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Reiser Murder Case Gets Stranger

Fahrvergnuugen writes "Wired is running a story about how an ex-lover of the missing wife of accused spouse killer Hans Reiser has confessed to killing eight people unrelated to the case. While Reiser will still stand trial for the murder, this development will undoubtedly complicate things."

500 comments

  1. hmmmm by uberjoe · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does this mean I don't have to reformat after all?

    --

    The days of the digital watch are numbered.

    1. Re:hmmmm by Tackhead · · Score: 5, Funny
      > Does this mean I don't have to reformat after all?

      Nope. Heck, kill -8 is just a floating point exception. It's kill -9 that Hans has to worry about.

      On the other hand, the guy making the confession did fsck her...

      /does anyone else smell brimstone, or is it just me?

    2. Re:hmmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Seriously, an accusation of murder doesn't mean that someone can't write good code. Hell, a conviction for murder wouldn't mean that. Someone with the icy logic needed to remove a threat permanently might find a career in the military - and the military has lots of programmers, and are the biggest murderers around.

    3. Re:hmmmm by Penguinisto · · Score: 4, Funny
      ...true, but did he HUP or NOHUP? If he HUP'd, we're talking serious perversion...

      /P

      --
      Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
    4. Re:hmmmm by ez76 · · Score: 4, Funny

      If he couldn't be bothered to clean up blood from his car and to get rid of his books on homicide, how the hell can we trust this guy to free memory on the heap?

    5. Re:hmmmm by dsfox · · Score: 4, Funny

      You might as well ask if you can trust someone who doesn't cut his hair and clean his eyeglasses to free memory on the heap.

    6. Re:hmmmm by sumdumass · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well, first there is a differecne between murder and killing. This difference is justification, circumstances and legalities. But more to the point.

      Last I heard, they still haven't found a body. What Kind of evidence do they have against him outside his wife is still missing. I mean books are nothing more then circumstantial, But then is a ex-lover who turns out to be a serial killer (I believe 5 or more still qualifies). Some blood in the car, was it a lot or an amount that someone could have cut themselves at some point of time and have it there?

      It would be interesting if this Ex-lover is the one who did it and he is innocent. I'm wondering how he would be accepted back into the community if this happens.

    7. Re:hmmmm by notamisfit · · Score: 3, Interesting

      IIRC, any amount of Nina's DNA in Reiser's car was suspect, because she never would have willingly entered his vehicle (not sure if he owned the same vehicle before the divorce or not). Not to mention that the passenger seat hasn't been found.

      --
      Jesus is coming -- look busy!
    8. Re:hmmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      You say that like you believe the cops didn't plant those things. They were under a lot of pressure to create a case against him so they did what they usually do.

    9. Re:hmmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If he couldn't be bothered to clean up blood from his car and to get rid of his books on homicide, how the hell can we trust this guy to free memory on the heap?
      Maybe, but at least the code wouldn't suffer from memory leaks.
    10. Re:hmmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      I don't know how things work in your town but the cops do not plant the evidence here, they just smoke it:)

    11. Re:hmmmm by Obyron · · Score: 2, Interesting

      who turns out to be a serial killer (I believe 5 or more still qualifies).

      If you want to get technical it's not serial killing unless all the killings follow the same motif and/or are part of an overarching "statement" (think of how a serial novel is released as a series of installments). If they were individual pre-planned murders all with their own justification that did not follow any theme then he is a mass murderer. If he just snapped one day and went out and killed 6 or 8 or however many people for no real reason, then he's a spree killer.

      If you'd read a few of the books in Hans Reiser's collection you'd know this!

      --
      --Obyron
    12. Re:hmmmm by antime · · Score: 1

      I think they were just failed business partners and that he had to invoke the "death yoga" clause of their contract.

    13. Re:hmmmm by donscarletti · · Score: 3, Insightful

      she never would have willingly entered his vehicle Logical jumps like that are dangerous in criminal investigation, that is simply assumption, each separation is different since they are complex things and so you can't really know where she would or wouldn't go. She was last seen at Hans Reiser's house (which was a large amount of the case against him) and if she is willing to enter his house, why not his car?
      --
      When Argumentum ad Hominem falls short, try Argumentum ad Matrem
    14. Re:hmmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      she never would have willingly entered his vehicle

      Fascinating. And how long were they married while never willingly being in each other's presence? I guess they had separate his&hers houses, and the kids were by artificial insemination... from some other sperm donor because she never would have willingly let his sperm enter her?

    15. Re:hmmmm by notamisfit · · Score: 1

      Did you read the part in the parentheses?

      --
      Jesus is coming -- look busy!
    16. Re:hmmmm by ralphdaugherty · · Score: 1

      She was last seen at Hans Reiser's house (which was a large amount of the case against him) and if she is willing to enter his house, why not his car?

            She was dropping the kids off at his house, not his car.

        rd

    17. Re:hmmmm by ralphdaugherty · · Score: 1

      She was last seen at Hans Reiser's house (which was a large amount of the case against him) and if she is willing to enter his house, why not his car?

            Because there was no front seat?

        rd

    18. Re:hmmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Murder is a legal term for killing against the government's laws. The military and law enforcement are government supported violence management professionals.

    19. Re:hmmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      According to the article, he alledgedly stated that the killings were all as recompense for his childhood... sounds like a common theme to me.

    20. Re:hmmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      She was dropping the kids off at his house, not his car.
      Dropping the kids off doesn't mean she had to enter the house, yet she did.
    21. Re:hmmmm by ralphdaugherty · · Score: 1

      Dropping the kids off doesn't mean she had to enter the house, yet she did.

            To have a "discussion"/argument, which didn't go quite as well as this dialogue.

        rd

    22. Re:hmmmm by FunkyELF · · Score: 1

      yeah, it is obvious... they went to the store and bought some dehydrated OJ blood and dehydrated Nicole blood. Just added water and put it all over the place.

    23. Re:hmmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Death Yoga FTW!

    24. Re:hmmmm by sco08y · · Score: 1

      Seriously, an accusation of murder doesn't mean that someone can't write good code. Hell, a conviction for murder wouldn't mean that.

      Yeah, it's not like programmers are actual engineers who have to deal with other human beings. IEEE may as well scrap their code of ethics since programming is just math.

      Someone with the icy logic needed to remove a threat permanently might find a career in the military - and the military has lots of programmers, and are the biggest murderers around.

      And you're the recipient of the freedom to talk about shit you don't understand thanks to our murdering people who would take it from you. Yes, that freedom is wasted on you, but then so is oxygen.

  2. What are the odds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I tend to think that the ex-lover who confessed to killing eight people should be investigated with respect to the disappearance of Han Reiser's wife. As I understand it, there is no evidence at this time tying Reiser to his wife's disappearance except for speculation.

    1. Re:What are the odds? by Danga · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Well they did find blood in his vehicle and house. From the article:

      "Though no body has been found, Reiser was arrested Oct. 10 after the Oakland Police Department found small drops of blood in his house and in his Honda CRX"

      Makes it a little fishy although I am sure I have small drops of blood around my house and in my cars too from small cuts and stuff happening while doing stuff outside. I would hope they need more than that to tie the "murder" to him. I think she just took off somewhere myself, I mean she was cheating on him so I don't think it is too far out of the ballpark.

      --
      Hey, there is only one Return and it's not of the King, it's of the Jedi.
    2. Re:What are the odds? by Dogtanian · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Bear in mind that in forensics, the "drops" of blood can be microscopic. For example, when we hear that XYZ accused had 100 drops of blood on his clothing, it isn't necessarily the massively blood-splattered shirt it might sound like. Now, I don't know how likely it is that we might have drops of blood of such size around our houses/cars as a result of normal activity (which would normally go unnoticed). Still something to consider, though.

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    3. Re:What are the odds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      It was more than "small drops of blood". The front passenger seat in his car had been removed and hasn't been recovered yet.

    4. Re:What are the odds? by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Small drops of blood.

      I'll bet there are small drops of most peoples blood in their cars and houses. People bleed, it happens. This alone should not be taken as strong evidence of anything other than a bloody nose or cut finger.

      --
      If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    5. Re:What are the odds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      > I would hope they need more than that to tie the "murder" to him

      But he also owned a book on true murder stories!!

      Your criminal justice system in USA == INSANE.

      (ps: not joking, http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007 /03/72931 search for Masterpieces of Murder)

    6. Re:What are the odds? by fishbowl · · Score: 1



      >I'll bet there are small drops of most peoples blood in their cars and houses.

      But, there are not usually drops of blood around the passenger seat which has been recently, hastily removed. Reiser my be innocent, but I suspect that damn car seat is going to be a *big* problem for a jury.

      I'm not sure what the rules are, as for the information about Sturgeon. There's a possibility that the jury never hears a word about him.

      --
      -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
    7. Re:What are the odds? by fishbowl · · Score: 3, Interesting

      >It was more than "small drops of blood". The front passenger seat in his car had been removed and
      >hasn't been recovered yet.

      I understand all about rules of evidence and presumption of innocence, but this was a very strange detail.

      I've been a vintage car enthusiast for a long, long time, and I could probably name the time, place, and parties to almost every single car part that was ever traded, installed, or removed from one of my cars. I'd definitely be able to tell you what happened to something as significant as a passenger seat. Of course, in my case, that would probably be the whole front seat from a 1959 Chevrolet which would be a $3000 part, but still. It's weird that we know about the seat, the tools, the blood, but we don't know Hans' explanation. Without his explanation, the jury is only going to hear the prosecutor's theory, which is going to sound quite plausible to a jury.

      --
      -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
    8. Re:What are the odds? by CatNTHat · · Score: 1

      Just saying that there were small drops of blood isn't really enough. Who's was it? How long had it been there? Was it directional? Its not uncommon for blood to be present where people live, we are far from perfect, we cut ourselves working on our cars, in our garages, back yards, kitchens, bathrooms. There really hasn't been enough information released to the public for us to form an accurate picture of any series of events.

      --
      Of course it's company policy never to, imply ownership in the event of a dildo... always use the indefinite article a d
    9. Re:What are the odds? by nurb432 · · Score: 1

      Its enough to convict someone if there is enough of a motive to back up a disappearance and blood spots.

      --
      ---- Booth was a patriot ----
    10. Re:What are the odds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm probably stretching it a bit, but if you let a mosquito suck your blood for a minute, then splat it somewhere, it will leave a very large blood drop that won't go away so easily like the mosquito remains when you clean.

    11. Re:What are the odds? by morari · · Score: 0

      I have fairly frequent problems with my nose bleeding (mostly in the winter, that electric heat is DRY). There are little stains everywhere from it; keyboard wrist pad, pillow cases, carpet, around the bathroom sink and shower...

      --
      "He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
    12. Re:What are the odds? by gujo-odori · · Score: 1

      As a father of two young kids, I can assure you that there are doubtless tiny drops of blood at various points in my house :p Adults sometimes do that, too, of course. You cut yourself on something, maybe get a nosebleed, etc. You clean it up, sure, but can you be certain you got every tiny bit? I can't.

    13. Re:What are the odds? by SnarfQuest · · Score: 1

      And there is also the fact that he removed the front seat of his car, which also has not been found.

      Now, if his wife is found dead, strapped to that front seat, then things might get a little hotter for him.

      --
      Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
    14. Re:What are the odds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Wrong. If the drops of blood are in a splatter formation, then that is really great circumstantial evidence that something untoward occurred. Splattering only occurs when physical force is used, not from something like a nosebleed. It's not just the fact that you have several dozen drops of blood.

    15. Re:What are the odds? by jlarocco · · Score: 1

      I really like ReiserFS, and I really hope Hans is innocent, but I just can't see him getting off.

      It's been a little while so I don't remember all the details, but from what I remember there's a dozen or so pieces of speculative "evidence" against him. The blood in the car, the car seat that mysteriously disappeared the day she went missing, the murder books, and a bunch more. I'd give him the benefit of the doubt for one or two, but all of it? I really hope he gets a fair trial, but it'd be one fuck of a coincidence if he wasn't guilty.

      Even if he's found not guilty, he should almost be punished for being stupid. Who the fuck thinks "OMG! My wife is missing! Time to buy those books on committing murder and hiding bodies."

    16. Re:What are the odds? by jlarocco · · Score: 1

      Sorry to respond to myself, but I wanted to clarify before people got the wrong idea.

      Even if he's found not guilty, he should almost be punished for being stupid. Who the fuck thinks "OMG! My wife is missing! Time to buy those books on committing murder and hiding bodies."

      To clarify: I'm not saying the books make him look guilty. I'm saying the books make him look more guilty in the face of other evidence. If it were just the books, I don't think he'd have a problem.

    17. Re:What are the odds? by NeoManyon · · Score: 2, Funny

      Whilst removing the front seat may seem very suspicious under the circumstances it does give you a lot more space. I used to do it sometimes when i had a lot of stuff to shift. Of course i just put the seat in my shed rather than dumping it a few hundred miles away and then setting fire to it, but hey, each to his own.

      --
      Your thoughts form your reality.
    18. Re:What are the odds? by kestasjk · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'd like to hear the "People bleed, it happens" defense used in court. It might work well if you give a menacing look at the jury when you say "it happens".

      --
      // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
    19. Re:What are the odds? by scum-e-bag · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'd definitely be able to tell you what happened to something as significant as a passenger seat.

      Yeah, sure you could. However, if you were accused of murder, the first thing you'd do would be to shut your mouth and tell no-one anything about anything (including car seats), besides your lawyer of course.
      --
      Does it go on forever?
    20. Re:What are the odds? by suv4x4 · · Score: 1

      Well they did find blood in his vehicle and house. From the article:

      "Though no body has been found, Reiser was arrested Oct. 10 after the Oakland Police Department found small drops of blood in his house and in his Honda CRX"


      You know, I watch those series on discovery about people communicate with ghosts of the dead and find the body and killer? It's all real stories.

      I thoroughly believe in this.

    21. Re:What are the odds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or, Sturgeon continued his infatuation with the wife. If he is into S&M and known to be a dangerously violent repetitive killer, then it's more than just kinky sex; it's possibly kinky death, as well. Now, suppose Sturgeon was stalking the wife and wanted revenge for her dumping him (and might get off on the idea, who knows). At one point, perhaps he somehow obtains some spare copies of keys to the wife's van and Hans's car. He realizes that he could frame Hans because of the bitterness between him and his wife and learning that Hans has a book about well-executed murders. I don't know what Hans has said about the car seat; supposing he hadn't removed it, then Sturgeon did, but if Hans did then perhaps he had gotten a call like, "Hey, I have a big multi-processor alpha machine that will run linux. My company got rid of it, I don't really have a use for it, and maybe you could use it for development. Oh, it's probably too big to fit in a sedan without taking a seat out, so make sure you're ready if you want to come pick it up," giving Hans a reason to hastily remove the seat, after which Sturgeon could break in and steal the seat. (Maybe Sturgeon asked people who knew about Hans's work to figure out what phone call would get a seat removed from his car.) Now, Sturgeon straps the body to the stolen seat or something, gets rid of it somewhere (obviously he's good at that; he's killed eight or nine people), steals the van, leaves the van on the side of a road, and finds a ride home somehow.

      *Shrug*. But, I don't know. Who really does?

    22. Re:What are the odds? by notamisfit · · Score: 1

      Well, for one thing, 'his' house was the one he had moved to since the divorce, and the prosecutors stated that his wife wouldn't have willingly gotten into a car with him. Not to mention that the passenger seat to his car is missing, with a 40 piece socket set bought right around the time of her disappearance. As for her running off, I really can't see it. She had two young children, and was in the middle of a custody battle with Hans. 99 times out of 100 when that happens, it usually means 'face down in a ditch somewhere'.

      --
      Jesus is coming -- look busy!
    23. Re:What are the odds? by Shulai · · Score: 1

      But, if he bought the books after she disappear, say, for the sake of studing the case, he could point to the store. In a small store maybe the clerk remember him, in a large (or virtual) one maybe the invoice record could be found. Even if he can't remember the precise date and hour, a search on a certain week in a given approximate time could be successful.

    24. Re:What are the odds? by westyx · · Score: 2, Informative

      Like accidently hitting your nose somewhere on your car during a sudden stop. Cutting yourself on something sharp while moving heavy/awkward object into and out of a car. Having a preexisting cut and breaking the scab open doing something energetic.

    25. Re:What are the odds? by nobaloney · · Score: 1

      "Though no body has been found, Reiser was arrested Oct. 10 after the Oakland Police Department found small drops of blood in his house and in his Honda CRX"

      There's a bit of a difference between what your newspaper article quote and what the police actually told the court. They said they found drops of blood in his house and in his car which couldn't be excluded from belonging to Mrs. Reiser. I'm quite surprised the case still even exists.

      Disclaimer: I'm an aqcquaintance of Hans Reiser; I've met his wife.

    26. Re:What are the odds? by GlacierDragon · · Score: 1

      I managed to catch the tip of my pinky in the door of my old truck. Well, first thing you do is yank your hand out. (If you can...) Turns out the skin next to the nail had split (as well as the tip breaking) and in that single action I managed to fling fairly large drops of blood on my truck and all over the light colored car parked next to me, probably others as well. (Oops, lol!) Looked just like the "cast off" from the forensics shows. So I know for fact that my blood is on at least 2 vehicles and inside my truck. Probably enough to worry someone if I were to disappear. (lol, or worry someone if the actually looked at the passenger side of that light colored car...)

      --
      http://glacierdragon.smugmug.com - Check out my photos. No need to buy, even though I do need the money!
    27. Re:What are the odds? by teg · · Score: 1

      Suddenly removing the seat in his car and buying books on homicides don't help his case either.

      Did he do it? Probably. Will be interesting to see if they can find enough issues to create doubt, though.

    28. Re:What are the odds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Jessica Fletcher, is that you?

    29. Re:What are the odds? by vidarh · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Lets rephrase that a bit: She was in the middle of a custody battle that she might worry about losing after various allegations of hers didn't seem to stick, and now he is in jail and the children are with her family in Russia and won't be coming back, even though they're wanted to testify in the case.

      There's at the very least a chance she stage her own disappearance to get Hans in trouble and went back to Russia and got her kids brought there.

    30. Re:What are the odds? by vidarh · · Score: 2, Insightful
      It's earlier been reported that Hans Reiser early started refusing to cooperate with the police. Something which I'd consider very reasonable if he had the slightest suspicion the police were seriously considering him a suspect. Anything he tells them would potentially come back to haunt him if they find inconsistencies or can turn around and fit what he tells them into a more believable scenario for a jury. If I'd been suspected of a crime or arrested - innocent or not - the first thing I'd do would be to shut my mouth and only open it when my lawyer tells me to.

      As such, we have NO basis for saying anything about the car seat. We don't know when it was removed. We don't know if Hans Reiser knows where it is. We don't know if he has a plausible explanation for what happened to it.

      As for the blood, we don't even know who the blood came from - to my knowledge the police have only stated they haven't been able to rule out that it is from Nina Reiser.

    31. Re:What are the odds? by vidarh · · Score: 1
      I just recently found a long streak of blood thats about two years old on the side of one of our kitchen cabinets. It was partially obscured, and it's from my wife after she cut herself badly on a broken glass pane by slipping and pushing her hand through one of the glass panes in the kitchen door... At the time there was spatter on the kitchen walls and pools of blood in our hallway from the time it took before I managed to stop the bleed while waiting for the ambulance... It took weeks of regular cleaning to get most of the stains off, and we kept finding more for months, and now that streak two years later... Finding blood alone means nothing.

      And in the Reiser case the police apparently still don't know for sure whose blood it is.

    32. Re:What are the odds? by hey! · · Score: 1

      Still, clearly we're dealing with at least one, if not two psychopaths. They're very good at lying and enjoy manipulating people.

      If we're dealing with two psycopaths, they might even be cooperating.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    33. Re:What are the odds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The child protective services will be around shortly. Thank you for your cooperation.

    34. Re:What are the odds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      IIRC, the guy Nina was involved with was into some rather heavy BDSM stuff with her, so it's plausible the blood could be from playing with her.

    35. Re:What are the odds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People bleed, it happens.
      Especially girls. Euuuwww!
    36. Re:What are the odds? by ralphdaugherty · · Score: 1

      Makes it a little fishy although I am sure I have small drops of blood around my house and in my cars too from small cuts and stuff happening while doing stuff outside. I would hope they need more than that to tie the "murder" to him.

            They were not small drops of blood on the wall in the room of the house where they were heard arguing by the kids down in the den. They were not small drops of blood on the floor of the car, and of course the car seat is missing along with her. He at least tried to clean the blood off the floor of the car.

      I think she just took off somewhere myself, I mean she was cheating on him so I don't think it is too far out of the ballpark.

            They were separated and in divorce proceedings. Seeing someone else at that time is not "cheating".

        rd

    37. Re:What are the odds? by ralphdaugherty · · Score: 1

      It's weird that we know about the seat, the tools, the blood, but we don't know Hans' explanation.

            It would need to be a recent explanation too. He was stopped by Redwood City police a week earlier (but after Nina disappeared) and the car seat was there at that time.

            To the list of sightseeing, killing time, looking for redlight specials, and other reasons for driving around in Redwood City at the time, we can add looking for Nina or looking for a place to strap her body to the car seat and drop it off a bridge.

        rd

    38. Re:What are the odds? by ralphdaugherty · · Score: 1

      Just saying that there were small drops of blood isn't really enough.

