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Rob Levin, lilo of FreeNode, Passes
sneak was the first of many to tell us of the death of Rob Levin, known as lilo, the head of FreeNode and of its parent organization, PDPC. A transcript from the channel: ".:17:18:40:. [freenode] -christel(i=christel@freenode/staff/gentoo.christe l)-
[Global Notice] On the 12th September Rob Levin, known to many as Freenode's
lilo, was hit by a car while riding his bike. He suffered head injuries and
passed away in hospital on the 16th. For more information please visit
#freenode-announce
17:19:39==> Topic for #freenode-announce: Together with the PDPC board we are
currently preparing a general announcement, please also feel assured that we will
continue working with PDPC to ensure continuous service on freenode, in line with Rob's
mission." Richard Hartmann writes, I just wanted to add that we of FreeNode will create a condolence book. All wellwishes can be sent to condolences@freenode.net."
[Global Notice] On the 12th September Rob Levin, known to many as Freenode's
lilo, was hit by a car while riding his bike. He suffered head injuries and
passed away in hospital on the 16th. For more information please visit
#freenode-announce
17:19:39==> Topic for #freenode-announce: Together with the PDPC board we are
currently preparing a general announcement, please also feel assured that we will
continue working with PDPC to ensure continuous service on freenode, in line with Rob's
mission." Richard Hartmann writes, I just wanted to add that we of FreeNode will create a condolence book. All wellwishes can be sent to condolences@freenode.net."
RIP Rob Levin.
Video Production Support
I only had very few interactions with Lilo, but he was always friendly and polite when I did. I am a long time user of FreeNode and a long time Wikipedian. The network has been invaluable to our community, and while of course a project like FreeNode is very much collaborative, I think he personally represented many of the core values that make it a great place for open source and free content projects. This is a very sad day. May he idle in peace. :-(
i just ran out of mod points. i wish i had them now.
This is a really sad day for freenode. He provided such a good service to all of us. :-(
Same here.
I got my start on Freenode many, many years ago, and now have been involved with dozens, possibly hundreds of projects, all on freenode. I've talked with Lilo many times and have never had a bad experience. One of the kindest and most helpful people I've ever met.
My Condolences go out to his family.
RIP lilo
Disconnect and self-destruct, one bullet at a time.
I can't believe this garbage was modded informative. To think my mod points expired today and I can't shoot this down myself...
The only change I can believe in is what I find in my couch cushions.
My condolences to his family. He worked hard for what we have, right or wrong, and we should respect that and be thankful for what he has left us.
political_news.c: warning: comparison is always true due to limited range of data type
christel just posted the following in #freenode-announce
christel> Ok, first off, this is not a hoax
christel> Rob was riding his bike on tuesday when he was hit by a car, he has spent the last few days at the neuro trauma ICU at a local hospital
christel> where he has been in a coma
christel> the news reached us this morning that Rob passed away early today
christel> Rob is survived by wife Debbie and son Benjamin
christel> and we ask that you all respect their privacy at this difficult time
christel> Robs funeral is most likely to be monday afternoon, although we have yet to get confirmation as Debs is waiting to hear from the MEs office that it can go ahead as planned
christel> and for those local, wishing to show their respects at his funeral, we ask that you email staff@freenode.net and we will try direct you as we can
christel> We will take some questions now and try answer them in channel, it would be appreciated if those with questions message beu, and we will answer on channel
christel> thank you
christel> the first question we've had is "What happens to freenode?"
beu> to answer the "who verified this?" question, members of freenode staff have been in contact with Rob's family over the past few days
christel> it is Debs wishes that freenode keeps running as close to normal as possible, and we will be working with the PDPC board to ensure that the network keeps running
beu> we are currently formulating an announcement and hope to have it online soon, in addition to an online "book of condolences"
christel> it has also been asked why lilos client is still connected
christel> i am sure you will all agree that at this point in time, we feel uncomfortable killing his client and find the mere idea rather morbid
christel> Robs nicknames will be quarantined to prevent abuse.
christel> A lot of people have asked how they can help
christel> Debs requests has been that people who knew Rob could donate to PDPC in his memory, or those wishing to make a more general contribution could give something to a bicycle safety campaign in their area.
