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Aaron Swartz commits suicide

tech.mit.edu

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Re: Aaron Swartz commits suicide

#511

Post by shimon »

beadmomsw wrote: post #252

Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts. Aaron has been depressed about his case/upcoming trial, but we had no idea what he was going through was this painful. Aaron was a terrific young man. He contributed a lot to the world in his short life and I regret the loss of all the things he had yet to accomplish. As you can imagine, we all miss him dearly. The grief is unfathomable. Aaron's mother

Aaron was a unique, inspiring, and puzzling individual. I knew him only a little, but I always knew that whenever I heard his name it would be in the context of an ambitious and bold new adventure. It's truly tragic loss for the tech community, and I cannot imagine how difficult it must be for his family. Our thoughts and best wishes are with you.

Re: Aaron Swartz commits suicide

#512

Post by gfodor »

Gigablah wrote: post #441
pinaceae wrote: post #350

Earlier quoted context omitted.

by responding to a 'my god i am so special, no one is like me' post with a simple webcomic that succinctly points out that this is laughably wrong I am myself exhibiting the same behavior? interesting piece of logic.

Yes. The main point of the comic is that everyone fancies themselves to be more worldly-wise than the next person. You could accuse me of the same, but at least I'm not dripping with contempt.

I just roll my eyes at all three of you. Puppets, all!

Re: Aaron Swartz commits suicide

#513

Post by gnosis »

brudgers wrote: post #337
cturner wrote: post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The parent is narrow, but you beat him up with a position which is also contestable. For some people, obedience to the law and its flaws, is itself a virtue because of the net win we all have by having a strong rule of law. Others are outraged at abusive exercises of power and find virtue in any struggle against it, even obligation. Others are indifferent to the system and focus on practical experiences. I think when…

"For some people, obedience to the law and its flaws, is itself a virtue" e.g. Socrates. Perhaps.

Also, Lawful Neutral characters in Dungeons and Dragons.[1]

[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alignment_(Dungeons_%26_Dragon...

Re: Aaron Swartz commits suicide

#514

Post by gfodor »

alan_cx wrote: post #245
rohamg wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is right. I'm shocked at the "suicide apologists" in this thread.

I'm shocked at "life bullies". Which lets face it is a Christian rule, and not applicable to all people. I would like to die right now. I'm just too cowardly. There is no simple switch to do it quickly and painlessly. No way to stop others being upset. No way to stop others discovering something that may scar them. I do not wish to mess up others. Why? I simply do not belong. I don't understand the human race at all,…

This always makes me feel better and helps shake off such thoughts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7BuQFUhsRM

Re: Aaron Swartz commits suicide

#515

Post by nullc »

nullc wrote: post #510
monsterix wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can we not know who exactly (their faces/names etc.) were the people working in the "US Attorney Office" bent to indict him? It's easy for people to term it was not JSTOR, it was the Attorney Office but ultimately these things happen only because people forget how to treat other people properly.

It was Carmen Ortiz who was responsible for the unjust overzealous prosecution of Aaron Swartz which ultimately contributed to his death. Carmen Ortiz's blind ambition has caused her to run roughshod over people's freedom in the past: http://thephoenix.com/Boston/news/141253-15th-annual-muzzle-... We can only discourage the over-zealousness of prosecutors by making sure that it becomes a career limiting move instead…

Also applicable: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/remove-united-stat...

Re: Aaron Swartz commits suicide

#516

Post by thepacketrat »

beadmomsw wrote: post #252

Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts. Aaron has been depressed about his case/upcoming trial, but we had no idea what he was going through was this painful. Aaron was a terrific young man. He contributed a lot to the world in his short life and I regret the loss of all the things he had yet to accomplish. As you can imagine, we all miss him dearly. The grief is unfathomable. Aaron's mother

Having lost my brother to suicide just a year ago, I can empathize deeply with your loss. My thoughts are with your family.

