A touching note from Zephyr Teachout:<p>"I miss Aaron Swartz. He died 5 years ago today. He was a friend and a rare, huge, soul, and oh did he ever believe in freedom and the possibilities of the future. Wish you were still on call for late night IM strategy sessions, or philosophy, dear friend. I think of you."
<a href="https://twitter.com/ZephyrTeachout/status/951538523076792320" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/ZephyrTeachout/status/951538523076792320</a><p>I also appreciate this thought from a fellow HN poster: "'They say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time.'
That was not even close to the ending of Aaron Swartz."
<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11719398" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11719398</a>
"Information is power. But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves. The world’s entire scientific and cultural heritage, published over centuries in books and journals, is increasingly being digitized and locked up by a handful of private corporations." - Aaron<p>I think about his quote quite a bit lately.
I wonder what he would have thought about modern facebook, google, and the extreme consolidation of american corporations.
I didn't know Aaron, I don't remember being that aware of him while he was alive, but I did see the SOPA campaign of course, even in the UK. One day I watched the 'Internets own boy' documentary and was profoundly moved. All of a sudden open source, access to information, freedom from surveillance etc really started to matter to me. In fact that is how I found HN!<p>When the snoopers charter came in to the UK it was Aarons story (and what I read afterwards) that made me recognise the danger in such legislation. I wrote to my MP for the first time.<p>Aaron in lots of ways changed my life in that way. Ben I really appreciate your post.
Hard to respond to this. Hard to believe it has already been five years.<p>Thank you for writing that, not a week goes by that I don't see your brothers hand in something I'm using or that I read about. The whole open access movement and what has been achieved in those five years would have made Aaron both very happy and would have probably had him bouncing off the walls because 'it goes so slow'.<p>Very few people appear to me to be all good but your brother was one of those. Cherish his memory and be proud, like any brother would be, and I'm pretty sure he'd be just as proud of you.
<i>Ortiz continued to pursue the case, comparing Swartz’s transgression to that of a common thief. The lead prosecutor on the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Heymann, compared Swartz to a rapist who had “revictimized” MIT by not taking a plea bargain, according to a later MIT investigation. Heymann was also bothered that Swartz launched a “wild Internet campaign” in his own defense. (He had not done so.)</i><p><a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/carmen-ortiz-us-attorney-marty-walsh-prosecution_us_577a7ddce4b09b4c43c0e29a" rel="nofollow">https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/carmen-ortiz-us-attorne...</a><p><i>Swartz’s attorney Elliot Peters accused Massachusetts assistant U.S. attorney Stephen Heymann of pursuing federal charges against Swartz to gain publicity.<p>Heymann was looking for “some juicy looking computer crime cases and Aaron’s case, sadly for Aaron, fit the bill,” Peters said. Heymann, Peters believes, thought the Swartz case “was going to receive press and he was going to be a tough guy and read his name in the newspaper.”<p>Heymann, the deputy chief of the criminal division in the Boston-based U.S. Attorney’s office, also headed the computer crimes task force there, a position Peters said “doesn’t carry much prestige and respect unless you have computer crimes cases.”</i><p><a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/14/aaron-swartz-stephen-heymann_n_2473278.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/14/aaron-swartz-steph...</a><p><i>MIT’s behavior throughout the case was reprehensible, and this report is quite frankly a whitewash.<p>Here are the facts: This report claims that MIT was “neutral” – but MIT’s lawyers gave prosecutors total access to witnesses and evidence, while refusing access to Aaron’s lawyers to the exact same witnesses and evidence. That’s not neutral. The fact is that all MIT had to do was say publicly, “We don’t want this prosecution to go forward” – and Steve Heymann and Carmen Ortiz would have had no case. We have an institution to contrast MIT with – JSTOR, who came out immediately and publicly against the prosecution. Aaron would be alive today if MIT had acted as JSTOR did. MIT had a moral imperative to do so.</i><p><a href="http://tarensk.tumblr.com/post/56881327662/mit-report-is-a-whitewash-my-statement-in" rel="nofollow">http://tarensk.tumblr.com/post/56881327662/mit-report-is-a-w...</a>
If you haven’t watched “The Internet’s Own Boy”, [1] I’d recommend that you do. If you think about freedom, privacy, surveillance, abuse of power and related things, this will make you both sad and angry. We cannot truly have a better world without fighting for these and keep the struggles alive, because the powerful ones are good at retaining their power and at finding ways to keep people’s memories brief.<p>I’m glad that Sci-Hub exists. Though I’m not in research as such, it’s a painful exercise to find relevant information that’s useful and goes into some detail. I struggle with getting full papers from PubMed sometimes.<p>[1]: <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Internet%27s_Own_Boy" rel="nofollow">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Internet%27s_Own_Boy</a>
I have nothing constructive to say except for that I was really touched by "The Internet's Own Boy". It made me feel related to something I did not experience.<p>I think memories about unnecessary sad events like Aaron's death help us think about the significance of more profound, thoughtful analysis of problems at hand, that have direct impact on human beings.
