Rob Levin, lilo of FreeNode, Passes

sneak was the first of many to tell us of the death of Rob Levin, known as lilo, the head of FreeNode and of its parent organization, PDPC. A transcript from the channel: ".:17:18:40:. [freenode] -christel(i=christel@freenode/staff/gentoo.christe l)-
[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
17:19:39==> Topic for #freenode-announce: Together with the PDPC board we are
currently preparing a general announcement, please also feel assured that we will
continue working with PDPC to ensure continuous service on freenode, in line with Rob's
mission." Richard Hartmann writes, I just wanted to add that we of FreeNode will create a condolence book. All wellwishes can be sent to [e-mail]."

RIP lilo

[tonsofpcs]

RIP Rob Levin.

Re:RIP lilo

[Emmettfish]

We had numerous and public arguments. I thought he was a jerk. He felt the same way about me. Both of us knew the good things the other did for the Free Software and Open Source communities, but every time we got into it, it was nothing but pure argument.

I did respect him, and the work that he's done. While I disagree with a lot of the way he managed things, there's no doubt that he did what he did with the best of intentions. He will be missed as both a leader of the community and a human being.

I wish the staff well in the upcoming days and weeks -- It will not be easy. I would urge complainers, sycophants and jerks to back off for a while. Best wishes to his family and friends.

Emmett

Re:

[owlstead]

Well, I cannot stand persons that nitpick on statements of regret that somebody died. Especially if they were not direct friends. How about that?

Re:

[StormyWeather]

Was this the same Lilo that used to administer #linpeople on Undernet years ago (like in 95/96)?
If so that sucks, Lilo helped me get a start in linux which enabled me to grow in IT and become an administrator then programmer.

Re:

[Floody]

Was this the same Lilo that used to administer #linpeople on Undernet years ago (like in 95/96)? If so that sucks, Lilo helped me get a start in linux which enabled me to grow in IT and become an administrator then programmer.

Indeed, it was the same. I ran one of the linpeople irc servers after #linpeople moved from Undernet. I had significant daily interaction with Lilo for years, although not in person. In 98-99, Rob called my office. He happened to be traveling through the region and wanted to me

Rest in Peace :-(

[Eloquence]

I only had very few interactions with Lilo, but he was always friendly and polite when I did. I am a long time user of FreeNode and a long time Wikipedian. The network has been invaluable to our community, and while of course a project like FreeNode is very much collaborative, I think he personally represented many of the core values that make it a great place for open source and free content projects. This is a very sad day. May he idle in peace. :-(

Re:Rest in Peace :-(

[Jon Chatow]

As someone who ended up talking to Rob on IRC every couple of days for over a year, and several times by 'phone, I can attest to this absolutely; his help to me in running the Wikimedia IRC channels was both invaluable and amazingly forth-coming - he was seemingly always available, and never anything other than friendly and massively helpful, even for the most tiresome and stupid of questions that I managed to come up with. Good bye, Rob. We will miss you. James F. Wikimedia GC.

Rest in Peace, lilo

[stesch]

This is a really sad day for freenode. He provided such a good service to all of us. :-(

RIP

[cbrocious]

I got my start on Freenode many, many years ago, and now have been involved with dozens, possibly hundreds of projects, all on freenode. I've talked with Lilo many times and have never had a bad experience. One of the kindest and most helpful people I've ever met.

My Condolences go out to his family.

RIP lilo

RIP

[tulare]

My condolences to his family. He worked hard for what we have, right or wrong, and we should respect that and be thankful for what he has left us.

WHAT

[Ant P.]

That's the only response I can think of. Sorry.

Just announced in #freenode-announce

[Richard_at_work]

22:58 +christel: Ok, first off, this is not a hoax
22:59 +christel Rob was riding his bike on tuesday when he was hit by a car, he has spent the last few days at the neuro trauma ICU at a local hospital 22:59 +christel: where he has been in a coma
22:59 +christel: the news reached us this morning that Rob passed away early today
23:00 +christel: and we ask that you all respect their privacy at this difficult time
23:01 +christel: Robs funeral is most likely to be monday afternoon, although we have yet to get confirmation as Debs is waiting to hear from the MEs office that it can go ahead as planned 23:01 +christel: and for those local, wishing to show their respects at his funeral, we ask that you email [e-mail] and we will try direct you as we can
23:02 +christel: We will take some questions now and try answer them in channel, it would be appreciated if those with questions message beu, and we will answer on channel
23:02 +christel: thank you

My condolances to Robs friends and family.