Need a Wiki? Check out DokuWiki
The first time I read the headline I was confused about what it meant. Was there some sort of position he turned down? Did he quit an important job?
I've always despised death euphamisms, though. Trying to tone the tragedy down doesn't make it any easier to deal with for friends, families, or looker-ons. It also takes away from the importance of the death itself.
He's dead. The man was killed in an auto accident. It's a sad, tragic ending, but it's the truth.
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
I would estimate that Freenode was responsible for more realtime communication between developers and between users/support than any other single medium, and as such it was and is a major asset to the open source movement. It has undoubtedly helped make many projects much better than would have otherwise been possible/workable.
As a legacy, I'd say that's a pretty good one to leave.
"I object to doing things that computers can do." -- Olin Shivers, lispers.org
Enough with the euphemisms, already. Just say that he died. "Passing" is something you do with yesterday's lunch shortly after you've eaten today's.
http://outcampaign.org/
I've got no problem with friends and family members using passive, religiously charged euphemisms when discussing death. If people find it easier to talk about their sister having "passed," that's fine by me.
But when it comes to journalism (or the slashdot equivalent), it comes off as silly at best and offensive at worst.
Rob Levin didn't pass. He didn't "Pass", pass on, nor pass away. He DIED, and he was KILLED. This isn't just death, but death in a horrible, violent, disturbing way.
Getting your head smashed in by an automobile and living for painful hours in a hospital critical care ward isn't gentle. It's horrible, and cruel, and ugly. Using gentle words to describe it doesn't make it any less so. It does us all a disservice by belittling the tragedy of what has actually happened.
As a bike rider myself the first thing I thought of was the death in March of Richard Rauch.
This is sad news. My sympathies to his family.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
Car drivers, especially in the United States, have absolutely 0 regard for bike riders. A professor did an interesting study about how close cars come to bikers when they wear helmets versus when they don't. Not to mention in San Francisco they recently delayed a resolution that would build bike paths across the city so that bike riders didn't have to deal with ignorant SUV driving assholes too busy talking on their phone to notice a bike rider. /Rant
Sorry for the strong language, but as a bike rider car drivers in America for the most part just totally piss me off. I have to spend my tax money attacking some random oil rich country so you can drive your SUVs, but you get all in a tizzy when I want a bike path so I don't have to worry about you hitting me even though I have as much a right to the road as you do.
Ignorant car drivers disgust me.
Monstar L
WTF?
I don't see any informations on the circumstances of the accident, nor what happened to the car's driver. For all we know it could've been a mechanical issue with the car, or the driver didn't pay enough attention and is in jail, or anything.
I know this is slashdot, but how about not being stupid and judgemental just for once?
"The way we can tell it's C# instead of Haskell is because it's nine lines instead of two." -- wadler
User Rob Levin.
As the cars get bigger, bike riding is scarier but remains my only convenient daily exercise.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
It's not just the drivers. Many roads seem to have been created with no real thought for cyclists. While this is particularly true in big cities (like SF, where the roads are insane for anyone traveling on them), even nice crunchy places like Santa Cruz make bicycle commuting a risky proposition, because they don't see cyclist-friendly roads to be a high enough priority. I can't tell you how many times I've nearly been annihilated because on-street parking forces me almost into the auto lane. Potholes, poorly-designed merge and exit lanes, and fast traffic signals turn a ride to work into a dangerous proposition.
Until there are more people commuting in bikes rather than cars, I don't see the situation changing for the better.
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
Yeah, when people make jokes about September 11 it is "dealing with the situation" or whatever. When people make jokes about this guy they are just trolling. Granted the few jokes made are bad taste at best, but so were many of the September 11 jokes.
Too bad he wasn't taking performance enhancing drugs.
Did anybody remember to delete all his child porn?
Personally, I liked grub better anyway.
Probably people who read the subject 'Opportunity from Tragedy' - there's no opportunity from such a tragedy.
Who's with me?
I hope the police are, so they can arrest you. What's missing in all of this are the details. Maybe Rob went down an embankment that was too steep and his brakes failed, causing him to veer into oncoming traffic causing an unavoidable accident for the unfortunate motorist who happened to be there. Perhaps Rob wasn't wearing a bicycle helmet, further complicating any head trauma. Maybe he was wearing dark clothing and cycling at night without any lights or reflective gear.