Re: Aaron Swartz commits suicide

#517

Post by gnosis »

rprasad wrote: post #481
betterunix wrote: post #364

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone with access to a university network has access to those documents. I have access to JSTOR also. What moral issue can you possibly raise with someone using their access to download these documents? It's OK to download 10, but not 1000000? Do you have a moral issue with automated downloads -- and if so, how can you justify JSTOR itself? It is worth noting that JSTOR did not want to press charges in this case. Af…

It's not a matter of restricting access to public knowledge; it's a matter of Aaron draining the village pool. Information shares all of the downsides of the public commons: because it is freely available, no one wants to pay for the maintenance costs. JSTOR charges fees for access to cover the ongoing maintenance costs associated with storing access to thousands of journals and millions of articles published over se…

"It's not a matter of restricting access to public knowledge; it's a matter of Aaron draining the village pool."

Copying documents does not destroy the original copies, so it does not drain anything.

"Information shares all of the downsides of the public commons: because it is freely available, no one wants to pay for the maintenance costs."

If JSTOR had made these documents freely available, there'd be plenty of people and organizations who'd gladly have paid for the maintenance costs. For example, archive.org.

"Note also that JSTOR provides assistance with locating articles relevant to the user's needs (i.e., library functions), and such services are frequently more valuable than its archival functions. ... A wiki will not suffice to maintain access to this information; Wikipedia and Wikileaks have shown that. You would end up with all of the articles but no practical way to find the particular article or articles you are looking for."

If anyone wanted to use those services, they could pay JSTOR for them regardless of whether these documents were also available elsewhere.

Re: Aaron Swartz commits suicide

#518

Post by lightstriker »

nazgulnarsil wrote: post #289
philwelch wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure what you're getting at here. While I'll agree it was overzealous to make a federal case out of this, you can't blame federal prosecutors for doing their fucking jobs just because someone kills themselves. Many people have survived federal prosecution without dying or killing themselves. I'm shocked and horrified by this news too. It's awful that Aaron died. But it's foolish to blame anybody but him for h…

The average sentence for criminals convicted of rape in the United States is 117 months. The average time served is 65 months.

That's not entirely a relevant point.

Also, notice that it was not "We're giving you 35 years in jail" it is "The absolute most that you could possibly receive for this crime is 35 years". I somehow suspect that number is far higher for rape cases but, as your comment demonstrates, that number is not necessarily indicative that that's how long you would serve.

Re: Aaron Swartz commits suicide

#519

Post by devcpp »

rprasad wrote: post #481
betterunix wrote: post #364

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone with access to a university network has access to those documents. I have access to JSTOR also. What moral issue can you possibly raise with someone using their access to download these documents? It's OK to download 10, but not 1000000? Do you have a moral issue with automated downloads -- and if so, how can you justify JSTOR itself? It is worth noting that JSTOR did not want to press charges in this case. Af…

It's not a matter of restricting access to public knowledge; it's a matter of Aaron draining the village pool. Information shares all of the downsides of the public commons: because it is freely available, no one wants to pay for the maintenance costs. JSTOR charges fees for access to cover the ongoing maintenance costs associated with storing access to thousands of journals and millions of articles published over se…

Then Swartz was no threat. He was going to upload the articles to other people if he wanted to. He was going to have to provide the search tools.

I don't understand why they would "[secure] from Mr. Swartz the content that was taken, and [receive] confirmation that the content was not and would not be used, copied, transferred, or distributed".

Re: Aaron Swartz commits suicide

#520

Post by siglesias »

If anybody is partial to listening to music during times like these, I recommend Tchaikovsky's Symphony no. 6 [1]. The fourth movement in particular is extraordinarily moving and an ice cold glimpse of disdain, depression, and ultimately the death (some say suicide) of a romantic genius [2]. Of course the entire work is something to behold in all its movements.

1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._6_(Tchaikovsky) 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtLq8wj0p80

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