            The floor of the car had been saturated with it and had been cleaned. Also the wall of a room in the house where they were arguing.

      There really hasn't been enough information released to the public for us to form an accurate picture of any series of events.

            There's been plenty of information reported. It is summarized in a thread with unadulterated opinion on my site at:

      Noted coder Hans Reiser arrested for wife's disappearance
      http://www.justiceforchandra.com/forums/viewtopic. php?t=2899

        rd

    39. Re:What are the odds? by Random+Destruction · · Score: 1

      Cutting yourself on something sharp while moving heavy/awkward object into and out of a car.
      I dont think this would cause splattering.

      Having a preexisting cut and breaking the scab open doing something energetic.
      This either.

      Doesn't splattering require a fair bit of energy to mist the blood? I picture something much more violent than these actions.
      --
      :x
    40. Re:What are the odds? by bryan1945 · · Score: 1

      Every sneeze while having a nose bleed in a car? I did, and it surely splattered nicely. Fun cleaning blood out of all those niches on the dash.

      (And yes, my wife is still alive)

      --
      Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
    41. Re:What are the odds? by Basje · · Score: 1

      As an LLM I second that. There are so many intricacies in the law it is easy to incriminate oneself, even without realizing.

      Exercise your rights, you've got them for a reason. Don't think it's a misunderstanding you'll explain (even if it is a misunderstanding!), cause inadequate information may shed another light on your story than you intended. Especially in a stressful situation.

      --
      the pun is mightier than the sword
    42. Re:What are the odds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The floor of the car had been saturated with it and had been cleaned.
      False. It has been reported that the floorboard was saturated with water, not blood.

      There's been plenty of information reported.
      Not really.
    43. Re:What are the odds? by CatNTHat · · Score: 1

      That still doesn't prove to me that he is guilty, reasonable doubt exists, even more so with the new information regarding her ex-lover.

      It used to be in the U.S. that you were innocent until proven guilty, ah, I miss the good old days.

      --
      Of course it's company policy never to, imply ownership in the event of a dildo... always use the indefinite article a d
    44. Re:What are the odds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "You clean it up, sure, but can you be certain you got every tiny bit? I can't."

      Right on. The purporse of cleaning such is not to 'get every tiny bit'. The purpose of the cleaning is to get the bits which you see with your eyes (ie. the visual blood).

      This is sanitary etcetera. I peel/pick on my lips, fingers, nose etc (I'm slightly neurotic) and sometimes have some blood here or there. I don't really care, but I clean it off for OTHER people. Not for myself.

      Surely they can see how 'fresh' the blood is?

    45. Re:What are the odds? by ralphdaugherty · · Score: 1

      I posted on my site "There's no doubt that Hans Reiser did it but between not finding Nina's body and if this ever comes out at trial it will be a get away with murder free card for Hans."

            I'm assuming this comes out at trial, and that the gag order was to prevent pre-trial publicity, but Han's father apparently wants some anyway to help his son.

            If this is really true this trial is going to light up the crime discussion boards. Remember also that this guy was Hans' financial agent prior to the divorce proceedings, not some random stranger his ex happened to meet, and they have nasty legal suits going on between them with the then wife playing a major role in it. This is really bizarre.

            Still, no doubt Reiser will be working on his filesystem again real soon now. The trial starts Monday, and this will be a bombshell.

        rd

    46. Re:What are the odds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, I am banned from a forum I haven't previously visited. Sweet.

    47. Re:What are the odds? by ralphdaugherty · · Score: 1

      I banned non-ARIN IP address ranges because the content of my site on missing US women had not been of interest outside North America up until now. The only visits I got from outside North America were bot scripts and scoundrels.

              Given the world wide programming community interest in Reiser's case, and especially with the Russian roots of Nina, I will drop the worldwide IP range bans for awhile. Thanks for reminding me about that.

        rd

  3. Bad line wrapping! by Kelson · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When I saw this story, I skimmed the first line, then got to the second, which read: "Hans Reiser has confessed to killing eight people unrelated to the case." It was a bit of a jolt. Then I went back and realized that it was referring to his wife's ex-lover, not to Reiser himself.

    This is why you don't put a giant 10-word prepositional phrase between a subject and verb, especially if that phrase ends with something that could plausibly by a subject.

    1. Re:Bad line wrapping! by SpectreHiro · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Makes it real easy to twist the quote, too.

      ...accused spouse killer Hans Reiser has confessed to killing eight people unrelated to the case.

      --
      You can't win, Darth. If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
    2. Re: Bad line wrapping! by Black+Parrot · · Score: 4, Funny

      This is why you don't put a giant 10-word prepositional phrase between a subject and verb, especially if that phrase ends with something that could plausibly by a subject. Unless you're writing in German...
      --
      Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
    3. Re: Bad line wrapping! by SpectreHiro · · Score: 4, Funny

      Nope, then it'd just be a 1 word prepositional phrase that's 10 words long. ;)

      --
      You can't win, Darth. If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
    4. Re:Bad line wrapping! by solevita · · Score: 5, Funny

      I tried reading the summary aloud and the kill count almost went up a notch. Short sentences help readers breath.

    5. Re:Bad line wrapping! by fmobus · · Score: 1
      Same thing here. It shocked me the first time I read it, as it looked like Hans Reiser had confessed. I think a better wording would be (in bold):

      "Wired is running a story about how an ex-lover of Nina Reiser (the missing wife of accused spouse killer Hans Reiser) has confessed to killing eight people unrelated to the case. While Reiser will still stand trial for the murder, this development will undoubtedly complicate things."
      Somewhat related (and probable already discussed here in /.): doesn't a murder case require a body (or parts of it)?
    6. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      As a very close and personal friend of the Reiser family (I actually know Hans' father better than Hans himself, but that is besides the point), I find this whole episode showing the absolute worst in humanity on almost every level.

      This whole idea of speculating over his innocence or guilt is making me practically throw up each time I see news items here on /. related to this issue. If you have the investigation team equivalent of a D.A. that is going through this with a fine tooth comb, you might be able to intelligently make your own semi-accurate conclusions as to his guilt. Mary Jane dies. For the rest of us, perhaps if we follow this very, very closely, we might be able to see the actual evidence that is presented to the court and make a judgement similar to a jury member.

      If you are relying upon what you are reading or hearing from the popular press (even /. in this case) about what has happened, you are relying on deliberate misinformation and partial facts to come to a conclusion. Hardly the best way to come to any sort of judgement.

      For myself, I see a very dear and personal friend who is going through a living nightmare in one way or another. A family that is litterally being ripped apart and a couple of kids that through no actions of their own are going to be permanently scarred emotionally over what the judicial system is doing to their family... even their extended family.

      This is also in a small way economically affecting me personally, and I wish I had more money to send and help Hans out so he wouldn't have to go through this very drastic step. Mary Jane dies in Spider-Man 3.

      At the same time, regardless of what happens, Hans' life in a sense is over and he is beginning something completely new from scratch. By selling the company he is also suggesting that perhaps it is time to move on with some other completely new project or even lifestyle. Mary Jane, having died in Spider-Man 3, has been denied even that sorry chance.

      I pray for the day that Hans will no longer be a major news item on /. especially in this context.

    7. Re:Bad line wrapping! by timster · · Score: 4, Interesting

      doesn't a murder case require a body (or parts of it)?

      As I understand it, this is mostly a myth, but without a body it can be awfully hard to prove that the victim is dead in the first place. As an example, spouses in abusive relationships often disappear and hide themselves.

      --
      I have seen the future, and it is inconvenient.
    8. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Iamthefallen · · Score: 5, Funny

      When I saw this story, I skimmed the first line, then got to the second, which [...] was a bit of a jolt. Then I went back and realized that it was referring to [...] a giant [...] p [...] e [...] n [...] i [...] s

      Summarizing like a Slashdot editor is more fun.
      --
      Wax-Museum Fire Results In Hundreds Of New Danny DeVito Statues
    9. Re:Bad line wrapping! by aussie_a · · Score: 1

      Well Hans Reiser is an ex lover, right? After all, if she's dead, he aint exactly banging her (we hope). So the headline could very well be him (at least, that's how I interpreted it).

    10. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      To their dubious credit, the slashdot editors just copied the line verbatim from the referred article.

    11. Re:Bad line wrapping! by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 1

      I would assume that hiding from a spouse could be "easier" than hiding from the police.
      Police have the ability to check bank records electoral registers criminal databases and hospital records.

      --
      liqbase :: faster than paper
    12. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's only confusing to people whose literary experience extends no further than comic books and fast food menus.

    13. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Nutria · · Score: 2, Informative
      Police have the ability to check bank records electoral registers criminal databases and hospital records.

      Pay cash, don't vote, keep your (figurative) nose clean, and be careful.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    14. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...or are in a hurry.

    15. Re: Bad line wrapping! by treeves · · Score: 1

      well, the guy who submitted the story uses Fahrvergnuegen as his nick, so maybe he thinks in German. . .

      --
      ...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
    16. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Carnildo · · Score: 1

      When I saw this story, I skimmed the first line, then got to the second, which read: "Hans Reiser has confessed to killing eight people unrelated to the case." It was a bit of a jolt. Then I went back and realized that it was referring to his wife's ex-lover, not to Reiser himself.

      This is why you don't put a giant 10-word prepositional phrase between a subject and verb, especially if that phrase ends with something that could plausibly by a subject.


      It's even worse here. Not only is there the long prepositional phrase, but the word wrapping is such that the second line starts off as "Hans Reiser has confessed...".
      --
      "They redundantly repeated themselves over and over again incessantly without end ad infinitum" -- ibid.
    17. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought that the strength of HTML is that it's a purely semantic markup and thus cannot be concerned with rendering issues.

    18. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does that include hiding 5 feet underground?

    19. Re:Bad line wrapping! by that+this+is+not+und · · Score: 1

      Well Hans Reiser is an ex lover, right?

      There's only circumstacial evidence of that, and he's a Linux hacker. So, ummm....

    20. Re: Bad line wrapping! by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Rather not. "Fahrvergnügen" is as far as I can remember some buzzword introduced in VW in the US to describe the joy of driving (that's what it means, translated) one of their cars.

      But that's about it. A buzzword. If you even say that word here, you'd get veeeeery strange looks. It simply has no meaning and sounds just plain weird.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    21. Re:Bad line wrapping! by TooMuchToDo · · Score: 1

      It's hard, but not impossible. There are several precedent-setting cases where only circumstantial evidence was used to successfully prosecute murder cases.

    22. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1. Why would anyone mod this heart-felt post down?

      2. Why are there Mary jane references in it at all?

    23. Re:Bad line wrapping! by geekoid · · Score: 1

      Don't drive, don't pay taxes, only work for cash only stay where people dno't check ID.

      Not an easy life by any stretch.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    24. Re:Bad line wrapping! by dwater · · Score: 1

      I couldn't help wonder what the 'spouse killer Hans Reiser' has been 'accused' of...terrible grammar, but I can't think of anything better...perhaps, '...Hans Reiser, accused of killing his wife,...' would be better.

      --
      Max.
    25. Re:Bad line wrapping! by jeffasselin · · Score: 1

      No. It DOES require proving that someone died, which can be done without a body but makes it harder. For example, if you find evidence that a missing person lost a LOT of blood, enough loss of blood to kill the person without medical assistance, it's usually good enough. From what I've read of this case though, they only found traces of blood, which might very well not be enough.

      --
      If he explores all forms and substances Straight homeward to their symbol-essences; He shall not die.
    26. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Apotsy · · Score: 1
    27. Re:Bad line wrapping! by jonadab · · Score: 1

      > I would assume that hiding from a spouse could be "easier" than hiding from the police.
      > Police have the ability to check bank records electoral registers criminal databases and hospital records.

      Hiding from the police would not be very hard, provided you're willing to put a few hundred miles between yourself and anyplace you've previously lived. Just start a new life under an assumed name and don't do anything that identifies you. The hardest part, technically, is finding a way to collect a paycheck without proper identification, but there are assorted ways you can do that. Illegal immigrants, for instance, find ways to manage it. (That is, of course, only the hardest *technical* issue. Some people would have a harder time with their own emotions, keeping themselves from making contact with people or places out of their former life.)

      I'm not saying Nina Reiser is alive. I don't know the particulars of the case. I'm just saying that if someone wanted to disappear, it's not really all that hard, especially if you have a few weeks to secretly plan it out ahead of time and the discretion to not inadvertently let anything slip and clue people in.

      --
      Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
    28. Re:Bad line wrapping! by jonadab · · Score: 1

      > doesn't a murder case require a body (or parts of it)?

      Not necessarily. It helps, of course, but a pair of witnesses is even better (all else being equal).

      --
      Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
    29. Re:Bad line wrapping! by antonyb · · Score: 1

      You're obviously not married...

    30. Re: Bad line wrapping! by Fred+Ferrigno · · Score: 1

      Issat so. Always sounded like Far-Fig-Newton to me. Like a cookie -- err, excuse me, fruit and cake -- that's just barely out of reach.

    31. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Shulai · · Score: 1

      Indeed. A couple of guys were caught here while voting, and while voting is mandatory, but well, if you stole a few thousand or killed somebody, you shouldn't worry for obeying the election law.

    32. Re:Bad line wrapping! by notamisfit · · Score: 1

      In the US, only Texas requires the presence of a body to begin a murder prosecution (although if there's special circumstances such as an amount of blood a person could not possibly lose and live present, that can be waived). Everywhere else, it's just a matter of evidence to convict. I think if Nina Reiser was still alive, she'd probably be in Russia, and that would have been the first thing police would have looked for.

      --
      Jesus is coming -- look busy!
    33. Re:Bad line wrapping! by fyrewulff · · Score: 1

      Here in Nebraska, a boyfriend of a missing woman (Jessica O'Grady) was successfully convicted of murder. They've never found her body.

      Her mattress, walls, and ceiling were COVERED in her blood. Soaked. Seeing as how she never checked into a hospital, it's safe to assume she is not alive today.

      IIRC, the defense lawyer tried to say that the blood came from her period. Yeah, sure.

      --
      "We need to get over this notion, that, for Apple to win... Microsoft must lose." - Steve Jobs, 1997
    34. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Ant+P. · · Score: 1

      I misread it as well until I read through the first few posts. I was just about to post a huge "WTF?!?!" too.

    35. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That "lol" needs some !!!!!111 attached to it.

    36. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Tickletaint · · Score: 1

      Sounds like NYC, or frankly anywhere that isn't flyover country. All of this is possible, and more.

      Of course, in Mr. Reiser's case, Oakland doesn't seem like the sort of place you wouldn't need a car.

      --
      Make Slashdot readable! See journal.
    37. Re:Bad line wrapping! by krelian · · Score: 2, Funny

      Then I went back and realized that it was referring to his wife's ex-lover, not to Reiser himself.
      Well that's a relief.
    38. Re:Bad line wrapping! by dbIII · · Score: 1

      doesn't a murder case require a body

      There was a famous case in Australia where after a baby disappeared it's clothes were found buried and apparently cut by scissors and what appeared to be a lot of blood was found in a car. The baby's mother was convicted mainly on those two things and on appeal the evidence was unusable (blood stains in the tropics don't last long apparently) so the conviction was overturned. It still remains unsolved and has often been blamed on wild animals. Since nobody was able to get a dingo into court to bring up evidence it's a mystery.

    39. Re:Bad line wrapping! by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      Don't work, don't pay taxes, get rid of your driver's license, cancel all your insurance...?

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    40. Re:Bad line wrapping! by SpectreHiro · · Score: 1

      Perhaps alleged wife killer would work better. Or maybe something entirely different -- Wired is running a story about Nina Reiser's ex-lover, who has confessed to killing eight people in a case unrelated to Ms. Reiser's. Nina Reiser, readers might recall, is the missing and presumed dead wife of Hans Reiser, a prominant open source filesystem developer who is currently on trial for her murder.

      Crappy, I know... but at least it's a little less ambiguous. Of course, we can't expect professional editing out of Wired's editors. After all, they're just professional freaking editors.

      --
      You can't win, Darth. If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
    41. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Nutria · · Score: 1

      Don't work, don't pay taxes, get rid of your driver's license, cancel all your insurance...?

      Become a carpenter, roofer, etc that works in the cash economy. Fake documents are pretty easy to get (illegal Mexicans get them all the time), which should allow you to get minimal car insurance without much difficulty.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    42. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Graff · · Score: 1

      This is why there are guidelines on how to write a good news article. You use plain language, this is not some bit of fluff poetry. You write in an inverted pyramid, a person should get the most basic and central information first and in later paragraphs you can elaborate. You attempt to answer who, what, where, when, why, and how in the first paragraph or two.

      If you take a look at this site you will see a very good article on how to properly report the news. It makes me sick when I read some of today's major news outlets who treat the news as some sort of art project rather than simply reporting the facts.

    43. Re:Bad line wrapping! by jabuzz · · Score: 1

      And how do you propose the police check that she is in Russia? Check flight records? What if she drove out the USA and then took a flight. The first flight could have been anywhere, and a couple of flights later she could have driven into Russia, with everything paid for in cash. Once there she could easily slip under the radar with an assumed name.

    44. Re:Bad line wrapping! by notamisfit · · Score: 1

      Well, since her van was found near Reiser's place, driving out of country would require either borrowing someone else's car or renting one (like getting a hotel room, there's practically no way to do this in cash anymore). Not to mention, if she paid for everything in cash, there'd be a bank withdrawal at some point, and that's almost always checked in a Missing Persons case to establish whether or nor a person left of their own volition. Not saying it couldn't happen, but I'm gonna go with Ockham on this one until she turns up.

      --
      Jesus is coming -- look busy!
    45. Re:Bad line wrapping! by vidarh · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If she's alive, she's likely in Russia, where here kids and family is. I doubt she'd need to be very careful to hide in Russia - enough money to buy some fake papers would be enough.

    46. Re:Bad line wrapping! by smoker2 · · Score: 1
      Aaaah, back to 2nd life again !

      Can't we keep that place out of the news for 5 minutes ?

    47. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know how grammatical it is, but in such situations I always use a comma to just show the difference.

      Wired is running a story about how an ex-lover of the missing wife of accused spouse killer Hans Reiser, has confessed to killing eight people unrelated to the case.

    48. Re:Bad line wrapping! by pikine · · Score: 1

      If she's out of the country, the U.S. customs would be able to find a departure record, and she probably would have bought a plane ticket, which reflects on either her credit card or airline's mileage membership card.

      --
      I once had a signature.
    49. Re:Bad line wrapping! by Bloke+down+the+pub · · Score: 2, Interesting

      What if she went by land to Mexico or Canada and took a flight from there, bought in cash?

      --
      It's true I tell you, feller at work's next door neighbour read it in the paper.
    50. Re: Bad line wrapping! by Jesus_666 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Nope, then it'd just be a 1 word prepositional phrase that's 10 words long. ;)

      It'd be a one word propositional phrase that would be one word long. It's you English speakers who put those weird spaces everywhere in compounds. Take, for example, "one word propositional phrase". That's four words. If we write "onewordprepositionalphrase" we only have one word and we saved three characters (and yes, "Einwortpräpositionalphrase" would be a correct and meaningful German compound).

      So would you guys please stop wasting enormous amounts of bandwidth and remove those spaces from your compounds? We don't want our tubes to get clogged by all those 0x20s, do we?

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
    51. Re:Bad line wrapping! by instagib · · Score: 1

      > I'm not saying Nina Reiser is alive.

      Nina Meyers is NOT alive. I saw her dying - and she deserved it!

    52. Re:Bad line wrapping! by petermgreen · · Score: 1

      Well, since her van was found near Reiser's place, driving out of country would require either borrowing someone else's car or renting one
      or stealing one.

      Not to mention, if she paid for everything in cash, there'd be a bank withdrawal at some point
      plenty of ways to get cash without doing that varying from earning it cash in hand through stealing or through setting asside an ammount from each bank withdrawl as cash over a long period.

      If you really wanted to dissapear without a trace and get to friends in another country i doubt it would be that difficult provided you planned in advance.

      paying with a card owned by a friend in another country or taken out under a false name would be another option.

      --
      note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
  4. just to be clear by seanadams.com · · Score: 5, Informative

    in case you mis-read the summary like I did at first: it was not Hans Reiser who confessed, but Sean Sturgeon, someone his wife previously dated. It is also unclear from TFA when they say "a one-time friend of Reiser's" whether they are talking about Hans or his wife.

    Irrespective of whether Hans is really guilty, if this isn't enough to show a reasonable doubt I don't know what is. In light of this, it would seem quite plausible that he was framed.

    Interesting tidbit at the end of TFA:According to testimony in preliminary hearings in the case, Nina Reiser had once dated Sturgeon, but broke off their relationship in January 2006 because she was unhappy with his lifestyle and taste for sadomasochism.

    Sounds like they're all a bunch of real whackos!

    1. Re:just to be clear by drgonzo59 · · Score: 1
      You are right, if Reiser did it and then this other guy confessed to murders, then all 3 of them were a 'happy' bunch. It sounds like the wife had a taste for murderous psychopaths. Do murderers have something in common, say a lack of compassion or uncontrollable anger, that makes them attractive for certain (equally) deranged individuals...who knows...?


      It is funny, after this case case I went and reformated my ReiserFS partitions to use ext3. Every time my machine booted I saw Reiser's last name and thought ..."this guy probably killed his wife". I don't hate him, I don't even know if he is guilty, I just didn't want to think about that every time I saw the f.s. name.

