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Ondine B.

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 fish named dog (Vote blue!)

@veroandi rest in peace, Aaron Swartz ז״ל
And rest in war, Sam Altman.

Royce Williams

@veroandi Except I'm not sure that the latter is doing it for noble purposes.

Tariq

@veroandi

A key difference is why you do it.

If you do it to enrich yourself, cool.
Even cooler if you're already wealthy.

If you do it for socialist reasons, bad.
Even worse if you're poor because you can't call it philanthropy.

Cluster Fcku

@rzeta0 @veroandi oooooh.. this is deep: "worse if you're poor because you can't call it philanthropy"

Kinene

@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.

FediThing 🏳️‍🌈

@rzeta0 @veroandi

Worship of the rich is just perverse. It's especially weird to hear wealth-worshippers claiming to be Christian.

Eric the Cerise

@veroandi

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.

Cybarbie

@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.

Martin Wenisch

@veroandi It's truly sad. Just to not get a wrong impression there was one woman. It's Jessica Livingston, Paul Grahams wife.

Jons Mostovojs

@veroandi a more tragic last.fm vs spotify.

I find it insane how little people know about #AaronSwartz... 11 years. Heart still aches.

Daniel Marks

@veroandi “If you’re going to steal, steal big.” - Al Capone

Morgan Aldridge

@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.

F4GRX Sébastien

@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.

Morgan Aldridge

@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.

jeremiah

@veroandi I would much prefer to be living in a cycle of technology guided by Aaron's vision.

B O

@veroandi AFAIK Aaron did not commit suicide to avoid prison. He just could not live with being a convicted felon. It was about principles for him. The thing sama and a lot of techbros lack.

John Allsopp

@veroandi we took the road more travelled, And that has made all the difference

Wulfy

@veroandi

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.

OddOpinions5

@veroandi This is because Swartz was not actually doing good stuff
he was just an over privilidege white kid stealing stuff and he was warned and warned and warned and then arrested if he had been a poor black kid he would have been arrested the 1st time

F4GRX Sébastien

@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?

Phil Dennis-Jordan 😷

@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?

WeThePeopleRFucked

@veroandi

"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

Weyoun 6

@veroandi the difference between doing an action to better the world, and the same action to make money for already wealthy people. The state understands that difference well.

Bø!rge

@veroandi We are living in the wrong timeline! 😢

ꜱᴛᴇᴇʟ ʀᴀᴛ ɢᴀᴍᴇʀ

@veroandi

'A single theft is a tragedy; a million thefts is a statistic" - Joseph Altman

tom jennings

@veroandi

The difference is obvious. One intended to make a lot of money.

Carl

@veroandi You do know Altman got a long prison sentence, right? Yeah, he's celebrated by some, but so is Aaron Swartz.

jonathankoren

@veroandi the “crime” isn’t ignoring copyright. The “crime” was making it available for free for everyone.

Yogi Jaeger

@veroandi Such a symbolic picture: what double standards, and only utter scum floating to the top in this idiocracy we've created.

Bluebabbler

@veroandi Their story is emblematic of who our society rewards and who it punishes.

Is our society deranged?

G. Gibson

@veroandi I miss Aaron -- he was brilliant and brave

mms :runbsd: :emacs:

@veroandi one was doing for the people. The other does it for billionaires.

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