It's amazing that we live in an age where we have access to computers and, through that, to some of the world's best accumulated wisdom and knowledge. And yet there are still some shits like you who want to pick up the pitchforks and torches to arrange a lynch mob even when you likely don't possess any detailed information on the circumstances. But even if you were there and know everything firsthand, I still find your reaction a little too stuck in the dark ages.
Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
RIP lilo. You will be missed and I wish your family all the best.
"A Lisp programmer knows the value of everything, but the cost of nothing." - Alan Perlis
Thanks lilo for your work on freenode, you made many open source projects possible and brought together thousands of people. My condolances go out to his friends and relatives, I feel sorry for your loss.
This sig is intentionally left blank
We're not all cyclists, I know, but we're all geeks, we all use the roads, and of course nobody likes to see comrades die under any circumstances. I thought it would be appropriate to point out some cycling related tips to go along with the parent's "always wear a helmet" statement.
USE LIGHTS: Lights on your bike are to BE SEEN, even in daylight. Use them front and back, flashing. Many drivers subconsciously associate flashing lights with cars, and hence they will factor you into their driving logic, which in some cases means they'll notice you at all when they otherwise wouldn't have.
Back Roads: One thing about biking is that you can take back roads which are more direct but have slower speed limits, since you won't be hitting that 50mph expressway speed limit anyways. This puts you around far fewer cars which are also going slower, and often in neighborhoods where people are more aware things other than cars. I know two great sites to find bike routes: www.bikely.com and www.motionbased.com
Use Mirrors: There are a variety of mirrors, mostly cheap. You want a mirror which lets you see behind you without moving your head so that you don't swerve, even slightly, while glancing. One popular mirror which can be purchased off eBay for very ~$23 is the Italian Racing Mirror which mounts on end of the drop handlebars of a road bike.
Know the Rules of the Road: Other people in this thread have pointed out that it doesn't require a license to ride a bike in the street. All of us, even we cyclists, have been pissed off by somebody on a bike who was doing something stupid. The laws may be different in each state, but sensibility isn't. If you ride a bicycle, or drive a car, take even just a minute to skim over this link: CHP - Bicycle Riding. (I include drivers too because they probably don't know that "Bicycle riders and automobile drivers follow the same rules and have the same rights.")
Of course, this being the internet, there are plenty great resources to find information about cycling related stuff, including commuting, safety, etc.. bikeforums.net is a fantastic place to start.
BTW I don't agree with the GP, I just don't think "to err is human" applies here.
# cat
Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
christel ok, im going to go +m for a moment
christel and we will try answer some of the questions you've asked after a minute of silence
christel Ok, first off, this is not a hoax
christel Rob was riding his bike on tuesday when he was hit by a car, he has spent the last few days at the neuro trauma ICU at a local hospital
christel where he has been in a coma
christel the news reached us this morning that Rob passed away early today
beu to repeat for those just joining us, this sadly is not a hoax; Rob was riding his bike on tuesday when he was hit by a car, he has spent the last few days at the neuro trauma ICU at a local hospital... news reached us this morning that Rob passed away early today
christel Rob is survived by wife Debbie and son Benjamin
christel and we ask that you all respect their privacy at this difficult time
christel Robs funeral is most likely to be monday afternoon, although we have yet to get confirmation as Debs is waiting to hear from the MEs office that it can go ahead as planned
christel and for those local, wishing to show their respects at his funeral, we ask that you email staff@freenode.net and we will try direct you as we can
christel We will take some questions now and try answer them in channel, it would be appreciated if those with questions message beu, and we will answer on channel
christel thank you
christel the first question we've had is "What happens to freenode?"
beu to answer the "who verified this?" question, members of freenode staff have been in contact with Rob's family over the past few days
christel it is Debs wishes that freenode keeps running as close to normal as possible, and we will be working with the PDPC board to ensure that the network keeps running
beu we are currently formulating an announcement and hope to have it online soon, in addition to an online "book of condolences"
christel it has also been asked why lilos client is still connected
christel i am sure you will all agree that at this point in time, we feel uncomfortable killing his client and find the mere idea rather morbid
christel Robs nicknames will be quarantined to prevent abuse.