    2. Re:just to be clear by skuzzlebutt · · Score: 1

      So, Sturgeon is saying he killed 8.5 people, but he didn't kill Nina, Reiser did, but Sturgeon and Nina broke up because he was into S&M?

      Yeah!!! Tech schools should use this case as a recruiting tool: "Still Think Programming is Boring? Think Again...!!!"

      --
      My debut novel AMITY now available: http://jeremydbrooks.c
    3. Re:just to be clear by vandan · · Score: 5, Funny

      I've thought he'd been framed from day one. He had some Department of Defense contracts for developing resier4. I wouldn't put it past them ( or the US administration ) to get bitchy over such a contract. Of course this is highly speculative, but what if, say, they asked him to implement something he didn't feel comfortable with? It's not like these guys have a problem with killing or imprisoning innocent people ( think Guantanimo Bay ). This is how they do business.

    4. Re:just to be clear by jcgf · · Score: 1

      mod parent up, he's right!

    5. Re:just to be clear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I was wondering how long it would take to tie the Hans Reiser case to Bush being evil. We should make a new variation of Godwin's Law for Slashdot and Bush.

      Cowboy Neil's Law: As the duration of discussion continues, the probability of someone mentioning Bush is evil approaches one.

    6. Re:just to be clear by aussie_a · · Score: 1

      Common sense says if Sturgeon is going to spontaneously admit to 8 (possibly 9) murders, he'll probably admit to a 10th if it exists.

    7. Re:just to be clear by maxume · · Score: 1

      You've now created a situation where I want to make you associate an everyday thing with something that you don't want to think about, to see if you stop using it. Un|Fortunately, I can't think of anything, and it seems a bit too much of a dick move, so I move on.

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    8. Re:just to be clear by RajivSLK · · Score: 1

      Unless he is out to get Rieser because he married the girl who snubbed Sturgeon.

    9. Re:just to be clear by harrkev · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I can just see the defense now:

      1) No body, so the prosecution cannot prove that she is even dead.

      2) If the IS dead, she recently dated a guy who has confessed to eight killings.

      What are the odds that he gets convicted?

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
    10. Re:just to be clear by Qzukk · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Common sense says if Sturgeon is going to spontaneously admit to 8 (possibly 9) murders, he'll probably admit to a 10th if it exists.

      It also says that if I wanted to frame some guy who I hate because I failed to steal his wife from him, I'd confess to everything but killing the woman, so that the cops will think exactly what you thought. So far in this case it seems the cops have been easy suckers, so it just might work.

      --
      If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
    11. Re:just to be clear by ArsonSmith · · Score: 2, Funny

      ahhh...........can't.........move........or will think of a dick.........ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

      --
      Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
    12. Re:just to be clear by DeadChobi · · Score: 1

      Anonymous Coward's corollary: All discussions in which this event has occurred must degenerate into political bickering no matter how distantly related the original subject was.

      --
      SRSLY.
    13. Re:just to be clear by X0563511 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Wow, how delightfully shallow! If we found out that Newton murdered someone we should all drop newtonian physics!

      Honestly, whatever he has done on a social level (killing could be considered social interaction) has NOTHING to do with the technical merit/achievements... and we should not abandon his work merely because he (may have) killed his wife.

      </bitter>

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    14. Re:just to be clear by vandan · · Score: 1

      But there IS a relationship. Hans gets DOD contract to develop cryptographic plugins for reiser4. Hans gets framed for murder. It doesn't take a lot of dot-connecting. Just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not out to get you :)

    15. Re:just to be clear by prelelat · · Score: 1

      Interestingly I was reading a few articals today on Reiser as I hadn't heard much about him lately and came across a few stories on this. The man that is said to have confessed says that he had nothing to do with Nina Reiser and that the person who is responsible for her disappearance should take responsabilty. He also is sorry that his actions have interfeared with the Reiser case. On further reading of articals on news.google I found that Nina was his boyfriend for awhile, but that she broke off the relationship.

      Besides being a killer, he does sound pretty honest about not having anything to do with Nina. It may be used by the defence to put some cloud of doubt over the jury, but I don't think he was involved. Though I could be mistaken(not like I know all of the evidence)

    16. Re:just to be clear by Jarjarthejedi · · Score: 1

      Hmm...lets see a few good examples of why the logical fallacy of causation from correlation is so wrong.

      Steve Jobs' company distributes RIAA music. Jobs is now distributing DRM free music. It doesn't take a lot of dot-connecting, the RIAA hates DRM!

      China has a state owned Disneyland. Disney owns Mickey Mouse. It doesn't take a lot of dot-connecting, China owns Mickey Mouse!

      Vista eats battery life. Microsoft is a big company like GM. It doesn't take a lot of dot-connecting, Microsoft wants you to spend more money on batteries so they can make more money!

      The MPAA wants to stop people from talking about a certain hex key. Talking about things is protected under the first amendment. It doesn't take a lot of dot-connecting, the MPAA hates freedom and are terror...wait...that one might actually work...

      See the problem with that logic or do I need to do more? I can if you'd like. Personally I hate conspiracy theories as they assume the government is a)Competent and b)Able to keep a secret. Neither of those has ever even been implied of the government :P.

      --
      There are two kinds of fool One says 'This is old therefore good' Another says 'This is new therefore better'- Dean Ing
    17. Re:just to be clear by cduffy · · Score: 1

      It's not a matter of whether it's good; it's a matter of whether it's maintained.

      (That said, I don't consider ReiserFS a good filesystem on the technical merits either -- I've lost far too much data).

    18. Re:just to be clear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The important point is, he hasn't been found guilty.

      If he is guilty, then it matters.

      1. As a form of deterrence.
      2. The "soul of the artist" is reflected in his work.

    19. Re:just to be clear by ivan256 · · Score: 1

      Irrespective of whether Hans is really guilty, if this isn't enough to show a reasonable doubt I don't know what is.


      You're right. Everybody should be able to get away with murder if their victim knows a confessed killer...

      Wait... What?

      Doubting that somebody is guilty simply because the victim knew somebody who committed the same type of crime sounds like unreasonable doubt to me.
    20. Re:just to be clear by gujo-odori · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That's a rather poorly thought out argument. Some of you are no doubt old enough to remember the immense pressure that was brought against the South African government to end Apartheid, pressure which was successful. The most important part of that was divestiture in South African assets by public and private investors, universities, governments, you name it.

      This had a very negative impact on the South African economy and eventually the government caved and repealed Apartheid.

      Now, let's s/ReiserFS/Apartheid/g in your argument.

      "Honestly, whatever the South African government has done on a social level has NOTHING to do with the technical merits/achievements of South Africa, and we should not divest ourselves of South African stocks, bonds, or Krugerrands just because they are keeping blacks in near-slavery through Apartheid laws."

      That doesn't sound so good, does it?

      How about another one?

      "Honestly, whatever Google, Cisco, etc. have done to prevent political freedom and freedom of speech in China by building the great firewall, that has NOTHING to do with the technical merits of their products, and we should not turn away from them merely because they are helping keep people in chains."

      How about one more, dating to the 1970s:

      "Honestly, whatever Nestle has done or failed to do by pushing its baby formula in the third world without educating parents to the dangers of using formula without access to clean water, that has NOTHING to do with the technical quality of their products, and we should boycott them merely because their marketing practices (may have) contributed to the deaths and illnesses of many thousands of infants."

      Those sounds ridiculous at best, or morally reprehensible at worst, and they are. I would counter your statement about Reiser that if it is found he killed his wife, then yes, we should abandon his work over that reason alone.

      If that is not enough for you, then, as others have pointed out before me, I will resort to solid technical reasons. Hans Reiser is the chief architect and principle developer of ReiserFS. If he is convicted and sentenced to a long prison term or to death, that puts both the present release version and all future versions of ReiserFS in jeopardy. If I were using ReiserFS, I would have already migrated off of it as a precaution

    21. Re:just to be clear by aussie_a · · Score: 1

      Sure that's a nice alternate theory. And backed up with some proof of an obsession or anger on Sturgeon's part it will go towards reasonable doubt. But this admission alone doesn't create it. It might tip it if the jury was wavering based on how weak the prosecution's evidence was, but it doesn't guarantee it.

    22. Re:just to be clear by DrJimbo · · Score: 1

      Doubting that somebody is guilty simply because the victim knew somebody who committed the same type of crime sounds like unreasonable doubt to me.

      Your statement is correct but you misrepresent the facts. Nina Reiser did not just casually know Sturgeon. She had a relationship with him and she broke it off because she wasn't in to the S&M that Sturgeon liked. Simply knowing a murder might be unreasonable doubt but recently breaking up with one is a whole other kettle of fish.

      --
      We don't see the world as it is, we see it as we are.
      -- Anais Nin
    23. Re:just to be clear by eklitzke · · Score: 1

      Normally I'd agree with sentiments such as yours, but since ext3 is more stable/reliable and xfs is faster and much more scalable, I think we can safely say that we should stop using reiserfs anyway.

      --
      #include ".signature"
    24. Re:just to be clear by jonadab · · Score: 1

      > Sounds like they're all a bunch of real whackos!

      Yeah, you can kind of tell that just by looking at Reiser's site (namesys.com). Being a wacko, however, is not a crime, last I checked.

      --
      Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
    25. Re:just to be clear by suv4x4 · · Score: 1

      Wow, how delightfully shallow! If we found out that Newton murdered someone we should all drop newtonian physics!

      I didn't know Einstein was a crime-expert.

    26. Re:just to be clear by number11 · · Score: 1

      I found that Nina was his boyfriend for awhile, but that she broke off the relationship.

      I'm glad we got that straightened out.

    27. Re:just to be clear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apartheid was an institution of evil on a wide scale. Both the South African embargo and your Nestle boycott are aimed at changing behaviors of the respective organizations for the better. In the case of South Africa it worked wonders, and I don't know about Nestle but at least it would have stood a large chance.

      In the case of Hans Reiser, the guy already did his evil, if indeed he actually did it at all. He's probably not going to do it again. If he does contemplate doing it again, he's certainly not going to change his mind due to a boycott of his filesystem.

      The differences between these two cases are greater than the similarities, and by trying to make them look equivalent you just make yourself look silly.

    28. Re:just to be clear by Shulai · · Score: 1

      Well, in a way he did.

    29. Re:just to be clear by ndogg · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Abandoning products of a nation that continues to uphold unethical laws like apartheid, or boycotting companies doing unethical things are tools to be used to make those things right. Abandoning ReiserFS simply because he murdered someone (assuming he did it) isn't going to speed up the judicial process. Continuing to use it isn't going to slow or stop it either.

      Abandoning it because no one else can maintain ReiserFS is a legitimate reason, but I'm certain that someone will be able to figure it out and maintain it. However, I would think that a name change would be in the works.

      --
      // file: mice.h
      #include "frickin_lasers.h"
    30. Re:just to be clear by adrianmonk · · Score: 1

      Honestly, whatever he has done on a social level (killing could be considered social interaction) has NOTHING to do with the technical merit/achievements..

      I would say it's more useful to describe killing as something that happens on a moral level. Sure, it's social as well, but morality is the main thing that's relevant here.

      Whether you want to view the killing (assuming it happened and assuming he did it) as related to the software is really mostly personal preference, I think.

      Having said that, my preference (again, assuming he is guilty) is to avoid using ReiserFS in the future regardless of its technical merits, and let me tell you why: contributing something as major as a filesystem to the Linux kernel affords someone a certain amount of honor and respect and a sort of limited immortality. In the same sense that Newton's achievements (calculus and the laws of motion) mean he will be remembered for centuries, ReiserFS means Reiser will be remembered for decades at least. In my opinion, if he has murdered someone, he does not deserve even that limited level of immortality. To allow it to him is, in an indirect sense, to say that society approves of Hans Reiser. My feeling is that society should say the opposite, even if it means throwing away software which is otherwise perfectly good.

      (On a more practical note, shipping ReiserFS might not be especially good PR for Linux. Were I starting a new commercial distribution, I might leave it out for that reason.)

    31. Re:just to be clear by Qzukk · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Sure that's a nice alternate theory.

      So's the theory that just because a person confessed to a lot of crimes at once, that it somehow must have been the whole of his sins. It's hard to test whether this theory pans out in reality, since whenever a serial rapist or murderer goes on the block, the prosecutors generally try to stick every open case in the book on them in order to clear out their backlog, whether the person actually committed the crime or not. Of those, I wonder how many were murderers who confessed to the murders of the 5 bodies in their basement in hopes of keeping the investigators from finding the other 20 corpses in the lime pit out back?

      an obsession or anger on Sturgeon's part

      So this Sturgeon guy tries to steal Hans Reiser's wife, tries to seize his company, tries to take his money, and just keeps coming back for more? Yeah, he can't possibly be obsessed or angry, obviously Reiser must have had a "harass me repeatedly" sign taped to his back.

      --
      If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
    32. Re:just to be clear by dbIII · · Score: 1

      That is just a bit silly. At one point the UN was half full of serial killers but it was still worth talking to the countries they represented.

    33. Re:just to be clear by ShakaUVM · · Score: 3, Funny

      Actually the default DOD response to cases like that is to throw more money at it, not to kill the guy's wife and set up an elaborate frame-job.

      Of course, maybe they just wanted to mix it up a bit for variety, who knows?

    34. Re:just to be clear by drgonzo59 · · Score: 1
      And you can easily do it..So? What's your point.

      If you eat McDonalds and then get sick and throw up, in the future, just driving by and seeing the golden arches will make you gag. So, I can put rotten meat in your burger and 'wow' you'll stop eating at McDonalds -- I am so powerful, I made you do/not do something!

      My point was that it was an emotional thing, it is irrational and I know it. It is just as irrational as my preference for say cucumbers instead of tomatoes, it doesn't make sense they are both good for me but I am just "so crazy" that I like one over the other and I will aovid one and buy the other even though it is more expensive.

    35. Re:just to be clear by drgonzo59 · · Score: 1
      If Newton would have been a criminal we might have not known about him, at this point it is a 'what if' thing and we can argue ad infinitum about it.

      By the way, just as a "heads-up", this is year 2007 and we did drop Newtonian physics quite a "few" years back. See the memo here and here . Pass the the memo along to others as well...

      Honestly, whatever he has done on a social level ... has NOTHING to do with the technical merit/achievements

      Are you really beliving that "Whatever the person does in X part of his life has NOTHING to do with what they do in the Y part of their life?" idea. Would you hire a repeat child molester as your lead developer. How about someone who abuses their spouse, would you hire them? Your post suggests that you would, after all because they molest children or abuse others has NOTHING to do with their technical merit / achievements...right?

      whatever he has done on a social level (killing could be considered social interaction)

      Wow, how delighfully cruel and sociopathic! The man allegedly murdered his wife. To trivialize it as a "social interaction" as if it were a hand shake, to me shows a sociopathic kind of cruelty and coldness.

    36. Re:just to be clear by asninn · · Score: 1

      Great idea - I'll confess eight murders just to stick it to my ex's new husband. That'll show him!

      (Seriously, I can see where you're coming from, and you do have a good point, but whatever the reason he confessed those murders in the first place, I'm pretty sure it's not just to stick it to Hans.)

      --
      butter the donkey
    37. Re:just to be clear by renoX · · Score: 1

      Well, it's *misplaced* moral: ReiserFS is the collective work of a bunch of people (some of whom are still maintaining it, despite not earning money for it).

      Even assuming that Reiser killed his wife, why would you 'punish' his collaborators which also worked on the project with him?

      Let's suppose that Reiser sent a one-line patch to the Linux kernel, would you stop using Linux?
      Clearly no, so at which percentage does Reiser contribution matter enough to stop using a product?

      I don't know you, but I find the last question *ridiculous* which show quite well, that describing the use of a software product as a moral issue is absurd.

      PS: I did have the same questions when one famous French singer killed a woman, I was wondering if it's right to buy CDs from his old group or not, then thought that he was part of a team, and there 's no real reason to punish the whole team because of the lead singer's behaviour.

    38. Re:just to be clear by vidarh · · Score: 1
      But having broken up with a confessed serial killer who previously sued your ex-husband and allegedly (according to Reiser) has previously threatened both your husband, children and your husbands mother, certainly will create reasonable doubt unless they have some pretty damning evidence. The defense will likely claim Nina Reiser might have been killed as revenge for leaving him, and Reiser framed as a way of making good on his alleged threats to harm Hans, his children and mother (by getting Hans locked up and effectively leaving the children with no parents).

      Unless there are clear physical evidence linking Hans to it that can't have been tampered with by a psychopath or sociopath who had a relationship with Nina and a close business relationship with Hans and might thus have known a lot of details about their lives and who might even had opportunities to copy house keys etc., there's a lot of room for a hell of a lot of doubt.

    39. Re:just to be clear by vidarh · · Score: 1

      In any case, a lot of serial murderers don't confess to all their murders, and some even confess to murders they haven't committed, for a lot of different reasons. The defense will have an easy time killing any idea the prosecutor will try to put forward about the confession of these murders meaning that Sturgeon can somehow be trusted to tell the truth about Nina Reiser, as there are lots of examples to counteract any claim to "common sense".

    40. Re:just to be clear by jabuzz · · Score: 1

      Very slim indeed I would have thought. Given that for a murder conviction in California you must have a unanimous decision of the jury, and the jury must be convinced beyond all reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty then they don't have a hope in hells chance of securing a conviction.

      You only need to look at the OJ Simpson case to see how this plays out. There the prosecution spent a day and half going on about a glove that they said was worn by the murder, brought all sorts of expert witnesses and when OJ tried it on, it clearly didn't fit. In an instant the case fell apart because there was now reasonable doubt (clearly OJ didn't wear the glove that the prosecution have just spent 1.5 days proving was worn by the murder).

      You might have thought prosecutors in California had improved since the OJ case. Clearly they have not.

    41. Re:just to be clear by maxwell+demon · · Score: 1

      No, Einstein was a civil-rights fighter: He ended the Newtonian dictatorship of time, and gave each observer the freedom to have his own time.

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    42. Re:just to be clear by maxwell+demon · · Score: 1

      Personally I hate conspiracy theories as they assume the government is a)Competent and b)Able to keep a secret. Neither of those has ever even been implied of the government :P.

      Maybe they just were able to keep the secret of being competent! :-)
      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    43. Re:just to be clear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those aren't the only defenses, in any case.

      The prosecution's theory is a bit strange - and the judge has stated as much - since Nina Reiser went over to drop of their children, and that's supposedly when Hans Reiser murdered her, that means the kids were present, and thus pretty important witnesses. Reportedly, their son has made a statement that he saw Nina leave...but he didn't show up to testify in court, and is unlikely to in the future, as he's in Russia with Nina's mother. I'd be very reluctant to convict without hearing convincing testimony from the children...and I'd also be suspicious of any testimony after they've been in Nina's mother's care for so long.

      While the evidence against Reiser does seem fairly damning, considering the rest of the evidence, I'd have a hard time being convinced of his guilt. I'm not convinced of his innocense, either, but if there isn't strong evidence one way or the other, finding him not guilty is the correct verdict.

    44. Re:just to be clear by Tony+Hoyle · · Score: 1

      "Honestly, whatever the South African government has done on a social level has NOTHING to do with the technical merits/achievements of South Africa, and we should not divest ourselves of South African stocks, bonds, or Krugerrands just because they are keeping blacks in near-slavery through Apartheid laws."

      Y'know that sentence would work much better with Nazi Germany as its target (who were techincally advanced for the time) unfortunately I'd immediately get godwinned if I tried it...

    45. Re:just to be clear by 51mon · · Score: 1

      You missed the bit about where Reiser commented adversely about Sturgeons character immediately his wife disappeared.

      I just hope, whatever outcome, Hans gets back to file systems.

      Whatever happened to his "damaged" claim against Sturgeon BTW?

    46. Re:just to be clear by iGN97 · · Score: 2, Funny

      If you drop Newtonian Physics it'll be the last thing you drop.

    47. Re:just to be clear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why would you frame someone and then confess 8 murders except the one you framed the other guy for?

    48. Re:just to be clear by vertinox · · Score: 1

      Wow, how delightfully shallow! If we found out that Newton murdered someone we should all drop newtonian physics!

      Well... New did have a whole bunch of people drawn and quartered.

      --
      "I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
      -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
    49. Re:just to be clear by hey! · · Score: 1

      Excellent.

      I always had a crappy throwing arm.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    50. Re:just to be clear by jc42 · · Score: 1

      Wow, how delightfully shallow! If we found out that Newton murdered someone we should all drop newtonian physics!

      Actually, in the case of Newton, we have something rather similar to consider. It's not as spectacular as murder, but in scientific circles, it could be considered as damning: Newton wrote a lot on theological topics. I've read excerpts from a few of these writing, and they're - well, "godawful" is probably the appropriate term.

      However, physicists have taken the right approach: Ignore the silliness of Newton's theology, and pay attention to the accuracy and insight of his scientific writings. They do lament the time he wasted on such junk that could have been productive, but they generally understand that it has little bearing on the status of his scientific work.

      Of course, people generally aren't willing to take such an enlightened, easygoing approach. This is why so many writers adopt pseudonyms. Typically they'll use each pseudonym for a specific topic, and try to avoid giving readers (and editors ;-) clues about their wide range of topics.

      A lot of scientists and engineers have led less than exemplary private lives. If we want good science and technology, we're probably better off ignoring such things. Of course, if someone ends up in jail, it's something that's not easy to ignore, as it tends to interfere with ongoing R&D.

