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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

#151
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not the definition of murder though, even if you feel like it is. I know we're in a post-fact world, but you don't get to magically decide what words mean.

> That's not the definition of murder though It’s usually, when criminally charged, been charged as a lesser degree of homicide (typically some form of manslaughter), but that's because its hard in that kind of case to prove premeditation, as the causation element is the same between murder and manslaughter. If there is actual premeditation, it fits within the definition of murder.

It's not homicide nor manslaughter neither, and has no concept of "premeditation" at all. It's was a 10 page years old thread on an obscure gossip website.

He was not doxxed (no one even knew his name), did not have threats posted there... I fail to see how it can even closely be related to "murder".

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

#152
post #124
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

#153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure what you can do in that situation if you don't know where the person lives and they're in a foreign country whose language you don't speak. Who do you even contact?

The person who wrote the note said they had coffee with Near in Akihabara on June 9th. That would imply they both are in Japan, so none of that thinking would apply here.

There's more evidence out there, but I'm concerned about doxxing by saying more.

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

#154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IANAL, but the Michelle Carter case never made it to federal court as the Supreme Court declined to take the case. As a result, the case did not set a de jure precedent for how similar cases should be conducted outside Massachusetts. In addition, Kiwifarms is protected by §230 and the suicide took place in Japan. Under federal law, neither Null nor KF bear any responsibility for the decisions of the site's respondent…

This Twitter thread strongly suggests the motivation was largely due to bullying from the Kiwi Farms forum, in addition to the owner’s refusal to do anything about the thread. https://mobile.twitter.com/near_koukai/status/14089400572353... I was arguing that the event could be considered more than nothing, possibly something like manslaughter due to possibly analogous events being considered as such. Not that the act…

>>I was arguing that the event could be considered more than nothing, possibly something like manslaughter due to possibly analogous events being considered as such. If you're arguing that casework from manslaughter-at-a-distance exists in the United States and that such case work would be applicable to KiwiFarms, I'd disagree with both points. The first point has already been explained. As to the second point, such a case would involve interstate commerce. That's under the purview of the Supreme Court which has already classified what is considered unprotected speech. "Cyberbullying", however it's defined, is not among those designations. Defamation seems to be closest category, but that's not a criminal designation. Another point to address is that calling for someone's death or suicide is not in itself illegal. Otherwise, plenty of people would be imprisoned over their opinions about Donald Trump. There must be a mens rea and a credible threat or act for the purpose of objectively harming the individual in question. Composing a slanted and abhorrent commentary about said person does not qualify as or is not comparable to setting up the noose or pulling it.

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

#155
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A nit: it'd be more respectful to use "Near". They really wanted people to call them that and not their old pseudonym. I never personally interacted with Near, but I've been following them and their work since the days of the zsnes forums, back in the mid-00s. I'm a huge fan - not just of their technical achievements or their ideological commitment, but also of the seeming grace with which they carried themselves in…

I think you are wrong. Apparently "near" was another pseudonym to seperate their console hacking and different social interests. Near mentined it in some post.

Coming from someone who was close with them, both near and byuu are appropriate, and as for gender pronouns they did not prefer any "they/them/he/she" are all ok

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

#156
post #11

Posted this on the other thread ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27653450 ), I'll copy it here... I don't really know what to say here. I didn't know them personally, but I saw their work and was truly stunned. Most people don't achieve in their entire lives what Near (aka Byuu) did in their comparatively short one. To say I was impressed is an understatement. I simply don't have the words. What happened, shoul…

I had a mathematics teacher in high school who had a line about the Romans: "The biggest impact the Romans had on mathematics was killing Archimedes."

The biggest impact Matthew Prince, CEO of Cloudflare, had on the technology community is killing Near and so many others by standing behind these sites. This is the principle for which he stands.

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

#158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The person who wrote the note said they had coffee with Near in Akihabara on June 9th. That would imply they both are in Japan, so none of that thinking would apply here.

There's more evidence out there, but I'm concerned about doxxing by saying more.

Then why bother saying it? I also know more evidence that supports my position, but I, too, don't want to dox by saying more.

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

#159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I admire your ability to solely wish solace on them. I'd rather the long arm of the law caught up to them.

there's not a lot the law can do, unfortunately. doxxing isn't illegal in the US, at least federally, except against people in certain positions [0]. there's a high standard for harassment to be considered illegal. bullying is not illegal. hate speech is not illegal. even if individuals on Kiwi Farms can be prosecuted, it wouldn't take the site down. and to be prosecuted, the prosecutors would have to care. there jus…

> there's a high standard for harassment to be considered illegal

True, although it's sometimes possible to do a 2-step process under a lower standard. First, ask for a restraining order in civil court. Getting a restraining order has a much lower bar than charging someone with a crime does. If they don't stop, and violate the terms of the restraining order, then they can be sanctioned in various ways (civilly or criminally) for violating the restraining order, depending on the jurisdiction.

There are organizations that regularly do this pro bono for domestic violence cases, where the process is pretty well understood [1]. I'm not as sure what organizations or assistance exist for online harassment, unfortunately.

[1] https://www.womenslaw.org/laws/general/restraining-orders

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

#160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would edit this into my parent comment, but can't edit it any more. Further reading I found this post from the Kiwi Farms operator that shares an email from Near explaining a little more on the situation. https://kiwifarms.net/threads/byuu-byuu_nyan-setsunakun0.430...

that whole thread is so vile. poor Near. like, Near is apologizing to Null for persuading one of KF's moderators to delete the thread on them, and presumably was angry that Near influenced a mod into a chance of conscience? and Null lashes out at Near for it? these are evil people. I wonder if they realize how evil they are.

Sadly, the majority have either convinced themselves they're good and the world is evil or decided that they don't care
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