"He was the Internet's own boy---and the old world killed him."

Northside Storm · Jul 24, 2014

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/RvsxnOg0bJY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Aaron Swartz hanged himself in his apartment in Brooklyn on January 11th. He was twenty-six, but he had been well known as a computer programmer for many years. At the age of fourteen, he helped to develop the RSS software that enables the syndication of information over the Internet. At fifteen, he e-mailed one of the leading theorists of Internet law, Lawrence Lessig, and helped to write the code for Lessig’s Creative Commons, which, by writing alternatives to standard copyright licenses, allows people to share their work more freely. At nineteen, he was a developer of Reddit, one of the world’s most widely used social-networking news sites.

After Reddit was sold, to Condé Nast, he turned away from money-making start-ups and became a political activist. He spoke often at technology conferences and activist gatherings, and was admired in both those worlds. Since his death, he has become a hero to programmers who have not turned away from money but wish they had, and to those who believe that governments are crushing what was once the freedom of the Internet. When Anonymous hacked the State Department Web site on February 17th, they declared, “Aaron Swartz this is for you.”

Two years ago, he was indicted on multiple felony counts for downloading several million articles from the academic database JSTOR. It is not clear why he did this. He may have wanted to analyze the articles, or he may have intended to upload them onto the Web, so they could be accessed by anyone. It is clear that he did not anticipate the astonishing severity of the legal response. He did not consider his JSTOR action an act of civil disobedience for which he was prepared to sacrifice a portion of his life in prison. It was not a project that was particularly important to him. There had been a time when he cared deeply about copyright issues, but he had moved on.
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http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/03/11/requiem-for-a-dream

Just saw the full documentary (a must-watch) and was wondering about the story again, and its wider implications---

1) Where should the balance be struck between openness and security on the web?

2) Quoting Thoreau: "Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?"

3) Should public access to knowledge be a right? 79% of industry patent citations are public research---and the bulk of this research is sponsored by taxpayer money. Yet access to these documents must pass through private publishers.

curious about your thoughts. holla.

Cohete Rojo · Jul 28, 2014

I just took a dump. Is there any more knowledge you wish to have access to?

Rocket River · Jul 29, 2014

Northside Storm said: ↑

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/RvsxnOg0bJY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/03/11/requiem-for-a-dream

Just saw the full documentary (a must-watch) and was wondering about the story again, and its wider implications---

1) Where should the balance be struck between openness and security on the web?

2) Quoting Thoreau: "Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?"

3) Should public access to knowledge be a right? 79% of industry patent citations are public research---and the bulk of this research is sponsored by taxpayer money. Yet access to these documents must pass through private publishers.

curious about your thoughts. holla.
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Good Questions.
Access to knowledge will be restricted as long as money making is a priority

Rocket River

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"He was the Internet's own boy---and the old world killed him."

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