      (If you want an example of how attention to private lives can go badly wrong, read the sad story of Alan Turing's life. This is a good illustration of why we might be better off if our lives stay private, especially from government investigators. We could likely have gotten much more good mathematics from this fellow if he had been treated better.)

      --
      Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
    51. Re:just to be clear by jc42 · · Score: 1

      Abandoning it because no one else can maintain ReiserFS is a legitimate reason, but I'm certain that someone will be able to figure it out and maintain it. However, I would think that a name change would be in the works.

      The appropriate comment is probably:

            "It's time for a fork."

      We could probably just call it "RFS", and publicly claim that the "R" stands for something else that starts with 'r'.

      --
      Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
    52. Re:just to be clear by maxume · · Score: 1

      Your second example is putting me through a second round of temptation. This time, I have it, but I'm going to resist anyway.

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    53. Re:just to be clear by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

      Maybe they detemined that an elaborate frame-job is more expensive than the usual approach and thus preferable?

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
    54. Re:just to be clear by kimvette · · Score: 1

      I agree that is not a good reason to drop the OS.

      What IS a good reason is that performance issues and bugs are unlikely to be resolved. I had to switch my machines to EXT3 and XFS to avoid corruption issues while running Myth, and found that KDE is a whole lot more responsive on either of those filesystems than it is on Reiser. I love the zero-slack (NO wasted space) feature of Reiser, but on my work machine, and on my home machine, I could right-click a file in Konqueror or Nautilus, and wait anywhere from five to 20 seconds for the context menu to appear.

      I was surprised, so I did a clean install on two identical drives (Seagate 7200.10 300GB SATA drives), except one was Reiser formatted, and one XFS. XFS consistently performed better when having to manipulate files via the GUI tools. Deletes of large directories seemed much faster in XFS as well. I was surprised, because although I initially chose Reiser for the zero-slack and journaling features, ReiserFS is touted for performance. I found the opposite to be true: that ReiserFS is a poor performer.

      I tested this on SuSE 10.0 and OpenSUSE 10.2. I don't know if it's distro-related because I've never installed Ubuntu on Reiser (I don't think you even CAN install Ubuntu on Reiser by default)

      --
      The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
    55. Re:just to be clear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the killer of eight might be "inadmissable evidence" because it might simply be cause for speculation

    56. Re:just to be clear by WilliamSChips · · Score: 1

      In addition, there's an entire company(Namesys) working on ReiserFS.

      --
      Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.
    57. Re:just to be clear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Common sense says if Sturgeon is going to spontaneously admit to 8 (possibly 9) murders, he'll probably admit to a 10th if it exists.

      No, common sense says that serial killers are psychotic and their actions can not be predicted.

    58. Re:just to be clear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Your post suggests that you would, after all because they molest children or abuse others has NOTHING to do with their technical merit / achievements...right?"

      You implying that it does? That their *technical* merrit somehow diminishes because they start to molest or to abuse?

      Strictly viewed on their *technical* merrit, they could be indeed the best for the job. What you want to say is, that you let your emotions overrule your rationality about evaluating their technical merrit.

      Good for you, but fact remains that the parent poster was right, and that their technical merrit has nothing to do with their (anti-)social behaviour.

    59. Re:just to be clear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Newton was doing science. People have reproduced his results, and he's long dead. Therefore, whether he was a killer or not is irrelevant at this point.

      Suppose somebody in charge of, oh, babysitting puppies. If he was found to be a killer, would I still let him watch my puppy? Of course not. So there are obviously some situations where "not being a killer" is a desired qualification.

      Where does "writing a filesystem" fit? Somewhere in between, I would say. It builds on computer science, and it's something where anybody can check his results -- though reading the C source code for a driver is probably even harder than timing how long an apple takes to fall, so it's not practical for the vast majority of us. But it's also social, because anybody using that filesystem is trusting his work with their data, which these days can cover just about every aspect of one's life.

      Does that mean I'd stop using ReiserFS if he turns out to be guilty? No. But it's not on the "he discovered calculus, who cares who he killed" end of the scale, either.

    60. Re:just to be clear by ealex292 · · Score: 1

      Interesting tidbit at the end of TFA:According to testimony in preliminary hearings in the case, Nina Reiser had once dated Sturgeon, but broke off their relationship in January 2006 because she was unhappy with his lifestyle and taste for sadomasochism.

      Sounds like they're all a bunch of real whackos! Am I the only one who immediately went and confirmed that bit wasn't a joke from the article?
    61. Re:just to be clear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Irrespective of whether Hans is really guilty, if this isn't enough to show a reasonable doubt I don't know what is.

      If his wife showed up, alive?

    62. Re:just to be clear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      merely because he (may have) killed his wife.


      "merely"? don't tell me, you have been married before, right?
    63. Re:just to be clear by adrianmonk · · Score: 1

      Let's suppose that Reiser sent a one-line patch to the Linux kernel, would you stop using Linux? Clearly no, so at which percentage does Reiser contribution matter enough to stop using a product?

      I don't think I can just pick a percentage. It's a judgment call. But I don't think the inability to pick a number means the principle is invalid.

    64. Re:just to be clear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ripper?

    65. Re:just to be clear by Raenex · · Score: 1

      Redrum!

    66. Re:just to be clear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The man allegedly murdered his wife.
      Yeah. He allegedly killed his wife. Sheesh. The case hasn't even gone to trial yet. There's a lot of evidence and information that all of us do not know. I say we just wait and see what the outcome of the case is before we jump to conclusions.
    67. Re:just to be clear by ivan256 · · Score: 1

      I'm not mis-representing anything. I don't have an opinion either way in this particular case. I'm just saying that if the prosecutor feels the evidence points to somebody, that person should be tried, regardless of whether the victim had a relationship with another killer.

    68. Re:just to be clear by ivan256 · · Score: 1

      But having broken up with a confessed serial killer who previously sued your ex-husband and allegedly (according to Reiser) has previously threatened both your husband, children and your husbands mother, certainly will create reasonable doubt unless they have some pretty damning evidence.


      I agree with everything you said except the "reasonable" part. By that I mean, if the evidence all says he did it, the fact that this other killer is in the picture isn't justification for an acquittal. It creats doubt, but by itself it isn't enough. Now if the defense can present reasonable explanations as to how this other guy may have tampered with or planted the evidence, that's another story entirely.
  5. Reasonable doubt by iamacat · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If your wife's ex-lover is a confessed serial killer, the evidence against you has to be pretty damning for you not to create reasonable doubt. Like if he was videotaped by a policeman while committing a murder and later signed a statement that he is a person on the video. It's not a big stretch of imagination that someone who killed 8 times and didn't get caught is capable of some creativity when planting evidence.

    1. Re:Reasonable doubt by Man+On+Pink+Corner · · Score: 5, Funny

      If your wife's ex-lover is a confessed serial killer, the evidence against you has to be pretty damning for you not to create reasonable doubt.

      Well, either that, or she was just into psychos.

    2. Re:Reasonable doubt by codemachine · · Score: 1

      Especially when Nina was never actually found. There is no hard evidence that she is even dead, though it does appear to be very likely.

      It would be surprising if Hans gets convicted given the lack of a body, and the emergence of another suspect.

    3. Re:Reasonable doubt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He's a man; he'll get convicted.

    4. Re:Reasonable doubt by Teancum · · Score: 1

      There is no reason to suspect that she is dead. You can't prove anything other than she is not in Oakland, California, and likely not in the USA if she is alive.

      Nina did have other "enemies" besides just those who have spoken up, and trust me when I say this case is going to get far more weird before this is over than has been displayed so far. I can't say just how weird, but I wouldn't even count this whole thing getting settled down until well after the jury has done their deliberation and the judge as said his piece on this issue as well.

      The real tragedy that will be nearly permanent is how the State of California let the children of Hans and Nina leave the USA, where it will be very unlikely that Russia will ever let these kids return back to the USA. Keep in mind that they are U.S. citizens by virtue of being born in the USA to two American citizens (Nina was a naturalized citizen). Even so, Russia is claiming that these children are Russian citizens by virtue of having a Russian mother. Even if Hans is aquitted, he will never be able to see his children again, and may face legal problems regarding Nina if he ever goes to Russia to try and get them.

      I hope that Nina can be found in some fashion, dead or alive (preferably alive). Or at least some strong evidence that Nina was alive sometime well after Hans was arrested. Unfortunately it appears as though her life is in significant peril if she ever does show up alive, as there are many individuals with a significant stake right now in the situation that would be ruined if she were to show up suddenly.

      I also don't believe that Hans had the time or the skills necessary to effectively hide Nina's body without some substantial evidence trail also being found. Hans is a smart guy, and perhaps he could think up "the perfect murder". But it seems much more likely that somebody acting in an act of passion and killing somebody very close to them (as is alleged by the prosecution) would miss critical elements that would clearly show not only that he killed her, but where she is actually at. Dumping Nina's body into San Francisco Bay or burying her somewhere that couldn't be tracked by the police seems to be a difficult task at best, and seems also very likely that somebody (Silicon Valley is hardly what could be called "sparsely populated") would have seen Hans trying to dispose of a body in some way.

    5. Re:Reasonable doubt by MichaelSmith · · Score: 1

      I also don't believe that Hans had the time or the skills necessary to effectively hide Nina's body without some substantial evidence trail also being found.

      If she was killed then it is strange that the body was efficently disposed of, but that the car was left to be found by the police.

    6. Re:Reasonable doubt by ralphdaugherty · · Score: 1

      If she was killed then it is strange that the body was efficiently disposed of, but that the car was left to be found by the police.

            It wasn't found easily. It was parked about a quarter mile away from his house on a side street. He was still using it.

        rd

    7. Re:Reasonable doubt by Teancum · · Score: 1

      There is also no other evidence besides traces of Nina's blood was found inside of the car. And there are numerous other scenarios that can be used to explain perhaps how that blood got there in the first place without having to resort to the transportation of a bloody corpse. Nina and Hans jointly owned that vehicle for several years, so it isn't even in dispute that Nina had been in the vehicle on at least a few other previous occasions.

      This is about the best physical evidence that the police have on Hans, however.

    8. Re:Reasonable doubt by Teancum · · Score: 1

      Hardly difficult to find, nor all that unusual when the reason for parking it a block away may have other explainations. This factoid is taken completely out of context here.

      If Hans had really cared to "dispose" of the car, he would have driven it to his father's house in Atlanta, Georgia. Or to a dozen other locations much further from his house. Driving it into San Francisco Bay or the Pacific Ocean would have been a very good (and relatively easy to do) task if that really was a goal. Not within a mile of his house parked on a street that could be found by a casual search in less than five minute with a police car.

    9. Re:Reasonable doubt by ralphdaugherty · · Score: 1

      Neighbors noted it was gone, police noted they found it with surveillance of him, and he had it parked a walking distance away with crime books on evidence in it, still saturated with water, and the front seat removed.

            To get rid of it would raise more questions than a missing front seat, and he didn't have much money to start with, which is the reason Nina disappeared, to be able to do some of the things you suggest in just getting rid of it.

        rd

  6. hmm by Hemogoblin · · Score: 0

    In case anyone else read it wrong like I did:

    Mr. Sturgeon, the ex-lover of Hans' wife, has confessed to eight murders. It wasn't Hans doing the confessing.

    1. Re:hmm by slim-t · · Score: 1
      Mr. Sturgeon, the ex-lover of Hans' wife, has confessed to eight murders. It wasn't Hans doing the confessing.


      I read it that the person who confessed was Hans' ex-lover, so I assumed it was a woman. Then I reread it and saw it was the wife's ex-lover - but I still had it in my head it was a woman - and it was a little more interesting to think there was a lesbian serial killer out there. The reality doesn't seem very strange at all.

  7. I did that too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I was like "Holy sh*t!" But then I read the whole thing. However, if this guy confesses to killing 8 (maybe 9 people, he's not sure), why wouldn't he confess to her death if he did it? What, they're going to kill him an extra time? Make him serve an extra life sentence?

    1. Re:I did that too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Eight people, nine people, who's counting? Once you murder the first you're already a scumbag.

    2. Re:I did that too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      However, if this guy confesses to killing 8 (maybe 9 people, he's not sure), why wouldn't he confess to her death if he did it?

      I see what you mean, but given that he's just decided to mention that he killed 8 people (or maybe 9 : he's not sure whether the ninth one was dead!) and adds that he's decided to confess because it "seems relevant" then I find his behaviour far enough outside the norms I'm used to dealing with that I don't expect to understand his motives for anything. Maybe he wants to harm Reiser by leting him rot in jail, just like he wanted to kill a bunch of other people.
    3. Re:I did that too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...why wouldn't he confess to her death if he did it? What, they're going to kill him an extra time? Make him serve an extra life sentence?
      Hmmm, its one way he could rack up another victim, having someone else take the blame for something he did. Sure, you'd have to be sick and twisted to do that, but he did confess to killing eight people.
    4. Re:I did that too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      >Once you murder the first you're already a scumbag.

      You are a pussy.

    5. Re:I did that too! by nibblybits · · Score: 1

      why wouldn't he confess to her death if he did it? To get at Reiser. Assuming the guy doesn't like Hans (and if she left him for Hans, that's likely) he might be able to get Hans convicted for the crime.
    6. Re:I did that too! by scum-e-bag · · Score: 1

      However, if this guy confesses to killing 8 (maybe 9 people, he's not sure), why wouldn't he confess to her death if he did it? What, they're going to kill him an extra time? Make him serve an extra life sentence?

      Well, Sean Sturge might just be so deranged that he wants to take out someone else on his way down as well... this someone else could be Hans. Hans may have been lined up to be victim number 10, however, Sean may have been busted before he got the chance, so, he is finishing the job...
      --
      Does it go on forever?
    7. Re:I did that too! by vidarh · · Score: 2, Interesting
      There's enough examples of serial killers confessing to many but not all of their murders through history for whatever reasons. In some cases they'll confess later, or they will try to use it as leverage to get something they want (like attention). In others they'll first confess when faced with evidence. For that matter, it is not unusual for serial killers to confess to murders they haven't committed too. In Scandinavia there was a case a few years back where a convicted serial killer kept confessing to more murders, some of which he clearly hadn't carried out, some which he had.

      There's simply no basis for thinking a likely serial killer's claims to have killed or not killed a specific person are reliable.

      In this case even less so, since he's had a lot of grievances against Hans Reiser and might very well have seen not confessing as an opportunity to get rid of Hans or just to have some fun with the police.

  8. Light on details by Bryan+Ischo · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The Wired piece is very light on details. It doesn't say who the Sturgeon person is supposed to have murdered, or where, or when, or whether or not any of them have any relationship to the Reiser case. Also it doesn't suggest whether or not investigators have correlated Sturgeon's confessions with any known facts about any missing people or unsolved murders. Or maybe this Sturgeon guy had already been charged in a bunch of murders and finally confessed. Who knows, the story is so light on details.

    Does anyone know any more about this Sturgeon guy and his confessions?

    1. Re:Light on details by Adult+film+producer · · Score: 1

      It doesn't say who the Sturgeon person is supposed to have murdered, or where, or when, or whether or not any of them have any relationship to the Reiser case."

      True, but it does mention something about retribution for being abused during his childhood. We could make guess about who that might be... a priest from the local church? maybe an uncle(s) or cousins? etc etc

      What I find intereting about his confession is this line, "He also said that Sturgeon had confessed to a potential ninth murder, but that Sturgeon wasn't sure if the victim was fully dead when he left him." Something about that just seems wrong.

    2. Re:Light on details by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      > What I find intereting about his confession is this line, "He also said that Sturgeon had confessed to a potential ninth murder, but that Sturgeon wasn't sure if the victim was fully dead when he left him." Something about that just seems wrong.

      user9: I'm getting better!
      sturgeon: No, you're not. You'll be stone dead in a moment.
      root: Oh, I can't take him like that. It's against regulations.
      user9: I think I'll go for a walk!
      sturgeon: You're not foolin' anyone, you know. Look. Isn't there something you can do?
      root: # kill -9 reiserfsd
      sturgeon: Ah, thanks very much.
      root: Not at all. See you on Slashdot...

    3. Re:Light on details by scum-e-bag · · Score: 1

      What I find intereting about his confession is this line, "He also said that Sturgeon had confessed to a potential ninth murder, but that Sturgeon wasn't sure if the victim was fully dead when he left him." Something about that just seems wrong.


      The 9th victim is Hans.
      --
      Does it go on forever?
  9. Re:Ouch by Danga · · Score: 4, Informative

    So Hans Reiser is a full-blown sociopath? Goddamn. Looks like he may have killed ReiserFS, too.

    If you can't even RTFA at least read the summary!

    "ex-lover of the missing wife of accused spouse killer Hans Reiser has confessed to killing eight people unrelated to the case."

    It is not Hans Reiser confessing to eight other killings, it is an EX LOVER of the wife who is confessing to eight other killings.

    As far as ReiserFS, I don't really care if that dies since I don't use it myself. I am sure it will still be around a while though no matter what happens.

    --
    Hey, there is only one Return and it's not of the King, it's of the Jedi.
  10. Death Yoga by Sloppy · · Score: 4, Funny

    I am shocked -- SHOCKED! -- that the creepy S&M guy who was into "death yoga" and has now admitted to other murders, is suspected of Nina's murder. I mean, that's just silly. I saw the ELER cartoon, and he wasn't in it.

    --
    As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
    1. Re:Death Yoga by Dirtside · · Score: 4, Funny

      Death yoga? I didn't read TFA, is Dhalsim involved somehow?

      --
      "Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
    2. Re:Death Yoga by Red+Flayer · · Score: 1

      No, it's Half-life 2, not Street Fighter.

      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
  11. That is one confusing intro by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    So Reiser is friends with Darth Helmet?

    1. Re:That is one confusing intro by hguorbray · · Score: 1

      Lone Starr -I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate

      -Dark Helmet

      May the Shwartz be with you -Yogurt

      -I'm just sayin'

  12. Son of a bitch by roman_mir · · Score: 2, Informative

    My girlfriend's sister was one of her Nina's best friends, they studied together in a medical university in St. Pitersburgh. She says Nina's parents are devasted, she was the only child.

    Of-course his guilt is not proven yet. Judging from the B.S. that was happening in that house this was not a happy marriage.

    1. Re:Son of a bitch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      That's enough for me! Hang him!

    2. Re:Son of a bitch by roman_mir · · Score: 2, Funny

      Ok, but which one?

    3. Re:Son of a bitch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And?

      Ther are many unhappy marriages. It doesn't mean he killed her.

      So, was the unhapiness before or after she whored around on him?

    4. Re:Son of a bitch by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 2

      Hang them both. Let God sort it out. :-)

    5. Re:Son of a bitch by LWATCDR · · Score: 1

      You know as a happily married man all I can say is this.
      I am glad that I live a simple life.

      This seems all very sad and disturbing.

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
    6. Re:Son of a bitch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nina's parents are "devasted"? Who's gonna be charged with devasting them?

    7. Re:Son of a bitch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      is your girlfriend's sister hot?

    8. Re:Son of a bitch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you sure you understood the news article? Its not about Hans Reiser... this doesn't create proof he did it, its evidence for his innocence...

    9. Re:Son of a bitch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How to be happy with a great coder? Girls don't like people who spend most of the time in a computer, that's the first step to break a marriage.

      Second, I think CSI should investigate this case :)

  13. If Reiser really did it.. by n1hilist · · Score: 1

    Wouldn't he have released the evidence and plans of the act under the GPL publicly? :)

  14. Reiser's attorney speaks out by L.+VeGas · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Look law, no Hans."

    1. Re:Reiser's attorney speaks out by Duhavid · · Score: 4, Funny

      Look.

      Hans shot first. Case closed.

      --
      emt 377 emt 4
  15. Hans Reiser has not confessed to killing anybody! by Omnifarious · · Score: 5, Informative

    Change the wording of the article! Yes, it's from the original article. But it's very clearly misleading and needs to be changed.

  16. Reiser and Sturgeon had some serious conflicts too by mo · · Score: 4, Informative

    from: http://cbs5.com/topstories/local_story_256204954.h tml

    Apparently Sturgeon was sleeping with Reiser's wife before they finalized the divorce. Also, Reiser accused Sturgeon of trying to steal money from him, and of threatening him. So there's totally motive here for Sturgeon to frame Reiser for the murder.

  17. heh by JeanBaptiste · · Score: 0, Troll

    fragmentation

  18. MOD PARENT DOWN * SPIDERMAN SPOILERS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Motherfucker

    1. Re:MOD PARENT DOWN * SPIDERMAN SPOILERS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ....after returning from the darkside to save his long time friend Peter Parker.

  19. Re:Reiser and Sturgeon had some serious conflicts by aichpvee · · Score: 1

    Ok, all the other stuff you mentioned is totally relevent. But sleeping with the wife "before the divorce was finalized"? Once they're separated, who cares? At that point the divorce is just a legal technicality. If anything wouldn't it be more that Reiser would have a motive (jealousy) to frame the other guy?

    --
    The Farewell Tour II
  20. A real sharp-witted fellow by spiritraveller · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It's unclear when Sturgeon made the confession -- he would say only, "I have cooperated since day one." Asked why he had confessed at all, he responded with this question: "In a murder case, if somebody has killed, who is a witness, is it relevant? Yes or no?"