'Passes' too bland a euphamism

[Bonker]

The first time I read the headline I was confused about what it meant. Was there some sort of position he turned down? Did he quit an important job?

I've always despised death euphamisms, though. Trying to tone the tragedy down doesn't make it any easier to deal with for friends, families, or looker-ons. It also takes away from the importance of the death itself.

He's dead. The man was killed in an auto accident. It's a sad, tragic ending, but it's the truth.

Freenode has been a great asset to open source

[starseeker]

I would estimate that Freenode was responsible for more realtime communication between developers and between users/support than any other single medium, and as such it was and is a major asset to the open source movement. It has undoubtedly helped make many projects much better than would have otherwise been possible/workable.

As a legacy, I'd say that's a pretty good one to leave.

Re:

[murderlegendre]

You're totally right.. I've 'almost inadvertently' contributed to a few projects, just by being on freenode, and running into people who needed a little testing, comment, and so on. Come to think of it, one of the main reasons I was in a position to be helpful, was due to all that I had learned ... from channels like ##slackware on freenode. No doubt many others have had similar experiences. RIP Rob, and genuine condolences to your friends & family.

"Passes"?

[Schraegstrichpunkt]

Enough with the euphemisms, already. Just say that he died. "Passing" is something you do with yesterday's lunch shortly after you've eaten today's.

Re:

[Frankie70]

Is it even a correct euphemism.

I have heard "Passed away", but never passes.

Passed?

[munpfazy]

I've got no problem with friends and family members using passive, religiously charged euphemisms when discussing death. If people find it easier to talk about their sister having "passed," that's fine by me.

But when it comes to journalism (or the slashdot equivalent), it comes off as silly at best and offensive at worst.

Rob Levin didn't pass. He didn't "Pass", pass on, nor pass away. He DIED, and he was KILLED. This isn't just death, but death in a horrible, violent, disturbing way.

Getting your head smashed in by an automobile and living for painful hours in a hospital critical care ward isn't gentle. It's horrible, and cruel, and ugly. Using gentle words to describe it doesn't make it any less so. It does us all a disservice by belittling the tragedy of what has actually happened.

Re:

[lewp]

I doubt the dead, were they asked about it before they died, would want us to dwell on how we described their death. Rather, I think they'd prefer to have us remember who they were and what they did in life.

I'm an atheist, but I have no problem with death being described as "passing". Losing someone you care about can be a lot to deal with emotionally. If using euphemisms helps with the process of coping, then I'm all for it.

(If this was a deliberate troll, it was in pretty poor taste, but I guess IHBT.)

Re:Passed? ... obscure meaning

[pbhj]

I have to say that this also creates an obscure title (for those not familiar with US euphemism).

I thought it was referring to some sort of network bootstrapping using freenode. You soon realise the error, but then why have a title. "Died" is surely not offensive?

Another one?

[MichaelSmith]

As a bike rider myself the first thing I thought of was the death in March [netbsd.org] of Richard Rauch.

This is sad news. My sympathies to his family.

Re:

[johansalk]

I'm sure there are lots of such bike riders we don't hear of. I am sick of this. When I was in college two of my highschool buddies were killed the same way, on their bike, by cars, a year or two apart. Not only that those eco-unfriendly fat dorks won't get on bikes and ridicule us, but they're killing us too.

Rest in peace, Levin

[Tore S B]

Rest in peace.

He leaves the legacy of being a man who started and ran the IRC network that is by far the most popular network for free software developer communication, and an invaluable asset to the entire community. We thank him for his contributions, and offer our deepest condolances to the friends and family.