A very moving story. To pick up your life and start living again is not easy.<p>Importantly, to become relaxed and happy again without the feeling to have to become more and more productive or create legacy for ourselves or the ones we love is yet another even more difficult step.<p>There are very few self-help methods that do not have as Target to "improve yourself". Take your time and remember the good times of the past. These times are never wasted.
Ben, every point I've been lucky enough to witness you argue at Twitch has alway shone this Neutral Good seed behind it. Unjustified process, user-harmful acts, and any worsening of free speech cause you to interject, never to "wait and see" forever and never to disagree without speaking up.<p>I honestly have become better at this skill by being nearby when you exercise it. And I believe I have spread that to others in my life in turn. I absolutely would be a different person had our desks not happen to end up across from each other through three office shuffles. And I never met Aaron, but I believe by influencing those around you in this way you've done so much more to honor him than the two big ticket items you give yourself credit for.
Thanks for everything you've done since, and everything he was proud of you for before. Aaron Swartz was a rolemodel for me when I was really starting to understand the internet and the value it provided beyond chatting with friends and playing games.<p>When I heard what happened I was angry more than anything, and it reminded me to not take progress for granted.<p>I hesitate to bring this up because it'll probably sound more like criticism than a heads up, and I definitely mean it just as a heads up:<p>It was very jarring to get to the end of the post and have it followed up by "You should follow me on Twitter." I checked another post and it looks like it's just the footer on the blog, but without that knowledge it jumps out at you.
Don't let your loss or grief manifest itself as guilt, because you have nothing to feel guilty about. Feel the loss, but don't blame yourself, or the victim.<p>And don't feel like you have to live up to the image of someone else. Don't give yourself expectations on account of someone else. Set your own goals and expectations, from a place of self-compassion. And just like a good parent should never be hard on their child for failing to complete a project, neither should you be hard on yourself.<p>I'm sure none of that is helpful right now. But the next time you feel pressure or guilt rising up: Gently let it go. You don't owe anyone your peace of mind.
I didn't personally know Aaron but I've read a lot of his blog posts and I was extremely sad to hear about his passing.<p>His blog posts are filled with a lot of information, insights, and thoughts that I usually don't get from other people. Whenever I go back and read his posts, they sound like a friend of mine talking to me.
RIP. Glad to see at least Carmen Ortis [1] is out so she won't hurt anyone anymore with the long stretch of government arm she used as a overzealous prosecutor.<p>Fun fact: For a little while she wanted to run for Governor of Massachusetts (good grief!), but the past of butchered prosecution of Mr. Swartz hunted her and she changes her mind.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_Ortiz#Prosecution_of_Aaron_Swartz" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_Ortiz#Prosecution_of_Aa...</a>
I lived in Highland Park when he committed suicide and attended the same high school he did(NSCDS). NSCDS talked a lot about Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. They also talked a lot also about Gandhi and other activists. It is a day school so they have an alternative form of teaching. I feel comfort saying this influenced his decisions for later in his life.
I will always remember Aaron Swartz.
I was a student when he leaves. His story really shocked me and taught me what is free, taught me what should I do with my knowledge.
I didn't aware it has been five years since then. But now I gaze at the past five years, I'm glad that I'm on the right way which I expected five years ago.
I first read this not knowing it was Aaron Swartz. When I read the comments and found out it was instantly heart dropping. I found Aaron to have fought very tough battles for humanity. I tried to get commission on doing an art installation on a side of an old university building. There was 5 wall sections where I want to place 5 inspirational famous people in B&W portrait format.<p>The 5 people were:
Elon Musk
Neil deGrasse Tyson / Brian Cox (couldn't decide!)
Angelina Jolie
Malala Yousafzai
Aaron Schwartz<p>I made a proposal to my university (Dundee, Scotland), and really thought I had a chance since the building was derelict and that it was covered in shite graffiti. I was turned down because it was going to be torn down. People said I should have just done it, but I couldn't face the possibility of getting kicked out of uni because I graffitied the building.
I'd like to wonder what Aaron would be doing right now with Net Neutrality. He'd be at the forefront of all of these things against the Trump administration. He's the hero we need, that we deserve, but have tragically lost. RIP
To clarify for anybody who may not know, "Aaron" in this blog post is Aaron Swartz. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Swartz" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Swartz</a>
His crime was scraping a website. The accusers killed an innocent man for violating Terms of Service. Who's the real criminal here?<p><a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/01/ninth-circuit-doubles-down-violating-websites-terms-service-not-crime" rel="nofollow">https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/01/ninth-circuit-doubles-...</a>
For those unfamiliar with him, feature length documentary <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vz06QO3UkQ" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vz06QO3UkQ</a>