Freenode's lilo

[dangtri]

[This is heavily crossposted, but until I've sorted out my web personae, so be it.]

When I'm online, I almost constantly hang out on a few IRC chanels on the server irc.freenode.net (website). This message was broadcast earlier this evening:

[22:17] -christel- [Global Notice] On the 12th September Rob Levin, known to many as Freenode's lilo, was hit by a car while riding his bike. He suffered head injuries and passed away in hospital on the 16th. For more information please visit #freenode-announce

This is a horrific thing. May lilo rest in peace.

I can't say I knew him, strictly speaking, though I certainly knew some snippets about the person who used to send those regular Global Notices. The last time I exchanged a few words with him was after a particularly vile attempt at character assassination, when I basically said I appreciated the work he was doing to run the freenode service. He was, like many who pour themselves into a somewhat idealistic project, a controversial figure. And he will be missed.

<chryss> .seen lilo
<phenny> chryss: I last saw lilo at 2006-09-09 00:53:53 UTC on #joiito

Comments

[vasilatos]

Oh hell, I'm sorry for your loss. That's just crummy.

[dangtri.livejournal.com]

Well, I feel a bit presumptuous being sad about it at all -- I didn't even know him well enough to know or have an opinion of the stances he took in the maze that is the politics of free/open source software. And he certainly got himself into heated disputes.

I mostly know that I owe the freenode service -- and a handful of free software projects I started out with as a user -- about everything I know about software, coding, data structures etc.

A few idiots have started flamewars about the importance of freenode/IRC in the greater scheme of things, or, worse, about helmet laws. I don't even know if "bike" refers to a bicycle or a motorcycle.

The first time we talked was about me realizing that "lilo" was not, as I first thought, a woman.