    When this reporter responded that it was relevant, Sturgeon said, "Then you have the answer to your question."

    Sturgeon added that confessing was one of the most difficult decisions of his life. He also regrets being a source of distraction in the case, joking that he is not so much a red herring as a "red Sturgeon."


    Yep... a regular old Hannibal Lechter. Do you think he might have had some sort of grudge against Reiser? Spurned love, and then his friend gets the girl... yathink? Maybe he set it up so that not only does Reiser lose his wife... but then has to defend a murder case for killing her.

    From what's been in the press, it seems that all the evidence is circumstantial. A criminal case can be proven by circumstantial evidence, but only when it's enough to exclude all other reasonable conclusions based on the evidence. Looks like this shoots the prosecution right out of the water.

    On the other hand, if the prosecution had this confession a long time ago and they are still moving forward, it's possible they have some other evidence that we don't know about yet.

    1. Re:A real sharp-witted fellow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      On the other hand, if the prosecution had this confession a long time ago and they are still moving forward, it's possible they have some other evidence that we don't know about yet.

      Paging Mike Nifong! Crystal Mangum on line 1!

    2. Re:A real sharp-witted fellow by spiritraveller · · Score: 1

      Paging Mike Nifong! Crystal Mangum on line 1!

      Hah! I don't know why I would give any prosecutor the benefit of the doubt.

      But it's rather interesting to see how everybody on Slashdot was so quick to condemn Hans Reiser as soon as he was charged... and now everyone is so quick to say that he was framed.

      How about a little bit of "We don't know?" Is it too much to ask of a few geeks that they admit they don't actually know the answer to every question ever asked???

    3. Re:A real sharp-witted fellow by Raenex · · Score: 1

      But it's rather interesting to see how everybody on Slashdot was so quick to condemn Hans Reiser "everybody"? Actually lots of people expressed doubt in the original story, stating that the evidence like the book was too obvious for somebody as smart as Reiser, and possibly planted.

      How about a little bit of "We don't know?" Is it too much to ask of a few geeks that they admit they don't actually know the answer to every question ever asked??? Well, if you don't make blanket judgements like the ones you are accusing all Slashdotters of, you will see quite a few geeks here express uncertainty -- some of they have been modded up, too.
  21. Surreal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    • “You can't make this stuff up.”
    • “Trush is stranger than fiction.”
    • [insert your cliché here]
  22. What's on Jack's Mind by SupeRaven · · Score: 1

    And the important question on Jack Thompson's mind?
    "How can I tie this to video games?"

    1. Re:What's on Jack's Mind by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And the important question on SuperRaven's mind?
      "How can I tie this to Jack Thompson?"

    2. Re:What's on Jack's Mind by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If Jack Thompson can link Linux to video games he deserves to win.

    3. Re:What's on Jack's Mind by stnf · · Score: 1
    4. Re:What's on Jack's Mind by Lawn+Jocke · · Score: 1

      And the important question on Jack Thompson's mind? "How can I tie this to video games?" I'm not too sure myself, but I'm willing to bet our sadomasochist friend has a couple of key pointers.

      --
      Maybe if this sig is witty or clever enough, someone will love me...
  23. DIg a little deeper... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Hans was friends with this guy Sturgeon...

    Sturgeon was allegedly molested as a child which directly motivated the killing of the other eight people AND the development of extreme sado-masochistic sexual tendencies... Which is a purported reason that Hans's woman both began and ended her affair with him.

    The missing link is how Hans became friends with this guy and a gossipy answer at this point is that BOTH of them were involved in some very dark sexual practices & became close friends because of this.

    Please note: I hope Hans is innocent, but this development does not appear to help him at all. If anything it may cause Hans's character to be called further into question based upon investigations into this other side of his life that was previously undisclosed.

    1. Re:DIg a little deeper... by that+this+is+not+und · · Score: 3, Informative

      Just in case you weren't aware of it, there are thousands and thousands of people who are enthusiasts of recreational 'kinky' sex including degrees of sadomasochism. And believe me, the people in that community LOATHE and DESPISE serial killers and predators in their midst. There are community codes of standard that clearly delineate ethical practices. Weird as it might seem to people who've never been exposed to these forms of sexual play, you don't tie up and torture people unwillingly if you're a healthy individual and consider it fun.

      It's quite possible that Reiser and his wife enjoyed sexual play that is a little on the 'wild side.' It's also possible that through this they came into contact with this third guy Sturgeon who was a predator-intruder into the BDSM community. As such, Reiser would only be 'painted badly' by the same sort of people who want to shut down gay bathhouses and imprison all sodomites.

      Just throwin' this all out for people to think about.

    2. Re:DIg a little deeper... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is the same AC you replied to. I don't want to be associated with this issue publically and I don't know any of the parties involved or their immediate associates.

      The communities I frequent don't allow any *overt* sexual activity at their gatherings... Only controlled environment experimentation with physical sensations that fall outside the norm which may or may not excite the person submitting to the experience to achieve some physical expression of sexual satisfaction. While on the surface most communities fall somewhere near this philosophy there are sometimes subsets that go further in private.

      When I used the word 'dark' in my original post I was not talking about curious exploration of the range of physical sensation.

      It should be noted that there are people outside the tech world who have been talking quietly about this case. In fact, I haven't had a single conversation with any tech related people about what is going on here outside of postig AC here.

    3. Re:DIg a little deeper... by asninn · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Sturgeon was allegedly molested as a child which directly motivated the killing of the other eight people AND the development of extreme sado-masochistic sexual tendencies... Which is a purported reason that Hans's woman both began and ended her affair with him.

      Urgh. I really hate people like that - I don't know what he did, of course, but this whole thing sure seems to be giving SSC BDSM (which is healthy, fun, and totally normal) a bad name (yet) again. The press doesn't seem to have latched on it yet as far as I can tell (which admittedly isn't very far), but putting "extreme sado-masochistic sexual tendencies" (what does "extreme" mean, anyway?) on the same level as "the killing of the other eight people" is really rather ignominious.

      (Seriously, just replace the above with "extreme homosexual tendencies", and you'll see what I mean. Hopefully...)

      --
      butter the donkey
    4. Re:DIg a little deeper... by vidarh · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Sean Sturgeon and Hans Reiser had a business relationship from 1999 to 2002. The BDSM stuff was brought up by Reiser in court proceedings as part of a lawsuit by Sean Sturgeon regarding a loan that Reiser allegedly didn't pay back. Reiser alleged that Sturgeon and Nina Reiser were having an affair at the time, and that the money Namesys loaned were mostly spent on Nina Reiser with Sturgeons full knowledge. He further alleged that Sturgeon threatened him and claimed he would hurt both Reiser, Reisers children and mother if he didn't get the money back.

      All of these allegations came before Nina Reiser disappeared, and are well documented (lots of press + the court proceedings themselves). If anything, I'd expect the defense team to bring all that up, and present all that as motive - either for murder (Nina Reiser had a new boyfriend) or as a setup to frame Hans Reiser.

      If you'd RTFA, you might also have noticed that testimony in one of the preliminary hearings stated that Nina Reiser broke off the relationship with Sturgeon because she was unhappy with his BDSM tendencies. If that's the case, you'd think she'd have brought up things like that in the rather nasty divorce proceedings if Hans Reiser was into it too.

      All of these allegations came before Nina Reiser disappeared, and are well documented (lots of press + the court proceedings themselves). If anything, I'd expect the defense team to bring all that up, and present all that as motive - either for murder (Nina Reiser had a new boyfriend) or as a setup to frame Hans Reiser.

  24. Let's fix the confusing writeup by ZackSchil · · Score: 4, Informative

    "Wired is running a story about how Sean Sturgeon, an ex-lover of Hans Reiser's missing wife, has confessed to having killed 8 people. Hans is currently standing trial for the murder of his wife. Though the confessed murders are unrelated to the current case, this new information is sure to complicate things."

  25. Re:Reiser and Sturgeon had some serious conflicts by diakka · · Score: 1

    This post is heavy on speculation, but this new turn of events totally gives motive to Sturgeon. If he killed 8 people, he's almost certainly a sociopath. How does a sociopath get revenge for an unpaid loan? Easy... sleep with his wife, kill her and then frame the debtor.

    --
    -- Knowledge shared is power lost. -- Aleister Crowley
  26. Finally! by TheChromaticOrb · · Score: 4, Funny

    Finally the court will put it to rest. Did Hans shoot first, or was it the other guy?

    Oh, wait... wrong movie.

    --
    Note to self: get a sig.
  27. Turn in your tinfoil hat... by warrax_666 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Jebus, don't you realize? It was the ALIENS, man! The ALIENS!

    --
    HAND.
  28. The bus factor of OpenSOurce by goombah99 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    the sudden cratering of ResierFS demonstrates the huge Bus Factor of Open source software. Takeout one guy and major part of an operating system can suddenly become unsupported. This is a non-trivial thing. If you are a big bussiness do you want to commit your operations center to some Database or some communication protocol (say Samba) and filesystem (say ReiserFS) to open source solutions if suddenly overnight and with no warning it could become unsupported?

    If linus got hit by a Bus tommorrow, Linux would no doubt survive but there would be a giant glitch in the force and depending on how things got restored Linux might very well start to lose it's focus.

    It's a big opportunity for the Microsofts, IBMs, Oracles, SAPs and Novell's to point out that for bussiness operations continuity you should only buy software, open source or private, backed by a commercial vendor.

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    1. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by DeadChobi · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Lol. You're missing the point of open source, which is that, if something is mission-critical, and the maintainer falls off the face of the earth, anyone, and I mean anyone, can pick up the code and continue on. The practical upshot of this is that, if suddenly overnight and with no warning your software became unsupported you could hire someone to provide support because you have all the code.

      --
      SRSLY.
    2. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by Overly+Critical+Guy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I think you're missing the point, which is that the OSS philosophy that someone will just come along and pick up the project is quite different from reality, as evidenced by the cratering of ReiserFS since this happened. If you're using a product from a business, it's a different story since a business can hire someone experienced enough to replace the previous developer. You're right that a business could pick up the project since the code is out there, but then why isn't that happening with ReiserFS?

      --
      "Sufferin' succotash."
    3. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by Rimbo · · Score: 1

      You can say the same thing for any major endeavor. What would Apple be without Steve Jobs? Microsoft without Bill Gates? HP without Carly Fiorina? Who's at the top, and what decides who's the successor, makes a huge difference.

    4. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by geekoid · · Score: 1

      That applies to any company. In fact, it's worse with closed source.

      Lets say the key people who wrote an application you run leave a company. You will be in a world of hurt, and not even know it.
      When you find out that the reason the upgrade went bad was because the original coders aren't there, you have no easy recourse.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    5. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by aix+tom · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well, if the brain behind the source gets hit by a bus I think it's bad for commercially supported software, too.

      So what if ReiserFS get's not developed further? There's still dozens of other file system to choose from.

      We use both commercial and free open source software in our company, and support or bugfixes are not generally faster/slower better/worse from one or the other. The only thing you can't to when you don't have commercial support is pin the blame on someone else when it isn't working. ;-)

      I have had very good personal experiences with Oracle support. Microsoft often has a "Yeah, we now it doesn't work in your case, but we can't be bothered to fix it" approach. Guess our 2000 client licenses plus a few dozen different servers don't get us much priority.

      And take a case like PeopleSoft for example a commercial company can get bought up, and the support for your product dumped sooner or later without anyone actually getting hit by a bus.

      Just take XP / Vista. If you want to continue using XP you are out of luck, because it's going to get de-supported pretty soon. ( And we are still using Windows 2000 mostly, because some special software from a commercial vendor doesn't even work on XP )

      I think when an open source product has enough people using it, there will always be someone to pick the pieces up when the original writer leaves the project for whatever reason.

    6. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by mfrank · · Score: 3, Funny

      I'm still running Windows 98 on an old computer; who at Microsoft do I call to get a bug I found fixed???

    7. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by DeadChobi · · Score: 1

      It's entirely possible that it isn't a mission critical application, and that whatever version they're currently using is working fine for them. A filesystem isn't like database software or a web server.

      And besides, I suspect that if an OSS application suddenly loses its maintainer, we end users will do what we always do when a piece of software stops being available or stops recieving updates. We stop using it and switch to something newer. This happens whether or not something is Open-source.

      --
      SRSLY.
    8. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by tchuladdiass · · Score: 1

      That is the exact reason that businesses pay bucks to companies like Red Hat. And that is also part of why Red Hat standardized on ext3 instead of reiserfs -- much more robustness in the backend development. If they would have used reiserfs instead, I'm sure they would have had enough in-house resources to handle it -- or they would do like any other company does when a product is end-of-lifed, and depreciate it along with providing an upgrade path. Commercial companies do this all the time, such as Oracle buying out PeopleSoft then going with a strategy to get all the customers using it off of it and onto other Oracle products.

    9. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by cduffy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Some arbitrary random person might not come along, but if it's worth money (and if it's important, it's worth money, right?), you sure can pay someone to.

      Namesys (the company behind ReiserFS) is still around even without Hans. You ask "why isn't that happening with ReiserFS" -- but the business behind ReiserFS hasn't even gone away in the first place!

    10. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      it's a different story since a business can hire someone experienced enough to replace the previous developer.

      And if they lay everyone who worked on it off and hire a bunch of foreigners, what then? All you're doing is shifting from one set of problems to another.

      why isn't that happening with ReiserFS

      Good question, it might be that the assumption is that Hans Reiser didn't do it, and will resume working on it. Maybe the assumption is that he did do it, and he'll kill anyone who tries to take the project away from him. Or maybe between improvements on ext3 and development on ext4, all of the resources available for filesystem development is already being consumed. It's not like Lemmings where you can just click on a guy and turn him into a bomb or a filesystem developer.

    11. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by MoxFulder · · Score: 1

      Big frickin' deal...

      If the guy who heads SQL Server development at Microsoft gets hit by a bus, there will probably be a big glitch in its development too. The only difference is that no one knows who that guy is, or if he really gives a crap about the product.

      If my admittedly brief experience in the software industry counts for anything, open source development is *less* centered on individual project leaders than closed source development. The only difference is that the open source leaders are a lot more visible, vocal, and reachable... because you don't have to go through layers of PR and lawyers and Vice Presidents of Customer Relations in order to reach them.

    12. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by orasio · · Score: 1

      I think you're missing the point, which is that the OSS philosophy that someone will just come along and pick up the project is quite different from reality, as evidenced by the cratering of ReiserFS since this happened. If you're using a product from a business, it's a different story since a business can hire someone experienced enough to replace the previous developer. You're right that a business could pick up the project since the code is out there, but then why isn't that happening with ReiserFS? You are comparing two different things.
      You say that big companies, not people, should be behind the products you use.
      That has its advantages, and its disadvantages, of course.

      The thing of using for example, free software, is orthogonal to that.
      Java is going to be free software, and is supported by a big company. Eclipse too. MySQL too.

      Oracle is bigger, and _maybe_ the risk of them dissapearing from the face of the earth are smaller than those of MySQL, but the consequences to people commited to them would be much bigger.
      Supporting your own MySQL databases is hard, but feasible. Oracle is next to impossible.

    13. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by notamisfit · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Not to mention that ReiserFS was in 'maintenance mode' before all this shit started, and Reiser4 will probably not be in the kernel tree for some time (or ever, since Hans has to sell Namesys to pay his legal bills).

      --
      Jesus is coming -- look busy!
    14. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by Bronster · · Score: 1

      There are still a couple of people at SuSE (except we hate them too, right?) supporting ReiserFS, and the Namesys programmers haven't magically disappeared off the face of the earth. I got a reply from them just a couple of months ago about porting a patch we use against ReiserFS forward to 2.6.19+ where some of the VFS interfaces had changed.

      And ReiserFS is still by far the best filesystem out there for large Cyrus installations according to all our testing, so we're not switching any time soon.

    15. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Guess our 2000 client licenses plus a few dozen different servers don't get us much priority.

      I sincerely hope so, since our 20,000 client licenses and hundreds or thousands of servers don't, either ;)

    16. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Sales

    17. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by Daniel+Phillips · · Score: 1

      the sudden cratering of ResierFS demonstrates the huge Bus Factor of Open source software. Takeout one guy and major part of an operating system can suddenly become unsupported

      ReiserFS (4) has not cratered, far from it. Instead, volunteers have stepped up to continue preparing the code for mainline merging. And far from showing a weakness, this sad tale proves convincingly that the code will carry on regardless of the misadventures of its original creators.

      By the way, I for one favor merging Reiser 4 earlier rather than later. It includes a number of significant advances in filesystem design that we need in Linux, for example the dancing trees algorithm most probably is more efficient than Ext3's journalling, and even the chance of that means we need to get it in, shake it out, and prove it one way or the other. As for stability, the way to get stable is to achieve "good enough for the brave" then get lots of brave people to pitch in to help push it the rest of the way. Being in mainline makes it considerably easier for those brave people to configure it on and take for a test drive, not to mention help out. That is the way Linux has always worked, and most probably always will.

      --
      Have you got your LWN subscription yet?
    18. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by div_2n · · Score: 1

      I think you're missing the point, which is that the OSS philosophy that someone will just come along and pick up the project

      No, you missed the point with that one word--WILL. The open source philosophy is that someone can pick up the project. The fact that you can means that if necessity dictates, someone will.

    19. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by ishobo · · Score: 1

      Do you have xenophobia? I ask because I do not see why hiring foreigners is relevent to the matter. I am in the United States and I use software all the time that has been written by foreigners.

      --
      Slashdot - The great and glorious cluster fuck of Internet wisdom.
    20. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by asninn · · Score: 1

      Which ReiserFS are you actually referring to now? Reiser3 is in mainline, and while it's not under active development (not that it's supposed to be), bugs still do get fixed; it certainly is being taken care of. Reiser4 is not and never has been in mainline, and it *is* under active development despite the fact that Hans Reiser himself is preoccupied with other matters right now. There's just been some discussion about whether it's ready for merging again recently - I'm too lazy to look it up, but you'll be able to find more on LWN.net or KernelTrap or so. Check it out; it's all there.

      --
      butter the donkey
    21. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by budword · · Score: 1

      You are the one missing the point. How many commercial software venders have gone out of business and taken their entire code base off the cliff with them ? If you run your own business, (or worse, someone elses) why would you put your business in the hands of a company, that if it have some financial trouble, leaves you with no recourse whatsoever. At least with open source others have the right to pick up development, and even if no one does, you have the right to do so yourself.

    22. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by Nulagrithom · · Score: 1

      I think he's talking about when you call for support on your 'supported' product and you get Hassad in India, who is employed by the closed-source company you bought your product from, who out-sourced their tech support to foreign countries with the sole requirement that their will work for pennies instead of dollars, nevermind the terrible engrish. It's not about xenophobia or rascism or whatever somebody wants to whine about. It's about the naive idea that staying away from open source products makes all the problems go away.

      Or maybe I'm wrong. =)

    23. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by Hurga · · Score: 1

      The causality you're implying is just not there. Suse Linux was talking about dropping ReiserFS even before Hand Reiser was suspected in the case of his missing wife. Reasons given were that interest in ReiserFS had dropped and that ext3 had been catching up in performance.

      Hanno

    24. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by maxwell+demon · · Score: 1

      Maybe because nobody really depends on ReiserFS? I'm using ReiserFS, but if I would re-install my computer now, I wouldn't use it again, for reasons completely unrelated to the fate of Hans Reiser.

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    25. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by ishobo · · Score: 1

      it's a different story since a business can hire someone experienced enough to replace the previous developer.

      And if they lay everyone who worked on it off and hire a bunch of foreigners, what then? All you're doing is shifting from one set of problems to another.

      He is not talking about support at all, he is talking about development. Foreign developers could be in India, China, Canada, or Finland. Where they are located does not matter for a commerical project, nor should it matter for a open source project.

      --
      Slashdot - The great and glorious cluster fuck of Internet wisdom.
    26. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by Richard_at_work · · Score: 1

      Theres a significant hole in your faith that because its opensource, someone else can simply carry on - complexity of the code base.

      Sure, I have the source code to the Linux kernel, Glibc, X.org, Firefox, Reiser, MySQL, Postgresql, its all there in a repository on my server so I'm fine if any of these projects failed for whatever reason. However, I know nothing about the code bases of any of those projects, I wouldn't know where to start to make modifications - it would take a significant time effort on my part to bring myself up to speed on any of those code bases, and we are talking months here before I would be confident to make a change and know the ramifications of that change.

      This is one problem inherent in all complex code bases, and one that simply being open source does not fix. Thats why these central people are so important, and thats why yanking them out of a project with no preparation is a Very Bad Thing (tm).

    27. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by petermgreen · · Score: 1

      Java is going to be free software
      they've been saying that for years and have made some token releases (javac has very little value afaict as the java language is not that complex and most optimisation is done later, hotspot undoubtablly has some good tech in but its not much use without the class libraries to go with it) but until we actually see them do it i remain skeptical.

      --
      note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
    28. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by orasio · · Score: 1

      Java is going to be free software
      they've been saying that for years and have made some token releases (javac has very little value afaict as the java language is not that complex and most optimisation is done later, hotspot undoubtablly has some good tech in but its not much use without the class libraries to go with it) but until we actually see them do it i remain skeptical. From http://www.sun.com/software/opensource/java/projec t_overview.jsp/ :
      "The components of the Java SE implementation that Sun is releasing initially are the Java programming-language compiler (javac) and the Java HotSpot virtual machine. In 2007, Sun will release all unencumbered source-code modules of JDK 6 and JDK 7, along with full build scripts; a few encumbered modules will be released as binary plugins. The code will be available under the GPL v2 license plus the ClassPath Exception."

