What if _why was the person who motivated you most for picking a career in programming? _why's persona is an inspiration to see programming and life in a different light for some people (myself included).
> I don't know what would be the appropriate way to worship such a person, maybe a little altar or something?
Whats with the snarky condescending remark?
Why does someone needs to be either dead or have world shattering contribution to humanity for others to appreciate their contribution or even existence?
I didn't even know this guy until recently, but I just went through some of his writing and (to me) it showed a person with creativity who put a lot of effort in his work and some people really appreciates that. And this small group of people who liked his work wants to put aside one day to celebrate his contribution. So they had an option between selecting a random day or a day that this person stopped his online persona.
Let them celebrate, you don't have to be a dick about it.
It's only snarky and condescending because you pull it out of context.
> Why does someone needs to be either dead or have world shattering contribution to humanity for others to appreciate their contribution or even existence?
There are 365 days in a year, and this particular person has at least in my opinion clearly indicated that he no longer wants to be part of the whole thing and would like it all to stop.
Continuing the _why saga appears to be in direct opposition of what the prime entity in this whole thing wants, so how could that be celebrating it?
How about hacking just for the fun and joy of it? Like the website proposes.
@jacquesm (replying here because it seems I've exceeded the reply limit)
How about hacking on something that really has no purpose other than just being fun. Like a game. It doesn't bring any material rewards, but just stands on itself as something fun to do with a computer. Something like, perhaps, a small c library for writing chiptune-style songs
in c or ruby. you know: the sounds of ataris, gameboys and the like. [1]
I'm not sure how to go about saying this without stepping on a whole pile of very long toes, but there is an element of cult worship in this that I find bordering on the unhealthy.
I'm already hacking for the fun and joy of it, if it wouldn't be fun and it wouldn't give me joy I'd be doing something else in stead.
There's a parallel in there somewhere that reminds me of Brian telling the crowd 'you are all individuals' and wanting for the crowd to go away. But instead they keep chasing him and want signs and worship him.
So people respecting someones work is related to cult worship to you? What about the millions of websites on the internet dedicated to some Hollywood actress or rapper? Are they also engaged in cult worship? At least _why gave some people some intellectual stimulation as opposed singing yet another overproduced silly song about how rich you are
If someone erases their total contribution to the web in response to a bunch of stalking and closes all doors and avenues through which you can reach him that counts as a very powerful signal to me that he would like the whole thing to go away.
I could be wrong in that, maybe that's not his intention but it certainly feels that way to me.
This is funny but perhaps a little strong. A better way to say it is: You don't have the power to uncreate the things you make, espcially if they are in the public domain. You can disclaim them -- which _why's creator has evidently done -- but you can't ask people to pretend they don't exist. Time doesn't work that way.
George effing Lucas may wish to pretend that the Star Wars Christmas Special never happened, and beg that the original prints of Star Wars -- the version that actually made all the money and the fans -- never be shown again, but we don't have to listen to him and we don't.
But George effing Lucas might take exception at you naming a day after him, it's his name after all.
This is not about naming a day for 'the poignant guide to ruby', it's about naming a day for the persona, and trying to leverage off the name of that persona, even after that persona (or rather the person behind it) has expressed his desire to be out of it in a way that left little to the imagination.
Any of this could be done just fine without attaching the '_why' moniker to it.
But that how would you refer to it? I'm not being snarky. If we're going to have a day recognizing how great it is that we invented these things that we could sit in, it's going to be hard not to use the word "chair."
Jacques, I really enjoy your writing, but you do realize you're talking about cult worship on HN… and you're not even talking about the cult worship of PG? :)
_why was unique. And he was a gentle, sensitive soul. And now, for all intents and purposes, he's gone. I didn't hassle him; you didn't hassle him; and yet because of the hassling, he left.
WhyDay is not about _why, it's about how people feel about _why. Those of us who didn't care what his real name is, only that he cared to share his humor and code with us.
FTR… I met _why at the first RailsConf, and I asked him to sign my t-shirt. He seemed completely flabbergasted that I'd want him to "ruin" it. I had to repeatedly confirm that I really, really wanted him to draw on it. He was so shy about it. After I talked him into signing it, he spent 10 minutes drawing one of his famous ducks on my back. It tickled like hell. I still wear the t-shirt.