Why car drivers suck

[antifoidulus]

Car drivers, especially in the United States, have absolutely 0 regard for bike riders. A professor did an interesting study about how close cars come to bikers when they wear helmets versus when they don't [yahoo.com]. Not to mention in San Francisco they recently delayed a resolution that would build bike paths across the city so that bike riders didn't have to deal with ignorant SUV driving assholes too busy talking on their phone to notice a bike rider.
Sorry for the strong language, but as a bike rider car drivers in America for the most part just totally piss me off. I have to spend my tax money attacking some random oil rich country so you can drive your SUVs, but you get all in a tizzy when I want a bike path so I don't have to worry about you hitting me even though I have as much a right to the road as you do.
Ignorant car drivers disgust me. /Rant

Roads more than drivers

[Infonaut]

It's not just the drivers. Many roads seem to have been created with no real thought for cyclists. While this is particularly true in big cities (like SF, where the roads are insane for anyone traveling on them), even nice crunchy places like Santa Cruz make bicycle commuting a risky proposition, because they don't see cyclist-friendly roads to be a high enough priority. I can't tell you how many times I've nearly been annihilated because on-street parking forces me almost into the auto lane. Potholes, poorly-designed merge and exit lanes, and fast traffic signals turn a ride to work into a dangerous proposition.

Until there are more people commuting in bikes rather than cars, I don't see the situation changing for the better.

Re:

[jesterzog]

Until there are more people commuting in bikes rather than cars, I don't see the situation changing for the better.

I don't think it takes more people on bikes than in cars to change things -- there are plenty of places around the world where lots of consideration is given to people on bikes, both by the majority of drivers and by city planning authorities, and it's not because there are more people riding bikes than driving cars. It does help to have a little recognition and help from local governments,

Re:

[Eccles]

Sounds like yet another reason New Zealand is high on my list of places I'd consider moving to. It helps, though, that your weather (at least around Auckland, Napier Bay, etc. is relatively temperate, without the scorching hot, humid summers and frosty winters of many areas in the U.S., which means bike-riding is more tolerable more of the year.

I also think it does require a certain number of avid bikers. If I could get more places safely on a bike, I would, but I can't, so I drive, adding yet another car

Re:

[archen]

And not just cyclists, but anyone not in a car in general. I had to walk to work after my car was in the shop for a week and took the bus. After getting off the bus I was actually sort of surprised to find that there were no sidewalks in one section of town - a newer part I might add. Fun stuff walking on the street waiting for someone to wheel around the corner in an SUV and kill you...

Re:Why car drivers suck

[ubernostrum]

It goes both ways; I've seen plenty of asshole drivers, but I've also seen lots of cyclists who insist on ignoring traffic laws. Just yesterday as I was driving home from work, sitting at a stop sign, a cyclist came up behind me and went through the intersection without stopping -- quick reflexes on the part of the driver who had right-of-way were the only thing that stopped the cyclist becoming a stain on the pavement. Moral of the story: no matter what sort of vehicle you're operating, when you're on the road the laws of the road apply to you, and you need to be cautious and observant.

Re:

[ubernostrum]

Because of this asymetry in potential outcomes, car drivers carry far more responsibility than bike riders/pedestrians - especially as long as bike riders are forced to share the road with cars. Unfortunately, that realization seems beyond the mental capacity of a large fraction of US drivers who continue to drive with a laxness that is simply astounding.

No, cyclists and drivers carry exactly the same set of responsibilities:

• They must obey all traffic laws at all times.
• They must remain alert and a

Re:Why car drivers suck

[Timesprout]

Could not agree more. I have ridden and raced bikes all over Europe for years without concern. A few years ago I made the foolish decision to take my bike on vacation to Florida with me to help recover from an injury. I though the a few km in the heat would do me good. 10 mins on a fairly busy road scared the bejesus out of me. Its like I was invisible on US tarmac or something, drivers storming past at 70-80 kph just centimeters from me, not one made the slightest effort to give me any space. Not an experience I am keen to repeat.

Re:

[dargaud]

I've also ridden bikes in Europe and the US, but noticed that in Colorado it's not too scary. It breaks down to this: if people have ridden bikes before, they pay more attention while driving. I currently live in a place where the roads are very narrow, there are thousands of bikers in summer, but very few accidents. A solution: force (?) everyone to ride bikes periodically, for instance when they are students...

