrote: post #5
mariusor wrote: post #2

I don't know if ending another human's life leaves any possibility of redemption for a person, but reading this I still empathize with the sense of loss and powerlessness that emanate from this letter.

I suspect many are aware of this but for those uninformed: Reiser committed premeditated murder of his (ex?)wife Nina around 2006 and hid her body so well they could not find her. He made his children think either that their mother abandoned them. He had thought without a body he could not be charged and convicted. I believe he waited until it was apparent he would lose the trial and then plead down so that they coul…

> I want to believe redemption is possible, especially given how eloquent he is, but his demonstration of calculation over emotion in her murder makes me strongly question his change.

I think it would be ridiculous for me to presume that I can possibly have any view into whether or not someone has sincerely changed, but why should the fact that someone was calculating once affect whether they have changed? I could see doubting the apparent demonstration of change, because they might have calculated the appropriate words to say, but I don't see any reason that a calculating person is less able sincerely to change than any other.

Re: Hans Reiser on ReiserFS deprecation in the Linux kernel

#17

Post by dale_glass »

iaw wrote: post #5
mariusor wrote: post #2

I don't know if ending another human's life leaves any possibility of redemption for a person, but reading this I still empathize with the sense of loss and powerlessness that emanate from this letter.

I suspect many are aware of this but for those uninformed: Reiser committed premeditated murder of his (ex?)wife Nina around 2006 and hid her body so well they could not find her. He made his children think either that their mother abandoned them. He had thought without a body he could not be charged and convicted. I believe he waited until it was apparent he would lose the trial and then plead down so that they coul…

He was far less of a mastermind than he fancied himself at the time.

If I recall, he bought a book on murder investigations and a socket set after his wife's disappearance (which was easily tracked back to him), removed car seats (blood) from his car, and willingly testified in court that it was his manly dream to sleep in the car, or something along these lines.

He could have likely gotten away with it if he kept his mouth shut. Luckily he had the arrogance of believing he had actually come up with a convincing story.

Re: Hans Reiser on ReiserFS deprecation in the Linux kernel

#18

Post by bachmeier »

mariusor wrote: post #2

I don't know if ending another human's life leaves any possibility of redemption for a person, but reading this I still empathize with the sense of loss and powerlessness that emanate from this letter.

"Ending another human's life" covers a wide range of cases. My recollection of this event, which is now long in the past, is that he was cold, calculating, did not value human life, and was quite comfortable with his kids moving on without their mother. He didn't just do something to her. He permanently damaged his kids, her family, and all of her friends. He made his decision knowing all of this.

Redemption? Possible I suppose, but don't make the mistake of looking at this from your perspective, because he's not like the rest of us.

Re: Hans Reiser on ReiserFS deprecation in the Linux kernel

#19

Post by sph »

I think about Hans Reiser pretty often, incidentally, because there is a quote from him I read as a teenager that stuck with me.

"The utility of an operating system is proportional to the number of connections possible between its components, than it is to the number of those components."

— Hans Reiser (from http://web.archive.org/web/20040126210110/http://unununium.o...)

It's hard to reconcile good things a person might have said and done, with the bad. That sentence is a guiding principle of software design that I cannot often quote, without entering into a huge discussion on the pain Reiser has caused. This is the only time I feel I am able to share that quote, on a thread that hopefully tries to look past the right and wrong of his actions.

Just as no one is truly good, no one is truly evil either. It is good for one's soul and humanity to acknowledge that a bad person might have done something good in their life.

ReiserFS was pretty cool as well, sad to see it go, but no one uses it anymore. I hope they'll find redemption and peace.

Re: Hans Reiser on ReiserFS deprecation in the Linux kernel

#20

Post by themerone »

Aloha wrote: post #10
mariusor wrote: post #2

I don't know if ending another human's life leaves any possibility of redemption for a person, but reading this I still empathize with the sense of loss and powerlessness that emanate from this letter.

Speaking in general terms, not to the specifics of Hans Reiser's crimes - I dont see why it wouldn't allow for redemption, people do stupid things and get blinded easily.

Drunk driving is a stupid thing people do. Murder is an act of evil.
Post reply on HN