I've heard the cult worship of PG trotted out here before and while I'm sure not everybody here is entirely objective I tend to see that in the light of those that are hopeful to get in to YC by being defensive of PG even though he's more than capable of defending himself. So I don't buy that.
And I'm also pretty sure that PG is more than capable of puncturing right through such nonsense and that anybody that thinks they can get in to his good book that way is going to find it either neutral or maybe even negative.
And it's not as though someone here will name a day for PG if he decides to stop being an investor, or shuts down HN, and I'd be surprised if someone did.
And PG is as much or more a mentor to a large number of people and in a more general way than this _why character, no matter how nice he may have been.
I detect a parallel to the kind of grieving that goes on when someone passes away, but in this case that grieving is misplaced. Nobody died. Some guy did a bunch of stuff, decided that he didn't like the amount and kind of attention that he received and took his toys back home, which was entirely within his rights to do.
Judging by the kind of comments here _why's followers appear to be mostly in the third stage at this point, though there are still a few of them that are still in the anger phase.
Now go and do your own stuff, amaze us all and try to show the world how to deal with that attention, both negative and positive in a better way than _why did.
I'm already amazing and showing the world blah blah blah. So what?
I'm not allowed to feel sentimental for somebody you judge as not strong enough to "live" (persona-wise)? Best remove the plank from your own eye, etc.
Comments
What if _why was the person who motivated you most for picking a career in programming? _why's persona is an inspiration to see programming and life in a different light for some people (myself included).
I wonder if this kind of ... "homage" is what made him vanish.
I don't think he ever counted on the amount and kind of following that he collected, never mind the stalkers.
http://mwhenry.com/blog/tag/_why/
I don't know what would be the appropriate way to worship such a person, maybe a little altar or something?
A blog entry on how he inspired you, how he changed your views on programming and life?
That would do it I think.
> I don't know what would be the appropriate way to worship such a person, maybe a little altar or something?
Whats with the snarky condescending remark?
Why does someone needs to be either dead or have world shattering contribution to humanity for others to appreciate their contribution or even existence?
I didn't even know this guy until recently, but I just went through some of his writing and (to me) it showed a person with creativity who put a lot of effort in his work and some people really appreciates that. And this small group of people who liked his work wants to put aside one day to celebrate his contribution. So they had an option between selecting a random day or a day that this person stopped his online persona.
Let them celebrate, you don't have to be a dick about it.
> Whats with the snarky condescending remark?
It's only snarky and condescending because you pull it out of context.
> Why does someone needs to be either dead or have world shattering contribution to humanity for others to appreciate their contribution or even existence?
There are 365 days in a year, and this particular person has at least in my opinion clearly indicated that he no longer wants to be part of the whole thing and would like it all to stop.
Continuing the _why saga appears to be in direct opposition of what the prime entity in this whole thing wants, so how could that be celebrating it?
How about hacking just for the fun and joy of it? Like the website proposes.
@jacquesm (replying here because it seems I've exceeded the reply limit)
How about hacking on something that really has no purpose other than just being fun. Like a game. It doesn't bring any material rewards, but just stands on itself as something fun to do with a computer. Something like, perhaps, a small c library for writing chiptune-style songs in c or ruby. you know: the sounds of ataris, gameboys and the like. [1]
[1] http://github.com/mental/bloopsaphone#readme
I'm not sure how to go about saying this without stepping on a whole pile of very long toes, but there is an element of cult worship in this that I find bordering on the unhealthy.
I'm already hacking for the fun and joy of it, if it wouldn't be fun and it wouldn't give me joy I'd be doing something else in stead.
There's a parallel in there somewhere that reminds me of Brian telling the crowd 'you are all individuals' and wanting for the crowd to go away. But instead they keep chasing him and want signs and worship him.