      There is no reason to think that Sun is lying in our faces. Other companies have, but they still have credit, I think.

    29. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by petermgreen · · Score: 1

      i'm sure the date was originally "first quarter 2007" then became "first half 2007" and by the looks of your quote they've changed it again to just "2007".

      I tend to consider sun to be a company on the way out or at least going through major uncomfortable change (the combination of the dotcom bust and the rise of linux has done huge damage to thier tradtional unix buisness). Companies in that position are imo not very trustworthy.

      --
      note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
    30. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by orasio · · Score: 1

      Some companies are still to be trusted, in some regards :)

      http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/08/151 257/

      They didn't finish making java free, but it's very close right now.

    31. Re:The bus factor of OpenSOurce by petermgreen · · Score: 1

      Some companies are still to be trusted, in some regards :)
      companies have a number of forces pulling on them. When a company is on the way out and the shareholders realise this then i doubt they will decide giving away assets like this is a good idea.

      http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/08/151 257/
      Nothing for you to see here. Please move along.

      but checking mirrordot (which i belive is fed via a subscriber account) we get http://www.mirrordot.org/stories/387f24a4c912a841a cd509b1f821b198/index.html . It seems like they may have finally gone through with it after all (though the openjdk site doesn't seem to reflect this yet).

      --
      note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
  29. Death Yoga by nutshell42 · · Score: 1

    In addition, Reiser alleged that Sturgeon wrote into a contract that Reiser must participate in Death Yoga, which he said has the purpose of slowing down ones heart to the point of death. I really thought Reiser'd lost it the first time I read that, but now it sounds like Sturgeon might actually be the crazier of the two.
    --
    Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
  30. muttered "kill -9" and... by G4from128k · · Score: 3, Funny

    He probably muttered "kill -9" and the cops thought it was a confession.

    --
    Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
    1. Re:muttered "kill -9" and... by Arcane_Rhino · · Score: 1

      Maybe it is just Friday but that was funny.

  31. Tag this horriblyworded by SocratesJedi · · Score: 1

    I'm tagging this article "horriblyworded" because of the intense confusion the summary seems to be generating about who was doing the confessing. Will others do so too?

  32. Crazy Soap Opera's by stox · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I always wondered where they got some of the crazy idea's for Soap Opera's, I don't wonder anymore. I really feel sorry for poor Hans, assuming he is innocent. This is a nightmare of unimaginable proportions. Even if he "wins", he will probably be bankrupt from paying the attorneys.

    --
    "To those who are overly cautious, everything is impossible. "
    1. Re:Crazy Soap Opera's by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      You think that's his main problem now? Hell, his wife has been killed, for crying out loud!

      I dunno 'bout you, but that would certainly cripple me more than losing some money.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:Crazy Soap Opera's by burdalane · · Score: 1

      The death of a spouse is certainly tragic and crippling, but so is the loss of money to the point of bankruptcy. Enough money can buy the freedom to spend time as one pleases and only work if and when one chooses. That's one of my main goals in life, and at least for me the loss of that freedom, or a setback in the path towards that freedom, would be just as crippling as the death of a spouse, if not more so.

    3. Re:Crazy Soap Opera's by prichardson · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      "Soap Opera's"

      Apostrophes are used to denote possession or contractions. This is a case of plurality. You wanted something else.

      "Soap Operas"

      --
      Help I'm a rock.
    4. Re:Crazy Soap Opera's by Doctor+Faustus · · Score: 1

      They were already getting divorced. You'd still rather that didn't happen, but it's not on the level of a happy marriage ending that way.

    5. Re:Crazy Soap Opera's by Bronster · · Score: 1

      _allegedly_ killed, sheesh. There's no body.

    6. Re:Crazy Soap Opera's by be-fan · · Score: 1

      Holy balls, I hope you're not married.

      --
      A deep unwavering belief is a sure sign you're missing something...
    7. Re:Crazy Soap Opera's by kptBlaha · · Score: 1

      No way. He could sell the rights to his story to TV and Hollywood.

    8. Re:Crazy Soap Opera's by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      No, his estranged wife is missing and presumed killed. This changes things in two ways:

      • Their marriage was apparently going down the tubes anyway, so he probably didn't like her all that much anymore.
      • He doesn't know for certain if she's dead (unless he killed her, of course). He could either still be hopeful that she's alive, or happy she's dead.
      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    9. Re:Crazy Soap Opera's by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Yeah, yeah, and there is no spoon...:)

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    10. Re:Crazy Soap Opera's by Enigma2175 · · Score: 1

      always wondered where they got some of the crazy idea's for Soap Opera's
      You missed one, don't let him keep thinking "idea's" is correct.
      --

      Enigma

    11. Re:Crazy Soap Opera's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Their marriage was apparently going down the tubes anyway, so he probably didn't like her all that much anymore."

      They had conflicts some of which are documented and known. These are interesting details, and important for anyone who'd like to judge along (be part of 'jury'), or wants to know the details.

      "He could either still be hopeful that she's alive, or happy she's dead."

      Why is that? I'm no American, but that seems like a very limited set of possibile emotions. He can also be sad or surprised when it turns out she is alive, or sad she's dead. Besides that, he may feel neutral (not caring), mixed, and/or (very) complex emotions on this specific aspect of the case.

      I do agree with you that the 2 possibilities you outline are likely the case with most people, but that does not void my argument. Another reason I don't like such speculation is because I'd like to have the person's psyche taken into account in such argument. We have to take the individual into account, we have to make it personal. Its a murder case after all, and the media attention is high due to prime suspect being a semi-celebrity.

      The most healthy view however is neutrality IMO, but would be (as husband or wife) hard given the emotional attachment to the situation. Given you don't have to deal with the person anymore (given the relationship is over) its beyond the scope of what the person cares about or want to have influence on. If still in divorce that could be very hard, even if its your goal to be neutral emotionally. After all, divorcing is sometimes a dreadful, complex process. But, it is possible to achieve in a peaceful manner, and some couples achieve a departure that way. The key to being neutral is empathy as that'll make your actions towards the other person more reasonable. That, together with reaching a common goal: most likely the last goal you have to reach together. Lashing out to someone (with words or weapons) is almost never a good tool to resolve the issues. Murdering someone destroys both their and your life. Its not worth it. For most people, that is.

      (There was this movie where a husband and wife were stubborn over their property & habits and ended up murdering each other in an accident. Dark humor, and a bit insightful on the subject and human psyche. Good movie. Alas, forgot name.)

    12. Re:Crazy Soap Opera's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree the case is strange but lets not bring the paranormal into this case, please.

    13. Re:Crazy Soap Opera's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He just meant enough money would make him able to afford his private prostitute. He's probably from Las Vegas or Amsterdam, too.

      Then again, marriage is something like a contract related to money, sex and slavery. Isn't it sad people need some kind of commitment on paper? I'd say so.

  33. Alibi ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Always journalize.

  34. Wow, what are the odds? by HeavensBlade23 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If Hans Reiser is guilty, that means Nina Reiser went from dating one killer to another killer... What are the odds of someone just happening to date two murderers?

    1. Re:Wow, what are the odds? by Tickletaint · · Score: 1

      There's no accounting for taste.

      --
      Make Slashdot readable! See journal.
    2. Re:Wow, what are the odds? by Bugs42 · · Score: 1

      Hey, we all know girls like the "bad boys", right?

      --
      Programmer: an ingenious device that converts caffeine into code.
    3. Re:Wow, what are the odds? by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Funny

      Probably the same of two bombs being on one plane. That's why I never travel without one.

      But try to discuss the laws of statistics with the ground personnel dimwits at airports...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    4. Re:Wow, what are the odds? by burdalane · · Score: 1

      Well, Laci Peterson's boyfriend prior to Scott is now in prison for shooting his later girlfriend in the back. To be fair, he didn't kill his girlfriend, and from the evidence it may have been a drunken rage or accident instead of a premeditated attack.

    5. Re:Wow, what are the odds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      She went from dating a serial killer to dating the friend of a serial killer... the idea that that the friend of a serial killer might have murderous tendencies too does not surprise me...

    6. Re:Wow, what are the odds? by marcushnk · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Probably fairly high, she's likely to be predisposed to be attracted to a particular personality type...

      --
      "Consider how lucky you are that life has been good to you so far. Alternatively, if life hasn't been good to you so far
    7. Re:Wow, what are the odds? by jonadab · · Score: 1

      > If Hans Reiser is guilty, that means Nina Reiser went from dating one killer to another killer...
      > What are the odds of someone just happening to date two murderers?

      Which do you mean, the odds that if you arbitrarily choose one person out of the whole population they will just happen to have dated two murderers, or the odds of there *being* someone who just happened to date two murders? The odds of the former are approximately zero, but the odds of the latter are rather a lot higher.

      --
      Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
    8. Re:Wow, what are the odds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It doesn't sound like Reiser and Sturgeon shared a personality type, even if they're both guilty of murder.

    9. Re:Wow, what are the odds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And we all know that murderers have a particular personality type... Don't ask what it is, the Department of Future Corrections is working on an applicable analogy.

    10. Re:Wow, what are the odds? by parme · · Score: 1

      Great post. That's the funniest thing I've read in a while.

    11. Re:Wow, what are the odds? by mythz · · Score: 1

      Hilarious, thanks!

  35. Unless he took by warrax_666 · · Score: 1

    a dislike to Hans Reiser...

    --
    HAND.
  36. For those of us who don't keep track... by TravisW · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...the names of every project lead/author of every Linux project, from the Wikipedia article:

    "Hans Thomas Reiser (born December 1963) is an American computer programmer famous for his contributions to the free software community in the field of file systems. In particular he is deeply involved in the Linux kernel development with his widespread ReiserFS journaling file system and its successor Reiser4. In 1997 Reiser founded and has since headed Namesys Inc., a software company specialized in operating systems and in developing and providing support for his file systems. He is currently residing in Oakland, California. Since October 10, 2006, he is charged with the murder of his missing estranged wife, Nina Reiser, and is currently being held on remand."

    Seriously, it should be no real burden for submitters or even editors to add a one-phrase or -sentence bio for players not all of us may be familiar with, so that Linux laypeople here (myself included) know why this would even be construed as "news for nerds" at all.

    1. Re:For those of us who don't keep track... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why are you reading slashdot if you dont know who hans reiser is? Please explain.

    2. Re:For those of us who don't keep track... by mschuyler · · Score: 1

      Let's see. Right now there are 20 stories on /. firstpage. One, arguably, is about a piece of software that is related to Linux and one on a person resigning from Novell, aruably related to Linux, kind of. There are four stories on Windows. Most of /. has nothing to do with Linux or the people involved. There is no particular reason to suppose a knowledge of Reiser is a prerequisite for reading /.

      --
      How about a moderation of -1 pedantic.
    3. Re:For those of us who don't keep track... by Dystopian+Rebel · · Score: 4, Funny

      Don't worry about the facts. Hollywood will pick this story up and turn into "Entertainment".

      "Nicholas Cage in... HellReiser!"

      --
      Rich And Stupid is not so bad as Working For Rich And Stupid.
    4. Re:For those of us who don't keep track... by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      But this isn't the first article about Hans Reiser (or ReiserFS). If you've been reading Slashdot for any reasonable length of time, then chances are you should have run across at least one of the previous ones and thus know about it.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    5. Re:For those of us who don't keep track... by mschuyler · · Score: 1

      I acknowledge that point, but the AC asked the poster WHY he was on /. IF he didn't know who Reiser was. He didn't say, "If you have been on /. you SHOULD know." which I (and you) would agree with. IMO, critical difference.

      --
      How about a moderation of -1 pedantic.
  37. Death Yogi by delire · · Score: 5, Interesting

    By confessing to something really horrible you aquire a curious kind of trust in people: if he says that he didn't kill Nina then who would doubt him now that he so flippantly admitted to the killing of 8 others?

    This of course can be a strategy in itself, it's a card he's earnt by confessing and can play against Reiser, someone he clearly wants to see lose everything (re 2004 case for attempted seizure of Reiser's business, Namesys Inc.).

    1. Re:Death Yogi by justinlee37 · · Score: 1

      But he wasn't even a suspect before this. The spotlight was only on Reiser.

      Now the reasonable doubt card becomes a much more powerful tool for the prosecution.

      Perhaps the killer didn't accurately predict how his confession would affect the case -- your suggestion seems plausible at a glance, but what you don't account for is that the jury will think exactly what you've thought as well; that that would be an excellent ploy to frame Reiser. That will only enhance their doubt. Also, the fact that the ex-lover killed 8 people will make him come across as a sociopath to the jury ... further arousing their suspicions of his motives/secrets.

      I don't see how this is anything but good for Reiser.

  38. Unlikely conincidence.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There aren't many people actually capable of comitting a murder, so the fact that Nina Reiser's ex-lover is a self-confessed serial killer strikes me as a far too remarkable coincidence. And given Hans Reisers and Sean Sturgeon's relationship to one another it isn't all that far fetched Sturgeon would have reason to want to ruin Reiser. Hans isn't om the clear yet, he still might have killed her or perhaps done it with Sturgeon help but the smart money would be on that Reiser is innocent and that Sturgeon framed him.

    This whole thing is very tragic, but it's also turning into an interesting case.

    1. Re:Unlikely conincidence.. by ScrewMaster · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There aren't many people actually capable of comitting a murder, so the fact that Nina Reiser's ex-lover is a self-confessed serial killer strikes me as a far too remarkable coincidence.

      It depends upon the motivation, the stakes. I wouldn't kill someone for money. I wouldn't kill them for revenge. I wouldn't kill them because they angered me. On the other hand, say you tried to kill my fiancee: I'd murder you in a heartbeat without batting an eye. Now, even if I escaped official punishment I would pay a high price for that act. Most of us would, but we're all capable of murder, at some level. We have to be, because sometimes ... it's the right thing to do. There a lot of people in the United States that don't understand that anymore, don't accept that human life is valuable but not infinitely so, and that some are worth more than others. We may all have been created equal, but sadly not all end up that way.

      You're right in that by far the majority of us won't kill for trivial reasons, although one has to wonder how much of that reluctance is due to the sanctions imposed by society against such behavior, or some intrinsic aversion to killing. Sociopathy, to varying degrees, is more common than one might want to believe, so maybe all that's keeping murder in check is the fear of consequences. I mean, all societies feel the need to impose severe punishment for murder, which leads me to believe that, at the core, we aren't quite as civilized as we think we are.

      Besides, O.J. Simpson killed two people in cold blood, and in spite of substantially more incriminating evidence, O.J. managed to get off scott free. O.J. had mountains of money to spend on his Dream Team though.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
    2. Re:Unlikely conincidence.. by dbcad7 · · Score: 1
      A little complicated to decipher, but I guess your saying you would kill to stop someone from killing. That sounds reasonable, depending upon the circumstances. If there was another way to stop them without killing them would probably be one of those circumstances.

      I have met a few people, that have said things like.. they would like to know what it felt like to kill someone, and I do beleive there are many people only stopped by "the consequeces". There are some real nuts in the world, most are reasonably harmless, but there are some scary people too. I really don't know if it's just my bad luck, me getting older, or what.. but it sure seems like there are A LOT more mentaly ill people that I meet these days. It seems to have gradually increased in the las 10-15 years, in my opinion. Some of it is self induced (meth is evil shit), but not all of it's drugs.. I think there are other causes, but it would all be speculation to even try and guess what's going on.

      (I'll stop here before I am diagnosed with paranoia)

      --
      waiting for ad.doubleclick.net
    3. Re:Unlikely conincidence.. by localman · · Score: 1

      I agree with just about everything you're saying but...

      maybe all that's keeping murder in check is the fear of consequences

      I don't think that's the case at all. I think external consequences are important to stop a very small subset of people who are borderline, but the vast, vast majority of people don't kill anyone because they just don't want to: there is little motivation, and it would be a painful and haunting process for them with no lasting benfit. Then there are a tiny handful who will commit murder even with consequences.

      In WWII some amazing number of soldiers refused to fire on the enemy even when their own life was in danger. The military later used dehumanization techniques to break through that tendancy, and as a side effect increased some of the sad abuses we've seen our soldiers commit in Vietnam and Iraq.

      In the animal kingdom there are very rarely any consequences, but most species rarely kill their own. I don't think humans are that much worse than animals.

      Anyways, just trying to defend the existence of what might be called common decency :)

    4. Re:Unlikely conincidence.. by ScrewMaster · · Score: 1

      I don't think that's the case at all. I think external consequences are important to stop a very small subset of people who are borderline

      I hope you're right, but then again it only takes a small increase in the size of that borderline subset to cause significant damage. I think we're seeing that increase right now.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
    5. Re:Unlikely conincidence.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "(meth is evil shit)"

      As is aspartame, MSG, et al.

      "but not all of it's drugs"

      Above of which are toxic, arguably drugs, and widely (ab)used.

      "(I'll stop here before I am diagnosed with paranoia)"

      Another conspiracy for you. :)

    6. Re:Unlikely conincidence.. by Raenex · · Score: 1

      I have met a few people, that have said things like.. they would like to know what it felt like to kill someone, and I do beleive there are many people only stopped by "the consequeces". Maybe, but I think this is more natural curiousity than an actual willingness to go through with it. Have you never played Grand Theft Auto or whatever video game and killed civilians? Have you ever been to a violent movie that glorifies violence and enjoyed it? Come on, be honest.

      I really don't know if it's just my bad luck, me getting older, or what.. but it sure seems like there are A LOT more mentaly ill people that I meet these days. I'm very skeptical of any "things are getting worse" argument. That story is as old as civilization. As I get older, I catch myself thinking about "kids these days", or shake my head when I hear stories about people cutting live babies out of somebody. But look back at time, and you can always find sick and twisted events.

      As you get older life is more precious, and you dwell more on the fragility of it. When you are young you are full of bravado and more nonchalant about death. Anyways, that's my experience.
  39. Re:Reiser and Sturgeon had some serious conflicts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sounds like strong motive for either of them to frame the other.

  40. Re:WOW by MLease · · Score: 1

    Ok, but the headline did say what this was about. If you're not interested in the case, there's no reason you have to read it. I only read articles I'm interested in, that way, I don't waste time reading or complaining about the ones I'm not.

    -Mike

    --
    I'm sorry; I don't know what I was thinking!
  41. Maybe we should check comments by TheDarkener · · Score: 1

    in the ReiserFS code...could yield interesting stuff?

    Probably not...but worth a shot to see what comes up =p

    --
    It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
    1. Re:Maybe we should check comments by forgoil · · Score: 1

      <insert clever comment about SCO>

    2. Re:Maybe we should check comments by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 1

      The flaw in your theory is that you're assuming programmers put comments in their code.

      --
      "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
    3. Re:Maybe we should check comments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      // FIXME - block allocation algorithm may leak memory
      // TODO - Possible bottleneck - profile!
      // TODO - murder estranged wife and frame it on that fish-named guy

  42. Re:Ouch by krbvroc1 · · Score: 1

    If you can't even RTFA at least read the summary!

    "ex-lover of the missing wife of accused spouse killer Hans Reiser has confessed to killing eight people unrelated to the case."

    It is not Hans Reiser confessing to eight other killings, it is an EX LOVER of the wife who is confessing to eight other killings. Problem is that the summary is written so poorly, I was confused too. I thought they were saying the ex-lover accused Hans of killing eight people and he confessed. Ultimately after some flowcharting, I figured it out, but it's not at all clear from the summary.
  43. Why is a confessed serial-killer not in jail? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ok, so this guy Sturgeon has confessed to killing 8, possibly 9 people unrelated to the Reiser case. The police know this, the DA department knows this, and yet, the state is either taking Sturgeon at his word, or didn't have any evidence that linked him to Nina Reiser's disappearance and so basically closed their investigation and is proceeding to try Hans Reiser for the murder. WTF is going on?

    1. Re:Why is a confessed serial-killer not in jail? by jd · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Easy. They have a confession, but probably no hard evidence that anyone is actually dead or even missing, or he would most definitely be in jail. They're probably hoping for him to say or do something that can stand up in court - an unsupported statement isn't much to go on. If he can help in determining Hans' guilt or innocence, then so much the better, and he's more likely to cooperate in that if he's not behind bars.

      This isn't to say I agree with such tactics, but double jeopardy means that they have to get their cases right the first time. They can't produce a version 2. This is true of both Sturgeon and Reiser. The margin for error is zero, the risks are extreme. That limits the authorities to having to play it as cool as they can.

      This all assumes they're smart, of course. They could just be be stupid, too. The easy way to find out is to see if Sturgeon is arrested a month or two after Reiser is convicted or freed, and/or if he is able to kill again. If the authorities are smart, Sturgeon will be under 24-hour watch by people in a position to prevent him killing someone. If Sturgeon succeeds, or even gets close to succeeding, then the authorities are out of their tiny little minds. Alternatively, if Sturgeon is really delusional, those same authorities should have him in a secure ward the first moment they have enough evidence to prove it.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    2. Re:Why is a confessed serial-killer not in jail? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      well put

      Oddly enough there are people who confess to murders, (even without coercion, which we don't know if this occurred), and are innocent.