Something related to that which pissed me off royally is the following logic: a teenage frien

Re:

[Duncan3]

At least around here, there are 1m wide bike lanes many places, but the bikers ride on the CAR side of the line anyway.

They do this becasue the cell phone users are usually driving in the bike lane :(

I'm so glad California finally banned cell phones without hands-free. Paves the way for banning them entirely.

Re:

[bayankaran]

I have to drive for a living...and I frequently come across bicyclists who has absolutely no regard for traffic rules/etiquettes. They squeezes to as little as space they can find and forget they can be in a blind spot to the person driving the vehicle. I am tolerant to bicyclists, but the looks and angry shouts I get from bicyclists for no fault of mine is disturbing.

Re:

[Fulkkari]

I say this as a bike rider/pedestrian. The roads are designed for car drivers, who of many have no respect of bike riders/pedestrians like me and you. I see weekly drivers at crossings and crosswalks that accelerate when they see someone is trying to cross the road. This is just shows the immaturity of many drivers. It looks especially stupid when it is winter time here and the temperature is something like -20 C (-68 F) and car drivers sitting comfortably in their warm cars are trying to ram you freezing

Actually, there are more bikes.

[lullabud]

The bicycle, not the automobile, is the most popular vehicle in the world. http://www.princeton.edu/~ina/maps/transportation. html [princeton.edu]

Re:

[BandwidthHog]

The bicycle, not the automobile, is the most popular vehicle in the world.

Well, obviously he meant that the bicycle is the most popular vehicle in the world in America.

Duh.

Re:

[Neoprofin]

I live in a major campus town, and get to watch this horror every day. Even with abundent bike lanes and slow moving traffic cyclist still feel the need to drive in between cars, acts as cars going with trafic, act as pedestrians going perpendicular to trafic, ride on the sidewalk until they hop the curb at random and cut without looking through streets. There are plenty of good natured eco-conscious bike riders out there, unfortunately in my experience they are not the majority, and when they end up getti

Re:

[pyite]

Maybe bike riders should get a "right" to be on the same road after they get a license, demonstrate knowledge of the law and tag their bikes with identification so they can be held responsible for breaking it? (in addition to previously mentioned being able to travel at the same speed as traffic.. good luck)

Frankly, what right do you have to be on the road? I drive much more than I ride my bike on the road, mainly because I mountain bike and when I'm on the road it's just getting to and from trails. I don't

sidewalk biking is standard in Japan

[Trepidity]

It works out pretty well in Japan---the roads, especially in Tokyo, are dense and covered with parked cars, like NYC, and about as good (bad) for biking as NYC. So the standard is that bikers ride on the sidewalks. It's a bit slower, since they have to go at a speed where they can avoid pedestrians, but it's significantly safer: Bike/car collisions can be fatal, while bike/pedestrian collisions rarely even cause serious injury.

I suppose the ideal would be an Amsterdam-style network of separate roads for b

Re:

[bcmm]

If you don't have any sort of neck trouble, I find it's much better, and probably safer, to just look over your shoulder. There isn't really anywhere to mount a mirror which gives more than a tiny viewable area, and in any case it unbalances the handlebars and makes it harder to steer.

Good cyclists should train themselves to look over their shoulders before doing anything, just as you have to train yourself to check your mirrors in a car.

Also, I second the bit about assuming that people are out to kill you,

Re:

[fotbr]

What kind of bike are you riding than a half-pound of weight on EACH side "unbalances the handlebars and makes it harder to steer"?

Just curious, because I've never seen a bike designed in such a way.

Re:

[bcmm]

Sorry, I was tired. What I meant was that I find any extra weight on the handlebars makes the steering feel heavier and causes you to have to exert more force to change direction. It's why I have a basket mounted behind me.

Re:

[njh]

Use the sidewalk if there isn't a bike lane.