So people respecting someones work is related to cult worship to you? What about the millions of websites on the internet dedicated to some Hollywood actress or rapper? Are they also engaged in cult worship? At least _why gave some people some intellectual stimulation as opposed singing yet another overproduced silly song about how rich you are
If someone erases their total contribution to the web in response to a bunch of stalking and closes all doors and avenues through which you can reach him that counts as a very powerful signal to me that he would like the whole thing to go away.
I could be wrong in that, maybe that's not his intention but it certainly feels that way to me.
We punish him for disappearing the way he did by celebrating his impact and work.
This is funny but perhaps a little strong. A better way to say it is: You don't have the power to uncreate the things you make, espcially if they are in the public domain. You can disclaim them -- which _why's creator has evidently done -- but you can't ask people to pretend they don't exist. Time doesn't work that way.
George effing Lucas may wish to pretend that the Star Wars Christmas Special never happened, and beg that the original prints of Star Wars -- the version that actually made all the money and the fans -- never be shown again, but we don't have to listen to him and we don't.
But George effing Lucas might take exception at you naming a day after him, it's his name after all.
This is not about naming a day for 'the poignant guide to ruby', it's about naming a day for the persona, and trying to leverage off the name of that persona, even after that persona (or rather the person behind it) has expressed his desire to be out of it in a way that left little to the imagination.
Any of this could be done just fine without attaching the '_why' moniker to it.
But that how would you refer to it? I'm not being snarky. If we're going to have a day recognizing how great it is that we invented these things that we could sit in, it's going to be hard not to use the word "chair."
Invent something original, just like _why did, then build it up over time.
How do you know that is the reason he erased his presence on the internet? As far as I know that is pure speculation.
With great power comes great responsibility.
Jacques, I really enjoy your writing, but you do realize you're talking about cult worship on HN… and you're not even talking about the cult worship of PG? :)
_why was unique. And he was a gentle, sensitive soul. And now, for all intents and purposes, he's gone. I didn't hassle him; you didn't hassle him; and yet because of the hassling, he left.
WhyDay is not about _why, it's about how people feel about _why. Those of us who didn't care what his real name is, only that he cared to share his humor and code with us.
FTR… I met _why at the first RailsConf, and I asked him to sign my t-shirt. He seemed completely flabbergasted that I'd want him to "ruin" it. I had to repeatedly confirm that I really, really wanted him to draw on it. He was so shy about it. After I talked him into signing it, he spent 10 minutes drawing one of his famous ducks on my back. It tickled like hell. I still wear the t-shirt.
What a guy. I miss him.
I've heard the cult worship of PG trotted out here before and while I'm sure not everybody here is entirely objective I tend to see that in the light of those that are hopeful to get in to YC by being defensive of PG even though he's more than capable of defending himself. So I don't buy that.
And I'm also pretty sure that PG is more than capable of puncturing right through such nonsense and that anybody that thinks they can get in to his good book that way is going to find it either neutral or maybe even negative.
And it's not as though someone here will name a day for PG if he decides to stop being an investor, or shuts down HN, and I'd be surprised if someone did.
And PG is as much or more a mentor to a large number of people and in a more general way than this _why character, no matter how nice he may have been.
I detect a parallel to the kind of grieving that goes on when someone passes away, but in this case that grieving is misplaced. Nobody died. Some guy did a bunch of stuff, decided that he didn't like the amount and kind of attention that he received and took his toys back home, which was entirely within his rights to do.
Judging by the kind of comments here _why's followers appear to be mostly in the third stage at this point, though there are still a few of them that are still in the anger phase.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%BCbler-Ross_model
Now go and do your own stuff, amaze us all and try to show the world how to deal with that attention, both negative and positive in a better way than _why did.
I'm sure there is room for that.
I'm already amazing and showing the world blah blah blah. So what?
I'm not allowed to feel sentimental for somebody you judge as not strong enough to "live" (persona-wise)? Best remove the plank from your own eye, etc.
I think you're misunderstanding me, email in your inbox.
j.
But the drawings in his Ruby book were really cute!
> A blog entry on how he inspired you, how he changed your views on programming and life?
What is some "blog entry" compared to actually writing some code?
Edit: to a hacker, that is. You all business types around I dunno about.
A way to pass the torch to those that can't program yet.