      God knows why. I find it hard to fathom some folks need for attention, but it's happened before and will happen again. (that whacko who confessed to killing JonBenet Ramsey a year or so ago is a case in point)

      However, IF Sturgeon's confession is taken as remotely credible, it does seem to me that it will severely harm the case against Reiser.

    3. Re:Why is a confessed serial-killer not in jail? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "God knows why."

      I've seen it in detectives and such. A mother protecting her son. Makes sense.

    4. Re:Why is a confessed serial-killer not in jail? by MikeB90 · · Score: 1

      Ok, ok, that's a rational one, and i guess there are other examples. Now explain the RATIONAL reason for the fake jobbenet ramsey confession. Wanting some publicity at the cost of incarceration and/or execution isn't rational.

    5. Re:Why is a confessed serial-killer not in jail? by jd · · Score: 1
      There are mental illnesses of this kind. There was a very odd case in Victorian Britain of a politician confessing to the Prime Minister the murder of a colleague - who, incidentally, was alive and well in the room and right next to the confessor at the time. The Jon Bennet Ramsey confession was likely of the same sort, although as the guy was freed and not placed in a mental hospital, we will never know for sure.

      There are also fear-induced forms of false confession, not coerced by the police. Unshielded witnesses in mafia trials in Italy have an... interesting propensity to go crazy, claim they're God, or whatever. Even in cases where no actual threat even existed, I'd be willing to bet that stress and anxiety created enough pressure to destroy the person's ability to think rationally.

      At this point, I think the legal system needs to invest heavily in understanding the overlap between neurology and psychology, so that better testing is possible and the experts are less likely to merely repeat the views of whoever is paying them. It must be easier to identify the insane and easier to identify those who are a threat by being insane and those who are NOT because they're insane.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  44. Your prove my point by goombah99 · · Score: 0

    You can say the same thing for any major endeavor. What would Apple be without Steve Jobs? Microsoft without Bill Gates? HP without Carly Fiorina? Apple did go on without Jobs, and MS is going on without Gates at the helm (remember he stepped down to "software architect". And HP is getting along fine without Carly. So apparently commercial software is not a continuity risk to mission critical bussiness users.
    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    1. Re:Your prove my point by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      Apple did go on without Jobs...

      ...barely. I doubt it would have lasted to this point if he hadn't come back.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  45. And now for something completely ... serious by Opportunist · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Ok, but to get this discussion onto something more sensible and away from "kill -9" jokes, what does this mean? Will Reiser be released? I mean, even a blind person without a dog can sense that there's more than just "reasonable doubt" that he's the culprit when a serial murderer is involved.

    The hit the ReiserFS took from this is already quite noticable. Yes, it's OSS, so anyone could pick it up. Did you ever LOOK at that source? At the sheer amount of it? Who do you think can pick that up easily? Especially with ext3 getting more and more gadgets and support, and being for some already the superior system?

    Please no discussion 'bout ext3 and reiserFS. It's about as meaningful as discussions about emacs and vi.

    What matters about those 2 systems is simply that one has a maintainer (group) currently and one hasn't, or at the very least has lost a key developer due to this. Does it make sense to stick with reiserFS or should one start looking around for alternatives is the question. Actually, has been since the arrest of Reiser.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:And now for something completely ... serious by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      The hit the ReiserFS took from this is already quite noticable. Yes, it's OSS, so anyone could pick it up. Did you ever LOOK at that source? At the sheer amount of it? Who do you think can pick that up easily? Especially with ext3 getting more and more gadgets and support, and being for some already the superior system?

      You know, I don't understand why there's a problem anyway. I mean, even if Reiser is guilty, why would that stop him from just working on ReiserFS from jail? Murder isn't a computer crime, so it's not as if restriction from computers would be part of his punishment.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    2. Re:And now for something completely ... serious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who do you think can pick that up easily? Especially with ext3 getting more and more gadgets and support, and being for some already the superior system?

      The 3 full-time employed Namesys employees who have been working on it past months? Why not? In fact, ReiserFS4 is starting to become a candidate for inclusion in the Linux tree. See Kerneltrap for that info.

    3. Re:And now for something completely ... serious by Sloppy · · Score: 1

      Especially with ext3 getting more and more gadgets and support, and being for some already the superior system?

      I don't think there ever will be a "superior filesystem." No matter how you design a filesystem, there have always been tradeoffs. A set of tradeoffs that works awesomely well in one application can be lame in another.

      When I look at personal computer's /etc/fstab, I see ext3, reiserfs, xfs, and even tmpfs. (But no jfs, nyah nyah!) If there were a "superior filesystem" then I'd love to simplify things as well as trim down my kernel size and recompile time. But there isn't one, and I ain't holding my breath.

      --
      As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
  46. H i l a r i o u s by scwizard · · Score: 1

    Comment of the month :)

    --
    ~= scwizard =~
  47. Re:Reiser and Sturgeon had some serious conflicts by Jarjarthejedi · · Score: 1

    In which case you should tend to lean towards the proven crazy person rather than the other guy who has no proven insanity...course that's probably politically incorrect or something and so we have to come down on the other guy since he might have done something and just not revealed it!

    --
    There are two kinds of fool One says 'This is old therefore good' Another says 'This is new therefore better'- Dean Ing
  48. Moo by Chacham · · Score: 1

    Reiser Murder Case Gets Stranger

    Was the stranger one of the eight?

    1. Re:Moo by jd · · Score: 1

      Might be. The Stranger hasn't appeared in any Bill Baggs Videos for a while.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  49. Re:Reiser and Sturgeon had some serious conflicts by BoberFett · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If anything wouldn't it be more that Reiser would have a motive (jealousy) to frame the other guy?
    For eight murders?
  50. Re:Ouch by eMbry00s · · Score: 3, Funny

    the wife who is confessing to eight other killings
    What? But how is that even possible!?

    I'm going to bed.
  51. I do? by Rimbo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Apple did go on without Jobs," ...almost into bankruptcy, until they hired him again, and he turned the company into NeXT 2.0.

    "MS is going on without Gates at the helm..." ...into the latest, most expensive, least-desirable version of Windows yet, a product that makes ME look enchanting by comparison.

    "And HP is getting along fine without Carly." my point; WITH her, they were not getting along so well.

    1. Re:I do? by Darby · · Score: 5, Funny

      .into the latest, most expensive, least-desirable version of Windows yet, a product that makes ME look enchanting by comparison.

      Come on Dude, don't be so hard on yourself.

    2. Re:I do? by Rimbo · · Score: 1

      Hahahahaha -- okay, now THAT was funny. :)

    3. Re:I do? by logicnazi · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Actually they are still implementing much of Carly's plan. A lot of observers think she just wasn't given enough time for her changes to show progress.

      --

      If you liked this thought maybe you would find my blog nice too:

    4. Re:I do? by 51mon · · Score: 1

      Actually they are still implementing much of Carly's plan.

      On the upside Hans wrote down his vision for file systems, and reiserFS4 is just about there.

      The problem is Hans also managed to make a business out of writing file system handling code. Indeed I seem to remember when I discussed a file system semantics issue with him, he offered to do me a module that "does it right" for cold hard cash. I guess is isn't a huge market area, so you take chances where they come. But without him doing that part of the business it is likely to fall behind.

      Still I won't stop using reiserfs3 just yet.

    5. Re:I do? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "MS is going on without Gates at the helm..." ...into the latest, most expensive, least-desirable version of Windows yet, a product that makes ME look enchanting by comparison.


      uh, no. they did all that WITH bill gates at the helm.

      it will only get worse from here.
  52. Too confusing by hurfy · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think i will just wait for the Law and Order episode.

  53. Trial by Eddi3 · · Score: 1

    It's interesting that this news should come out only 3 days before his Trial is set to start back up.

  54. Re:WOW by Oswald · · Score: 1

    Ah, but you did get stuck reading and commenting on his complaint. And now, you might waste more time reading this reply (sorry about that). So there's still a good chance that Slashdot qualifies as a waste of time.

  55. No, of course not by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 1

    Otherwise, getting away with murder would be pretty easy. Just destroy the body. Imagine if someone could commit murder on camera and get away with it simply because they burned the body later on.

    Murder without a body is much harder to prove, but still doable. It is a circumstantial case, but those can be made. The prosecutors always prefer to have direct, physical evidence but that doesn't mean they won't go to trial without it.

    1. Re:No, of course not by fmobus · · Score: 1

      I agree with you, but the problem remains: How do you prove (objectively) someone is dead? I mean, you could always fake a murder scene on camera (Hollywood comes to mind).

    2. Re:No, of course not by notamisfit · · Score: 1

      Usually in a bodyless murder case, the prosecution and jury have to take it upon themselves to decide whether a person would have left of their own volition. If there are children involved, such as in this case, it is generally assumed their mother wouldn't have left them behind.

      --
      Jesus is coming -- look busy!
    3. Re:No, of course not by vidarh · · Score: 1
      However in this case the children were then subsequently sent to Russia, to her relatives. There was an ongoing custody battle and a nasty divorce. The defense is likely going to claim that it is possible she staged it to be able to get her children back to Russia where she can be reunited with them without any risk of Hans getting full or partial custody. That she just shortly before disappearing got a Russian passport for her second child is certainly going to be used.

      In this case, there is no indication the children were "left behind". And mothers flee relationships often enough (as do men, of course), with or without their children that any claim that her disappearance alone is proof she's dead are unlikely to fly.

  56. Gee now he is a murder in Oakland. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I live in Oakland, CA where Han Reiser lives and this such a tiny part of the murder scene here. Even with 8 murders that he claims to have committed I don't know which gang banger here in Oakland has killed more and still running around. With 33 murders as of May 4 and counting, Han Reiser is a minor figure in murders here. He lives in the hills where murders are rarer but they still occur and he make the headlines. Come down to flat lands of Oakland and we'll take about murders.
    So this white guy kills his wife and now claims he kill 8 more is not a big story here. I hear gun fire all the time like if it is Baghdad so murder by a white to wife is nothing.
    Maybe I'm just callused living here for 40 years and seeing stupidity that never ends.
    The only place maybe worst than Oakland in the San Francisco Bay Area is Richmond.

    1. Re:Gee now he is a murder in Oakland. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Congrats, buddy.
      You're the retard of the day.

    2. Re:Gee now he is a murder in Oakland. by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 1

      I feel more dumberer for having read that.

      --
      Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
    3. Re:Gee now he is a murder in Oakland. by MemoryDragon · · Score: 1

      Congrats you just confessed that your reading skills really suck...

  57. true, in fact by commodoresloat · · Score: 4, Funny

    it just confirms that reiserfs is truly a killer filesystem.

  58. Re:Hans Reiser has not confessed to killing anybod by Marton · · Score: 2, Insightful

    pHansReiser->pMissingWife->pExLover->Confess();

    Since you claim to be a C++ programmer, the above might help.

  59. Perhaps... by God+of+Lemmings · · Score: 1

    Someone might have considered writing that headline in such a manner
    as to not make Hans Reiser appear as a confessed serial killer...

    --
    Non sequitur: Your facts are uncoordinated.
  60. I'm not sure. by KKlaus · · Score: 1

    Clearly Newton's work is important enough to call for exemption, but I for one wouldn't read OJ's book (had it come to fruition) and that would have had nothing to do with what its literary quality was. I guess this case here would fall somewhere between the two, but I don't think its unreasonable for people to find using the product of a murderer distasteful, and then seeking to recreate a "clean" version if the amount of work involved is reasonable.

    --
    Relax I just want some peanuts.
    1. Re:I'm not sure. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I for one wouldn't read OJ's book
      I know what you mean. Whenever I think about how much of my money goes into Hans Reiser's pockets every time I install Linux... Damn, I feel guilty about creating the demand, being part of the market. And there Hans is, grinning evilly, collecting big money for every copy. I ought to pirate it, at least.
  61. Re:Ya prove my point by UncleTogie · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...And HP is getting along fine without Carly...
    I wouldn't hold Fiorina up as a shining example of leadership. She pretty much singlehandedly gave HP the biggest case of corporate indigestion since AOHell/Time-Warner with Compaq, drove off a good share of the company talent pool with drama queen theatrics, and was finally thrown out of office by the board of directors...

    Not something I'd care to be known for...
    --
    Don't tell me to get a life. I'm a gamer; I have LOTS of lives!
  62. Re:Hans Reiser has not confessed to killing anybod by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There person who replied on Slashdot once to
    Omnifarious likes to kick puppies.

  63. So .... by taniwha · · Score: 4, Funny

    you're going to OJ for your next FS?

    1. Re:So .... by Mr2cents · · Score: 4, Funny

      OJFS sucks. I constantly encounter error messages like "I don't say I saved your file, but if I stored it, it would be called 'readme.txt'".

      --
      "It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
    2. Re:So .... by fyngyrz · · Score: 1

      If the text don't fit, you must delete it!

      --
      I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
    3. Re:So .... by GooberToo · · Score: 1

      On my system, OJFS doesn't work right. Everytime I attempt to locate a file the FS starts running all over my hard drive trying to find the REAL file despite it obviously being OJFS. It also seems to create files on golf.

    4. Re:So .... by hey! · · Score: 4, Funny

      But it implements the Johnny Cochrane cache management scheme: if it doesn't fit you must commit.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    5. Re:So .... by renegadesx · · Score: 2, Funny

      So thats why all my hardlinks point to a JPEG of cewbacca!!

      --
      Make SELinux enforcing again!
  64. reiserfs is proof by straponego · · Score: 1
    No, you're right, as far as that goes. But anybody who says performance is more important that reliability in a general purpose filesystem is at *least* a sociopath. I found Reiser saying that when I was looking for fixes to a bug in reiserfs that made it impossible to delete files.

    There are plenty of filesystems for Linux that do include reliability as a priority, is all I'm saying.

    1. Re:reiserfs is proof by Ant+P. · · Score: 1

      But then again, you could say the same about relational databases... and /. runs on MySQL. Not that that has anything to do with anything.

    2. Re:reiserfs is proof by dbIII · · Score: 1
      It really depends on what sort of reliability you are talking about, not being able to delete shouldn't be put in the same catagory as something that can destroy data. That said from what I have read and seen of this I wouldn't use it in a production environment yet - which is no reflection on his abilities just the immaturity of the project.

      Perhaps it's like emacs from years ago - remove the lead developer (who was NOT Mr Stallman when that happened, he didn't have time or really care, he just wanted the developer gone for adding X Windows support) and the project stalls for months because there isn't anyone else capable of keeping it going.

    3. Re:reiserfs is proof by straponego · · Score: 1
      Sorry, I should have been more specific. The context of his quote WAS about things that could destroy data. And indeed, I had that type of problem with reiserfs as well. And you're right, losing the lead developer isn't going to help. Even SuSE has switched from reiserfs now. That's a big relief for me.

      On the other hand, this has nothing to do with whether he murdered somebody. And honestly, I don't care about that. It doesn't affect me; it's just another bizarre California murder case. Murders happen everywhere, but in California they seem to be optimized for weirdness.

    4. Re:reiserfs is proof by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      anybody who says performance is more important that reliability in a general purpose filesystem is at *least* a sociopath.

      I guess that depends on what sort of reliability you are talking about. For example, there is a clear tradeoff between the two if you are considering adding error correcting codes (ECC). ECC could certainly improve the reliability of the file system since it would allow you to recover damaged blocks on disk. However, it would incur a performance (and storage) penalty that may well not be worth it.

    5. Re:reiserfs is proof by Sloppy · · Score: 1

      But anybody who says performance is more important that reliability in a general purpose filesystem is at *least* a sociopath.

      It kind of depends on what you're doing with the filesystem. Is the author of tmpfs a sociopath too? How about the people who implemented RAID0?

      ResierFS is the best tool for some jobs. And I'm not just talking about certain mountpoints; sometimes that means entire installations. If you don't do backups and don't want to put your /home on reiserfs, I don't blame you for choosing something else. But sheesh, how do you know what everyone needs in a general-purpose filesystem? Sometimes performance is more important than reliability, and maybe the point of general-purpose filesystems is that there are so many purposes out there. :-)

      --
      As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
  65. Still alive? by Skinkie · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Quote from wikipedia:
    It was also revealed that Nina Reiser obtained Russian citizenship for her daughter 2 years before and surreptitiously obtained Russian citizenship for her son two months before she disappeared.

    Now how likely would it be that she is somewhere is big Russia :)

    --
    Support Eachother, Copy Dutch Property!
    1. Re:Still alive? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was also revealed that Nina Reiser obtained Russian citizenship for her daughter 2 years before and surreptitiously obtained Russian citizenship for her son two months before she disappeared.

      Now how likely would it be that she is somewhere is big Russia :) Quickly, someone come up with a "In Soviet Russia" joke!
    2. Re:Still alive? by yoprst · · Score: 1

      A citizenship for her son means a risk of ending in some places like Chechnya (for him). I'd rather be in Iraq that there. She must be in some seriouse trouble to do that. Or just light-headed.

    3. Re:Still alive? by Cyberax · · Score: 1

      No, he can't be conscripted if he has a double citizenship.

    4. Re:Still alive? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > I'd rather be in Iraq that there.

      That's crazy. Bush is having hundreds of people killed every day in Iraq. Just read a paper you illiterate moron to read about all of the people he has murdered every single day. There are only about 1.1 million people here in Chechnya so you read about any sort of small problem because it is a small country. Only around 15,000 civilians were killed in the Second Chechen War. There have been single days where Bush has killed more people than that in Iraq. You are wrong.

    5. Re:Still alive? by yoprst · · Score: 1

      I'm neither Iraqi nor Chechen, so I'm speaking about being soldier in either Iraq or Chechnya. The later is worse in so many ways you don't want to know, and even 15 Bushes couldn't have helped that. As for civilians - the 15k number was pulled out of someone's ass, just like 1.1m by the way.

    6. Re:Still alive? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In Soviet Russia, wife disappears you!

    7. Re:Still alive? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So are the children now in big Russia also? No? Strange.

    8. Re:Still alive? by dunkelfalke · · Score: 1

      not if he manages to successfully pursue higher education or to bribe someone from voenkomat. also, i don't know, how old her son is, but i suppose that chances are that the war in chechnya will be long over until the conscription age, one way or another.

      --
      Conservatism: The fear that somewhere, somehow, someone you think is your inferior is being treated as your equal.
    9. Re:Still alive? by Skinkie · · Score: 1

      Yes they are. That is why there is a case now to bring his son back to the USA to give his testimony. His sons grandmother took them to Russia. I'm looking if it is possible to start a media campaign in Russia on http://www.ninareiser.com/

      --
      Support Eachother, Copy Dutch Property!
    10. Re:Still alive? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why lie about the population? What do you Bush worshipers hope to gain by telling such lies? According to our last census in 2002, the population was 1,103,686.

      You Bush people are sick. You kill people just because they're not white to get off. You no longer have sex or procreate (just look at how the white population in the US and Europe is dropping!). You just murder for your sexual pleasure.

      PS: The catchpa here as paranoia. That is a perfect word to use to describe the Bush killers.

    11. Re:Still alive? by yoprst · · Score: 1

      Why lie about population? Chechen government lives off(read: steals) finanical aid from federal budget, which is directly proportional to the number of inhabitants of Chechnya. They'd happily say that there are 100M chechens just to get more money, but that would mean that their numbers are not to be trusted, so the federal goverment will decide how much money to give. They just had to settle on the biggest plausible number. The real number is estimated somewhere around 700k.

    12. Re:Still alive? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, he can't be conscripted if he has a double citizenship. Unfortunately, Russia does not recognize double citizenship.

      This means that her son will be treated like a normal Russian citizen.
    13. Re:Still alive? by Cyberax · · Score: 1

      Russia recognizes double citizenship (I have double citizenship and I live in Russia). See here for example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_citizenship

  66. Benifit of doubt by locus_standi · · Score: 1

    Judging from this new revealation and lack of evidence of death, I believe Reiser should be given a benifit of doubt. While sparing the guilty could be a crime, punishing the innocent is an even greater crime, IMO.

  67. Re:Hans Reiser has not confessed to killing anybod by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What is that, Hungarian Syntax? 1997 called, they want their coding conventions back.

  68. Too late... by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 3, Funny

    Wow, how delightfully shallow! If we found out that Newton murdered someone we should all drop newtonian physics!

    We already have dropped Newtonian physics. It's Einstein and Schroedinger we have to worry about now...although rumour has it that Schroedinger may have killed his cat.

    1. Re:Too late... by jamesh · · Score: 1

      rumour has it that Schroedinger may have killed his cat.

      Where's the evidence? Did anyone actually observe him doing it? Unless someone (other than the cat or Schroedinger I assume) actually observed the action then we have to assume that the cat is both alive and dead, and as such Schroedinger is simultaneously both guilty and not guilty...
    2. Re:Too late... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They should call in Dirk Gently to investigate..

  69. WTF is wrong with you people? by melted · · Score: 2

    All these jokes about Hans... I don't know, have you given any thought that Hans might be NOT GUILTY? Is this how you treat prominent (and talented) hackers - with presumption of guilt instead of innocence? If he's released, why would he ever write any code for people who laugh about the possibility of him riding the lightning (or whatever they do to kill people in that state)?

    Seriously, jokes about Hans are disgusting. Please show some dignity and respect.

    1. Re:WTF is wrong with you people? by HarryCaul · · Score: 0, Flamebait


      Did you miss the "confessed to killing 8 people" part?

