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Sam Altman side by side with Aaron Swartz. I can't stop thinking about it. One was prosecuted by the US for downloading copyrighted data from 1 source for noble purposes, and committed suicide to avoid prison. The other is widely celebrated for doing this on a much larger scale*. Edited: *(and not for noble purposes) 44 comments
  A key difference is why you do it. If you do it to enrich yourself, cool. If you do it for socialist reasons, bad.  @rzeta0 @veroandi I assume this is sarcasm. Donations (not tithes) from the poor are given from the heart. They, most of all, understand poverty. (For Christians: The widow's mite.) Philanthropy from the wealthy is used to abate guilt and/or for tax breaks. If they really cared, they would pay their workers a good salary first.  Worship of the rich is just perverse. It's especially weird to hear wealth-worshippers claiming to be Christian.  Funny. I can pick out Aaron, no problem. I have no clue which one is Sam. IDK if this is a good thing or a bad one, in the grand scheme of things.  @MolassesLover @veroandi Aaron was a genius. The rest are worshipped by bros as being smart when they say the dumbest shit all the time. Graham is the biggest offender. @veroandi It's truly sad. Just to not get a wrong impression there was one woman. It's Jessica Livingston, Paul Grahams wife.  @veroandi a more tragic last.fm vs spotify. I find it insane how little people know about #AaronSwartz... 11 years. Heart still aches.  @JarienSkywall I got it from here: https://davekarpf.substack.com/p/paul-graham-and-the-cult-of-the-founder but I don't know where they got it from  @veroandi @JonathanGerlach I seriously tear up every time I think of Aaron Swartz. A horrendously tragic loss of an intelligent and extremely kind person who was only looking to do good. I want to watch "The Internet's Own Boy" again, but I can't bring myself to do it. I do feel a bit of warmth when I use RSS of CC-licensing (and CC-licensed) works, but also sadness that use of the former -- especially my own! -- has dwindled so much.  @morgant @veroandi @JonathanGerlach It is extremely sad that I was on the internet since 2001 and had NO FUCKING CLUE about who he was. he would have changed my life if I had known. I hate myself so much for not realizing at that time. One of my deepest regrets. @f4grx @veroandi @JonathanGerlach Don't be sad about not knowing — and certainly don't hate yourself! — just thankful for now knowing how he moved us forward. There are so many amazing people in the world that we will never meet or even know about. Learning and sharing about them is the best we can do. I just wish Aaron's story — and life! — had continued diffently.    It not just enough to say "US prosecuted Aaron". The prosecutor made it her purpose in life to get his scalp. Ordinarily, there would not be a prosecution. @veroandi This is because Swartz was not actually doing good stuff @veroandi I wondered if that image existed, since Aaron founded Reddit and Altman directed it. I believe this was shot during the time at Conde Nast when Aaron was feeling extremely distressed about the corporate culture there? @f4grx @veroandi This picture was published by the VC firm Y Combinator back in the mid-00’s, it’s of all the participants in their first batch of investments. (Plus two of the partners/founders of the firm at the time, Jessica Livingston and her husband Paul Graham.) This was all long before Reddit was purchased by Conde Nast. Altman at the time was founder of Loopt. I don’t think he was ever involved in Reddit? "its a god damn sausage party" - the woman they brought in for a photo op I'm thinking Black dudes stayed away because they'd get shot doing this shit     @veroandi the “crime” isn’t ignoring copyright. The “crime” was making it available for free for everyone. @veroandi Such a symbolic picture: what double standards, and only utter scum floating to the top in this idiocracy we've created. @veroandi Their story is emblematic of who our society rewards and who it punishes. Is our society deranged?  @veroandi one was doing for the people. The other does it for billionaires. |
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@veroandi RIP AaronSw