christel A lot of people have asked how they can help
christel Debs requests has been that people who knew Rob could donate to PDPC in his memory, or those wishing to make a more general contribution could give something to a bicycle safety campaign in their area.
beu this question is cropping up a *lot*: yes, sadly rob did indeed pass away this morning, no, this is not a hoax
christel we will also try to coordinate so that we can get some things together for Debs and Benjamin, but at this point in time she has no particular wishes in that regard. Those wishing to help his family however, are encouraged to get in touch with us per email (again staff@freenode.net) and we will try connect you with those in the area that are coordinating support.
christel "Should lilo's fellow Jews sit shiva for 30 days as is tradition?"
christel I am not jewish, and I dont know much about jewish traditions, so i will leave that up to each and every one of you individually
christel "Where, as in city and state, would the funeral be?
christel Rob lived in Houston, Texas and the funeral will be held there
christel "was lilo wearing a helmet and was the car driver responsible? if they are responsible will they be charged?"
christel lilo was not wearing a helmet, we are unsure at this point about what will happen wrt the driver of the car
beu we are working on making a formal announcement on http://freenode.net/, and are currently setting up an online "book of condolences". our current eta is: soon.
christel from what we know, it was a hit and run
christel and the driver has not yet been found
beu Rob passed away on the morning (texas time) of Saturday 16th 2006
christel Any other questions?
beu where Rob is Rob Levin, who most of us knew as lilo
christel I am recieving a lot of priv messages, and I am afra
http://www.mostlystupid.com
Yeah, in retrospect, that subject wasn't very tactful.
neuro at well dot com (when I post, it's my opinions, no-one elses)
Many of us only knew Rob from his "global announcements" on IRC, but still he will be sorely missed. I only hope his death does not discourage cyclists. The more people cycling, the safer it is for cyclists everywhere, and the fewer sad incidents like this one.
I will be supporting lilo and cyclists everywhere by attending Critical Mass [wikipedia.org] to make it safer for cyclists. I encourage all slashdotters and freenoders to seek out and attend their own local Critical Mass (organised by YOU).
The next Critical Mass is Friday 29th September near you. Google it. Support cyclists.
I was in a bus once when a bicycle plowed into us. If it handn't happened right below my window, I never would have known it happened. I'm almost positive we had the right-of-way and he somehow failed to comprehend that he was overtaking a bus that was braking, signaling a right turn and approaching a bus station on the right.
If a bike strikes your SUV's blind spot or rear end, the car won't move at all and all you'll hear is a thump, easily drowned out by the stereo. In an especially tall vehicle (like the bus I was riding) the entire accident will happen completely out of view.
One possible scenario: A fast-moving cyclist on a downhill run is rapidly catching up with a slow-moving SUV. As the cyclist starts overtaking on the right, the SUV suddenly turns right. The cyclist is unable to stop or swerve and his front tire hits the car's right rear tire. The bicycle is snapped violently to the side, slamming the rider's unhelmeted skull into the curb. The driver, meanwhile, has only heard a thumping sound and attributes the slight lurch of his car to irregular pavement at the edge of the road. The only damage to the SUV is a scuff on the sidewall. Or the driver later finds damage on the right side of the car and assumes some coward did hit-and-run on them in a parking lot.
Who's at fault, the driver who failed to signal, or the cyclist who was following too closely? In my home state, leaving the scene of a fatal accident is itself a felony and is pretty damning evidence of at-fault driving. Almost certainly there were a number of contributing factors that we don't know about. That doesn't make lilo any less dead or urban cycling any less a risk.
This is not my sandwich.
This is not to blame lilo in any way for not wearing a helmet, but please, let's learn from what happened here. Always wear a helmet when riding a bike. The speed you are going doesn't matter, it's the distance from your head to the ground, which is the same on a bike as it is on a motorcycle. My life was probably saved once because I was wearing a helmet when I hit a pothole after coming off a long hill. Bike helmets nowadays are light-weight and not at all dorky looking.
Again, the driver is to blame for this, not lilo. Doubly so as they fled the scene, when perhaps if they had stayed and summoned help immediately, lilo might have survived.
Rest in peace, lilo. My condolences go out to his family.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
You are very wrong, almost without exception, the only roads with minimum speed limits are freeways where bicycle riding is not permitted anyway. Reall, you're wrong.
XML causes global warming.