    2. Re:WTF is wrong with you people? by locus_standi · · Score: 1

      I agree with you. I cannot believe how the frickn members of "community" has, for the most part, washed their hands off Hans Reiser, forgetting his contributions to open source. He wrote an entire filesystem, a very good one, and made it opensource. How many of us can claim that? Guilty must be punished but it appears from posts here (and elsewhere) that he has already been convicted. The least we can do is provide him moral support. Law can take its course but don't condemn him before that.

    3. Re:WTF is wrong with you people? by locus_standi · · Score: 1

      What are you talking about? It's not Hans Reiser who confessed to killing 8 people. Read again.

    4. Re:WTF is wrong with you people? by Bent+Mind · · Score: 1

      Is this how you treat prominent (and talented) hackers - with presumption of guilt instead of innocence? If he's released, why would he ever write any code for people who laugh...

      Given the number of comments above that are using the ReiserFS project as an example of why OSS is bad, I don't think the Slashdot community is solely comprised of people from the OSS community.

      As for my thoughts on the project (and comments against it), ReiserFS fits my needs and I will continue to use it. However, the project has been in conflict with the rest of the community since the beginning. I can't really imagine any business being so tightly tied to a file system that they suffer loses should it's support end. However, if said business exists, why would they pick a file system with a single developer that is at odds with the community? Of course, I know a number of businesses that tied themselves to FAT32. I still see a lot of restore utilities that format the drive with FAT32 because they can't handle NTFS.

      I do hope that Hans is proven innocent. I hope his wife turns up alive. Regardless of what happens, I hope that development of ReiserFS continues. It is a truly great file system.

      --
      Request a Linux Shockwave player here: http://www.macromedia.com/support/email/wishform/
  70. Time to give up computing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    So does this mean you're going to rip out all the ICs on your motherboard because the guy who co-invented the Semiconductor (Shockley) was a racist dick?

    1. Re:Time to give up computing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How does telling the truth constitute being racist? Dumb nigger.

  71. Well, as I recall by WindBourne · · Score: 1
    • He had a couple of books on murders and in them was how to hide the evidence.
    • His front seat from his car was missing, but I do not recall hearing that somebody said that he did have a seat in there normally.
    • In his usual way, he pissed off everyone connected with this.
    OTH, Sean was so nice and put up billboards looking for nina. In addition, he cooperated nicely with the cops. So, now, we have a sociopath who has been more than happy to cooperate with the cops including even offering to allow a lie detection. Considering that a lie detection machine counts on the person reacting negatively to lying and ok to telling the truth, I suspect that this guy could totally lie about anything and flat line.

    IOW, this is a TOTAL wash to guess who is telling the truth if any.
    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
  72. Re:Reiser and Sturgeon had some serious conflicts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not necessarily. There are lots of people who think it's cheating to sleep around when you're seperatede, but the day the divorce is finalized it's fine to sleep with other people.

  73. The wife did it! (was Re:...confusing writeup) by TimFreeman · · Score: 1

    Wired is running a story about how Sean Sturgeon, an ex-lover of Hans Reiser's missing wife, has confessed to having killed 8 people.
    Now a quick reading says "Wired is running a story about how ... Hans Reiser's missing wife ... has confessed to having killed 8 people."
  74. Re:wtf? by proverbialcow · · Score: 2, Funny

    From here on, Reiser is erased.

    Yeah, but he's still recoverable even though you improperly shut him down.

    --
    The only surefire protection against Microsoft infections is abstinence. - The Onion
  75. I thought at first glance by BallyHigh · · Score: 1

    that this story was about Paul Reiser. I could only assume his victim was comedy.

  76. Re:wtf? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I, for one, will NEVER use ReiserFS due to this.

    That is the least of his concerns right now.

    So, you've found him guilty already. Jury... pfffft... it just makes the process slower.

  77. The crater of Cius: a cautionary tale by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I think I will erect a sign here now before it happens:

    "The smoking crater you see before you is what remains of Cius' user account after an ill-advised venomous attack on a man who should be considered innocent until proven guilty."

    p.s. fuck you cowboyneal, your sloppy editing might be excusable on non-important matters but this is about some guys murder trial ok, have a bit more respect for the gravity of the situation, clean the cheetos residue off your fingers and do a proper job for once.

  78. Someone should send in by GammaKitsune · · Score: 1

    Phoenix Wright. He would solve the whole case in just three days, no matter how strange it ends up getting, or else whoever he's defending automatically gets executed.

    --
    Gamertag: WyleType
    1. Re:Someone should send in by DeepHurtn! · · Score: 1

      OBJECTION!!!

  79. Re:wtf? by azenpunk · · Score: 1

    at this time i would like to discuss with you the benefits of using reiserFS file system out of sheer spite for you and your idiocy.

  80. Fahrvergnügen by harmonica · · Score: 1

    I don't know where your "here" is. The Soviet Russia from your signature? But in Germany you won't get "very strange looks". It may not be a word everyone uses every day, but it is used. Run it through a search engine of your choice and you'll get a lot of German language pages containing it.

    1. Re:Fahrvergnügen by Opportunist · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Oh, I do believe that you Piefkes use that word. You also eat your Schnitzel with Tunke. Brrrr....:)

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  81. Re:Ouch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe someone forgot to securely erase the wife... it still amazes me how many people think pressing the "delete" key removes data forever.

  82. UnMurder Tool by MrSteveSD · · Score: 1

    Reiser is a smart guy. Couldn't he just write an unMurder tool anyway?

  83. Holy crap by Plutonite · · Score: 2, Funny

    I, for one, am amused. I was not familiar with the ex-lover before: EIGHT MURDERS? And he's not really sure about number nine, because y'know, it was just another murder and he doesn't pay much attention to these things?

    If Reiser really is the killer after this miracle, it will be the funniest murder ever(not that they're funny, but just saying). Bitch cheats on husband with a serial killer/psychopath. Leaves psycho but geek husband finds out anyway, geek husband reads TFM on homicide and kills wife before psycho gets to her, psycho infuriated to the degree of staunchly defending himself on this one murder (out of he doesn't know how many) in order to get back at husband for killing the woman first.

    1. Re:Holy crap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Out of the frying pan and into the fire?

  84. I agree by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "WTF is wrong with you people"

    That's exactly what I was saying to my self when reading the posts. If Hans is being put through this and he is not guilty that's not funny. And his wife being killed, if she was killed, isn't funny. At this point, given the information we have, there is plenty of room for doubt. Hans deserves better than that.

    Kyo

  85. Re:Hans Reiser has not confessed to killing anybod by asninn · · Score: 1

    Oh, come on, this is Slashdot - the tech tabloid. Headlines that are misleading if you only casually glance at them but not incorrect if you actually READ them pull in readers, so they're not going to get fixed.

    --
    butter the donkey
  86. You prove beyond a reasonable doubt by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 1

    Some people confuse the standard with beyond any doubt. That's not what you have to prove since there can ALWAYS be doubt. You just have to prove that there's no reasonable way to doubt it, and you can get a conviction that'll hold. The basis of it is you present a case that shows that the person had the means, motive and opportunity to commit the murder.

    It isn't perfect, and it isn't the kind of case they like to make, but it is done.

  87. Riser=SKFS by Nonillion · · Score: 0, Troll

    I guess we can all call the riser file system 'SkFS' (serial killing file system). I guess the next tine I reinstall I'll opt for ext3 for ethical reasons.

    --
    "I bow to no man" - Riddick
  88. *NEWS FLASH* HANS REISER is the VICTIM HERE! by JRHelgeson · · Score: 1

    This is the most poorly worded article and headline I have ever read. Nina Reiser boinked a psycho killer by the name of Sean Sturgeon who has confessed to 8 murders. Nina broke it off with him in January 2006, she disappeared in September. Hans Reiser has been charged with her disappearance.

    --
    Good security is based upon reality and common sense. Common sense is a function of having common knowledge.
    1. Re:*NEWS FLASH* HANS REISER is the VICTIM HERE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh yeah, case closed! Never mind the blood in Reiser's car, the missing passenger seat (and his inability to explain why he removed the seat and what he did with it), and the various books on murder investigation that he acquired before his wife's disappearance...

      Obviously the real killer is this 'death yoga' guy. Because even though he sounds like his sanity is marginal at best, a crazy person would never lie about a thing like murder. And when someone out of the blue suddenly makes grandiose confessions to committing a string of hitherto unknown murders, you know they've got to be telling the truth.

  89. RTFA by ctid · · Score: 1

    Reiser didn't confess to killing eight people. His wife's ex-lover confessed to killing eight people.

    --
    Reality is defined by the maddest person in the room
  90. WTF is wrong with you people? Nothing. by Shadowlore · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Humor is actually one of the most common responses to tragedies and horrible situations in which you are not personally invovled in - and often when you are. It's a defense mechanism. It is not common to see/hear humor in eulogies. I even used a "joke" regarding my grandfather in his eulogy - and everyone there laughed alongside me.

    Laughter is good even in cases like this (no pun intended) - it helps us to cope and to remember that life is full of more than misery and death. Now if only the cable news networks would ealize this.

    --
    My Suburban burns less gasoline than your Prius.
  91. I hope Newton was a murderer! by bussdriver · · Score: 3, Funny


    I'm so sick of gravity.

    Do we really need to know the rate of change? duh, its changin or its not.

  92. reasonable? by N3wsByt3 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "then seeking to recreate a "clean" version if the amount of work involved is reasonable."

    No, it isn't. In fact, it has nothing to do with reason at all, and you yourself indicated as much; it's about an emotional reaction based on a feeling of distastfulness about the action of a person and projecting that feeling to cover the (non-murderous and neutral) code he created.

    Logic or ratio has nothing to do with it.

    --
    --- "To pee or not to pee, that is the question." ---
  93. "...Confesses to Eight Killings." by rts008 · · Score: 1

    Eight total!?!

    Does this mean we're stuck with short file names again?!?

    Dammit! There's only so many file names possible using eight total!!!

    My pr0n collection is in danger!!!!

    --
    Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
  94. Next Headline: by justinlee37 · · Score: 1

    "Accused Spouse Killer Hans Reiser Has Confessed to Killing Eight People Unrelated to The Case! Read all about it!"

  95. about analogies.... by N3wsByt3 · · Score: 1

    Ermm...you DO realise all your analogies are bogus and unvalid, right? Since I think no-one is that daft, I think it's done deliberatly, but I'll spell it out anyway:

    1)In all your examples, the actions that were taken by the 'culprits' had an effect on, and were relevant to, the unethical behaviour. It is ridiculous to take irrelevant matters into consideration when adressing unethical behaviour of a company or country. For instance, say in south-Africa, during the apartheid, the electricity-network worked perfectly. Is it reasonable to ask for the removal of that network because it was created by a south-african government who segregated blacks and whites? Can you not support a good working electricity-net without supporting apartheid? That sounds like a... black and white mentality.

    2)I doubt the code Reiser wrote has any relevance to his (suspected) murder, and the continuing support of it (or not) will not change anything in that regard. Code is neutral. It doesn't have any ethical implications on itself, and it doesn't have any value in deterring Reiser from (not) commiting murder, and that would have been true even before he murdered his wife (if he has).

    3)If works - nomatter what intrinsic value it may have - of people are disregarded because of the actions of their creators - even when it's irrelevant to their behaviour anymore, then there is no end in sight. Plato and a whole plethoria of ancient greek and roman writers (and probably even Leonardo da Vinci and Shakespeare) did it with -18 year-old boys; should we all throw away their work and remove it completely, and all references made to those works? (Or shouldn't we have at least done so when homosexuality was deemed illegal - which was the case even hardly 60 years ago?) Should we throw away all works of people who are responsible for killing people (even mass murder)? Then there goes Karl Marx and Mein Kampf and hundreds of other books. One can only hope Newton or Darwin or Einstein never turn up to have done something ethically repulsive... And what about countries who commited crimes, say, in Iraq? Am I or you supporting their behaviour by drinking Coke? Can you even find a country which didn't do something wrong in their history to spend your tourist-money in? When consequently applied, and the relevance to the actions do not matter, you can't do squad anymore, not even use the internet...which you aparently do.

    Your biggest mistake in all this (and people thinking like you) is this: you think because you are using something that is made by people who've done something wrong (which varies in time anyway), that you are supportive of their wrongful actions. This, however, is not true, and is based on irrational knee-jerk feelings, not on rational thoughts and logical consistency.

    --
    --- "To pee or not to pee, that is the question." ---
  96. movie by thegoldenear · · Score: 1

    Some day, this will be a movie, featuring us discussing this.

  97. Maybe it was bollocks, but consider this... by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

    I assume that the parent was modded "funny" as a piss-take. Maybe it was meant that way, maybe it's conspiratorial ramblings, but the OP's scepticism is not entirely baseless if this British case is anything to go by. (More here and here). For those willing to dismiss analysis of that case as fringe ramblings, note that it was reported across the world and the subject of several documentaries.

    --
    "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
  98. Something off-topic by Poromenos1 · · Score: 1

    Has anyone else noticed that the way Slashdot links replies is misleading? It makes you think that my parent is replying to my great-grandparent, while it's actually my grandparent, which is not displayed anywhere. Many replies don't make sense this way. Is this a bug?

    --
    Send email from the afterlife! Write your e-will at Dead Man's Switch.
    1. Re:Something off-topic by 51mon · · Score: 1

      Many replies don't make sense this way. Is this a bug?

      How do you think the discussions carry on for so long, and get so tedious people click on the adverts in preference?

      "Accidental feature" - LW

    2. Re:Something off-topic by Raenex · · Score: 1

      Is this a bug? No, it's the moderation system. You don't see the parent post, but see the grandparent post, because the grandparent was moderated up. If you browse at a lower moderation level, you will see the parent post.

      You are right, this can get confusing at times, but you learn to click on the "Parent" link when necessary. An indicator that there are unseen posts inbetween would be a nice feature.
    3. Re:Something off-topic by Poromenos1 · · Score: 1

      I think that the "there are N posts beneath your threshold" is misplaced, it should be between the parent and the grandchild, indicating that there is one post at that level.

      --
      Send email from the afterlife! Write your e-will at Dead Man's Switch.
  99. I wouldn't be so sure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Actually the default DOD response to cases like that is to throw more money at it, not to kill the guy's wife and set up an elaborate frame-job."

    Ah, I wouldn't be so sure.

    If the DOJ can steal software from a small software company, why not the DOD?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inslaw

  100. O rly? by EveryNickIsTaken · · Score: 1

    While Reiser will still stand trial for the murder, this development will undoubtedly complicate things. Thank you, Captain Obvious.
  101. How to Write a File System by znx · · Score: 1

    First, buy knife/gun/assorted weaponary..

    It all goes downhill from there ...

    --
    BOO
  102. Slow down there by p3d0 · · Score: 1

    It's thinking like that that makes certain evidence inadmissible. People tend to think crimes are committed by "bad people", so if there's a "bad person" in the vicinity of a crime, they must be guilty.

    I'm not saying Reiser did it, and I'm not saying he didn't. I'm just saying "what are the odds" isn't much of an argument. For all you know, Reiser said to himself "hey I can get away with this because they'll blame it on her mass-murdering lover". Let's let the justice system do its job.

    --
    Patrick Doyle
    I mod down every jackass who puts his moderation policy in his sig. Oh, wait a sec....
  103. You degenerates get what you deserve. by glrotate · · Score: 0, Troll

    If you lie down with dogs...

    1. Re:You degenerates get what you deserve. by Bloke+down+the+pub · · Score: 1

      ... you're really kinky?

      --
      It's true I tell you, feller at work's next door neighbour read it in the paper.
  104. Re:Ouch by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

    it is an EX LOVER of the wife who is confessing to eight other killings.
    She isn't confessing to anything, she's still missing.
    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  105. Free Hans Reiser by Shardz · · Score: 1

    I'm starting the "Free Hans Reiser" movement.. I'll put up a page this week. email at shardz4217@gmail.com I'd rather have a skilled coder who killed his wife writing my FS instead of anyone else. Besides, I don't plan on being his wife.

    1. Re:Free Hans Reiser by Bloke+down+the+pub · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm starting the "Free Hans Reiser" movement.
      Is that free like speech, or free like beer?
      --
      It's true I tell you, feller at work's next door neighbour read it in the paper.
    2. Re:Free Hans Reiser by Shardz · · Score: 1

      Kinda like the "free kevin" movement. I want him out of jail (or whever they put him), and back out writing ReiserFS.

  106. broken logic by gr8dude · · Score: 1

    You know, I guess all of us are happy that you're almost a relative of someone who's a friend of Nina's.. But... uhm.. check this out:

    [you] - [gf] - [gf.sis] - [Nina]

    There are two nodes between you and Nina, both those nodes are females, and their primary source of information is Nina.

    Do you really expect to receive any kind of info that places Nina in a bad light? Marriages fail for different reasons, and it's not always the husband's fault.

    Let me help you with that: "Judging from the B.S. that _I was told_ was happening in that house this was not a happy marriage."

  107. Unfinished details unlike Hans by John+Jamieson · · Score: 1

    First off, as many say, Hans has pointed the finger at this guy since the beginning.

    Second, if you have followed Hans and his interviews, you would know that Nina's dissapearance (as reported) is very unlike Hans. He is a person obsessed with little details, having everything planned out and checking out all scenarios no matter how implausable. If he were to commit a murder while still mentally sound, there should be NO circumstactual evidence.

    He would not have bought the book AFTER murdering. He would not have left traces of blood (if he did murder, I think these are fabricated, as he would not have left them).

  108. Wow.... by Junta · · Score: 1

    God posts to slashdot, but didn't even register an account?

    --
    XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
  109. Reiser is PROBABLY a murderer, yet innocent now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And, of course, disregard the testimony of Reiser's son, who was yelled at by Hans Reiser to stay downstairs and under no circumstances come upstairs or to the kitchen, and after that never saw his mother again.
    Nor the fact that there had already been a restraining order on Hans Reiser for a 2004 assault against Nina Reiser.
    Or that he lied about having to drive his mother's car because his car battery was supposedly dead (it wasn't).
    Nor that he never ever called Nina Reiser's phone after she was supposed to have picked up the kids again (which strongly indicates that he knew she wouldn't).

    His having hosed down the driveway and the inside of the car, thrown away the front passenger seat, blood found in both a sleeping bag in the car and on a pillar at the house, and Reiser missing his "normal" activities between the time she was last seen until she was reported missing is all circumstantial evidence, but there's so darn much of it that I honestly can't see how he could be innocent.

    Oh, add to that that he all the time has refused to speak to the police, and has been adamant on having a speedy trial. While that's not damning in itself, I'd think that a truly innocent people would want the body to be found first and new evidence collected, instead on pushing on with as little evidence as possible when there's a very real chance he'll get convicted.

    The one thing I won't hold against him is purchasing books on murder investigations after he knew he would become a suspect. That, I think many people would do, no matter whether innocent or guilty, so I hope that's dismissed as irrelevant evidence. The rest, though? People have been convicted on far slimmer evidence.
    He's innocent until proven guilty. But I truly think he will be found guilty. If he did it, and when all venues of appeal have been exhausted and he has nothing left to lose except face, I just hope he'll disclose where the body is, for the sake of her family, who can't find closure until she's found.

  110. Re:Reiser and Sturgeon had some serious conflicts by Kristoph · · Score: 1

    ... to which Sturgeon then confessed ... ?!?

  111. What? Newton killed someone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Perhaps Newton did kill someone... After all we have dropped Newtonian physics in favour of the guy with the short formula (Yes he did have a longer one too, but only when accellerating :-)

    P.S. I hope you and I wont be "socially interacting" any time soon :7)

  112. it didn't end there eight.three !! by freaker_TuC · · Score: 1


    xxxxxxxx.xxx - eight killings? he forgot the 3 others behind the dot ;)

    --
    --- I am known for the ones who want to find me on the net. Is that a privacy risk or a privilege? One might wonder..
  113. In Belgium, you don't. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Pandy case is a recent example. Scary.

  114. gag order? by sentientbrendan · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "On Monday, Superior Court Judge Don Clay issued a gag order barring attorneys on both sides from discussing Sturgeon."

    How can they gag that? That seems highly relevant to the case, considering that Sturgeon clearly had a grudge against Reiser.

    Most of the other posters seem to assume that the case will be dropped because of this, but if the jury is *never allowed to hear about it* how can the come to the pretty reasonable conclusion that the highly circumstantial evidence against Reiser doesn't amount to much when the victim had dated (and dumped) a known serial killer with a grudge against the defendant?

    If the prosecution knew about this, why'd they even bring it to trial?

  115. Will statistics prove his innocence? by catmistake · · Score: 1

    What are the chances that she would date a murderer... and then marry another one? Math dudes, help us out, lets see some clever combinations and permutations on this one... and don't forget the "a woman has a 1 in x chance of dating a murderer, but a 1 in y chance of marrying another after dating the first..."

  116. Re:it didn't end there eight.three !! by rts008 · · Score: 1

    Dammit! Forgot extensions...been a while since my DOS days.

    But that does ease the mind now that ya' mention it.

    Oh yeah,where was I?...Oh...aahh....Hey you kids, get off my lawn!!

    --
    Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
  117. Re:it didn't end there eight.three !! by freaker_TuC · · Score: 1


    In my time people used to cut their lawns using PUNCHCARDS when ninja's were trying to kill you with 20mb harddrives!

    --
    --- I am known for the ones who want to find me on the net. Is that a privacy risk or a privilege? One might wonder..