_why is no more • Hacker News Board

Re: _why is no more

#71

Post by n8agrin » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 5:58 PM UTC

_why just posted a new repo on github: http://github.com/why/lol/tree/master

EDIT: Weird, the repo description is "wtf adam, are you this slow". Hope he didn't get hacked.

EDIT 2: original link is dead.

Re: _why is no more

#72

Post by zefhous » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 5:59 PM UTC

The Hpricot wiki is still live on github, and the website is still up too.

http://wiki.github.com/why/hpricot http://hpricot.com/

One of the most thoroughly documented libraries that I have used.

It's interesting that he gave a talk in 2005 called "A Starry Afternoon, a Sinking Symphony, and the Polo Champ Who Gave It All Up for No Reason Whatsoever" (from his Wikipedia article)

Anyone know anything about what he said about the Polo Champ in the talk?

Re: _why is no more

#73

Post by generalk » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 5:59 PM UTC

There's a new repository up on his Github: http://github.com/why/lol/tree/master

Description: wtf adam, are you this slow

I'm guessing he got hacked.

Edit: Nevermind, the repo's been deleted.

Re: _why is no more

#74

Post by timinman » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 6:00 PM UTC

_why got me back into programming and into ruby, first with Try Ruby! in the browser and later Hackety Hack. When I asked if I could use hackety to build a web app, he steered me toward rails. I've used tons of his library, especially hpricot. If you're listening _why; don't stop being generous - don't disappear without a trace.

Re: _why is no more

#75

Post by scythe » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 6:01 PM UTC

asenchi wrote: post #38

Wow, one of the few personalities to ever remain truly anonymous on the Internet vanishes in a day. Sad sad day. :(

What about moot and weev? They're not members of the open source community, but they are notorious.

Re: _why is no more

#76

Post by rcoder » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 6:01 PM UTC

TheProkrammer wrote: post #64

random-passerby wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Couldn't possibly be that he's fed up with Open Source and the ruby community...

Even if he is, taking down ANY trace of your online presence is highly unusual.

_why has always been an unusual guy. He has always prized his pseudonymity online, so I'm honestly not entirely shocked to see that he has decided to simply pack it up and move on.

It's a sad day for all of us, but I hope and trust that he has good reasons for this decision. His contributions to the world of Ruby and programming-as-art will not be soon forgotten.

Re: _why is no more

#77

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 6:02 PM UTC

jeremymcanally wrote: post #20

hvs wrote: post #14

Is it just me, or does Ruby tend have these "personalities" more than other communities? Seems like the Ruby community focuses a lot on the "rockstar" mentality. I don't spend any time in it to know for sure, though.

Maybe we just have more interesting people? :)

[deleted]

Re: _why is no more

#78

Post by ejc » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 6:03 PM UTC

Jeremysr wrote: post #2

I just noticed that _why apparently deleted his twitter account. I then found that that wasn't all he deleted: http://twitter.com/_why http://github.com/why http://whytheluckystiff.net/ http://poignantguide.net/ http://hackety.org/ http://shoooes.net/ All disappeared... For those who don't know who I'm talking about: http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_the_lucky_stiff

Why the Lucky Stiff has become Why the [deprecated] Stiff. http://twitpic.com/ehkoy

Re: _why is no more

#79

Post by chanux » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 6:03 PM UTC

Loved his neat work why's poignant guide to ruby though I'm not a ruby guy. :(

But why he'd commit a virtual suicide like this?

Re: _why is no more

#80

Post by brigleb » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 6:04 PM UTC

Very sad. No more chunky bacon??

I invite everyone to enjoy a video I set to some of his music, and reflect on his priceless contributions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YReSQfSBz4k