The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz (2014)

3 months ago: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=24678554" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=24678554</a><p>Related and current: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=25731566" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=25731566</a>

Submission statement:<p>The story of programming prodigy, information activist and co-founder of reddit Aaron Swartz, who took his own life at the age of 26.

Unfortunately the openess of data he fought for would possibly be criticized as enabling accused malactors.

Aaron is dead. Wanderers in this crazy world, we have lost a mentor, a wise elder. Hackers for right, we are one down, we have lost one of our own. Nurturers, carers, listeners, feeders, parents all, we have lost a child. Let us all weep.<p>-Sir Tim Berners-Lee, January 11, 2013

This is a must watch if you haven&#x27;t seen it. Thanks for adding it to the feed op.

I think Aaron would have been proud to see the rise of Sci-Hub today. I am disappointed that we haven&#x27;t learned from our mistakes, and that the powers that be are attacking Sci-Hub with as much, or even more, vigor and evil.

This is a must-watch. Made me furious and teary eyed the first time I&#x27;ve seen this and really understood his story.

recommended read: &quot;A Programmable Web&quot; <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.morganclaypool.com&#x2F;doi&#x2F;pdfplus&#x2F;10.2200&#x2F;S00481ED1V01Y201302WBE005" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.morganclaypool.com&#x2F;doi&#x2F;pdfplus&#x2F;10.2200&#x2F;S00481ED1...</a>

land of the free.

Just because you&#x27;re a prodigy doesn&#x27;t make you exempt from the rules that exist. On the scale of injustices, what he did is hardly an offense worthwhile by illegitimate means. He should&#x27;ve just gone about it the way the system is devised. Nobody likes it. But being noble doesn&#x27;t get you anywhere nowadays.

One thing that bothered me about this documentary were his interviews on Russia Today. He didn&#x27;t understand the extent to which he was being used by foreign adversaries to push a narrative favorable to them.<p>That doesn&#x27;t mean his arguments are wrong, but they&#x27;re in a quite misleading context.<p>If you go on RT you should do it like Yascha Mounk: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=cucX1IO78lM" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=cucX1IO78lM</a><p>In hindsight, wikileaks was more an arm of Russian propaganda than Aaron understood.<p>(Full comment from the other thread, just got buried: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=25734526" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=25734526</a>)<p>(meta: To those downvoting, the irony is if Aaron had lived to see today&#x27;s political insanity - I suspect he would have regretted those interviews too. He seemed pretty introspective and thoughtful about politics.)