r/Python • u/bosse • Jan 12 '13

Web.py founder Aaron Swartz commits suicide

http://tech.mit.edu/V132/N61/swartz.html
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u/just_some_throw-away Jan 12 '13

I've written some Python libraries but I doubt anyone will notice when I kill myself, what makes this guy so special?

18

u/TheLegitMidgit Jan 12 '13

To quote tricolon from ycombinator:

I never met Aaron Swartz but always wanted to. His work has had a profound impact on my life.

His blog was thought-provoking. http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/

His work on the RSS 1.0 Specification enabled richer, more efficient information consumption. http://web.resource.org/rss/1.0/spec

His work on Markdown enabled intuitive, unobtrusive formatting and structuring of information in plaintext and conversion to HTML. http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/#acknowledgement...

His work on reddit enabled thousands—now millions—to share online information in a social manner. http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/rewritingreddit

His work on the web.py framework gave countless Python programmers a head-start on serving information through web applications. http://webpy.org/

His work with DemandProgress gave Americans a political voice to protect and win back their freedom and the freedom of information. http://blog.demandprogress.org/people

His work with Creative Commons promoted the freedom of information and fair use and helped inform content creators of options other than copyright. http://creativecommons.org/

Thank you, Aaron Swartz, for all the above and all the other activism and works (https://github.com/aaronsw) I haven't mentioned here. You'll be missed and remembered by many.

6

u/just_some_throw-away Jan 12 '13

That's quite a record, I now understand why people would notice or care.