I agree with the rest of your points, but this is downright wrong. Riding on the footpath dramatically increases the chance of being killed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicular_cycling [wikipedia.org]

Re:

[Achromatic1978]

Yeah, because I'm trusting a Wikipedia entry which outright suggests that cyclists can ignore the laws of the roads as they see fit:

The principles of driving require that a driver signal those who will likely be affected by a change in the movement of the driver's vehicle. If a look back meets this requirement when merging, then that is all which is required of a vehicular cyclist. While the law may require cyclists to use their arms to signal, the principle does not dictate that a vehicular cyclist must do

Re:

[tftp]

That is fine, of course. But as you say rights and responsibilities come together. So you are on a bicycle, on a road with two lanes in each direction. You are in the right lane. There are only few options:

1. You stay in the center of the right lane and thus reduce the road from two lanes to one. If the road is in any way busy this creates a problem - drivers who are behind you are forced to merge into the left lane whenever they can, and if you take hundreds of such merges this is not safe primarily for

Re:

[tftp]

What???

I guess you don't own one. Please get a decent motorbike, and I will see you in a few months, stronger and fitter than ever. Do you know how much they weigh? Do you know that they don't have power steering? :-)

Re:

[1u3hr]

Or the responsibility to not impede traffic flow by going 20mph slower than everyone else (yes, this is illegal, and saying "go around" doesn't cut it since it's nearly impossible on most roads

Tough. Obviously I wouldn't choose to ride on a narrow busy road if there was any alternative. Sometimes the only way to get from A to B is on a narrow busy road. And if there isn't room to safely pass, the only way to safely travel is to ride in the middle of a lane and prevent drivers from forcing me off the road

Re:

[scotch]

You are very wrong, almost without exception, the only roads with minimum speed limits are freeways where bicycle riding is not permitted anyway. Reall, you're wrong.

What he had to say about himself on Wiki.

[twitter]

User Rob Levin [wikipedia.org].

As the cars get bigger, bike riding is scarier but remains my only convenient daily exercise.

Gas Prices

[lullabud]

As gas prices rise I have hope that bicycling will get increasing positive attention from people who would otherwise not have considered us cyclists.

requiescat in pace

[Isaac-Lew]

I spoke to lilo several times a few years ago, just around the time freenode started. My condolences to his family.

What, no jokes?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, when people make jokes about September 11 it is "dealing with the situation" or whatever. When people make jokes about this guy they are just trolling. Granted the few jokes made are bad taste at best, but so were many of the September 11 jokes.

Too bad he wasn't taking performance enhancing drugs.
Did anybody remember to delete all his child porn?

Personally, I liked grub better anyway.

Freenode just won't be the same

[QuantumFTL]

I, like many thousands, have had the pleasure of working with Rob. I used to run #maestro to support software I co-authored at JPL, and thanks to Rob taking care of numerous problems, the support channel works beautifully, finally evolving into what is now #space.

I know our channel would not have been a success without Rob's patience and wisdom, and I enjoyed several really great discussions with the man. I had always been hoping to take him out for a beer someday... guess we should do things like that s

RIP

[AlXtreme]

Thanks lilo for your work on freenode, you made many open source projects possible and brought together thousands of people. My condolances go out to his friends and relatives, I feel sorry for your loss.

Q&A

[MadClikr]

christel ok, im going to go +m for a moment
christel and we will try answer some of the questions you've asked after a minute of silence
christel Ok, first off, this is not a hoax
christel Rob was riding his bike on tuesday when he was hit by a car, he has spent the last few days at the neuro trauma ICU at a local hospital
christel where he has been in a coma
christel the news reached us this morning that Rob passed away early today
beu to repeat for those just joining us, this sadly is not a hoax; Rob was riding

Another Reason...

[Greyfox]

Not to go outside. And there are bears out there. Out here at least. Seems like about once a day during the summer a pedestrian or biker gets hit by a car out here. The drivers of the cars have no intention of slowing down (Assuming they see the guy on the bike in the first place) and the guys on the bikes have no intention of moving over. There needs to be a lot more on the driver's test about motor vehicle interaction with bicycle traffic and bicycle interaction with motor vehicle traffic. I think that mi

Will miss lilo.

[ThatComputerGuy]

This really sucks. Regardless of what some people think of lilo/FreeNode/PDPC, he was trying to do something that he saw as good for the community, and was genuinely a nice guy. Condolences to his family.

Re:

[Potor]

i just ran out of mod points. i wish i had them now.

Re:

[Meltir]

Same here.

Mod Parent Human Trash

[db32]

I can't believe this garbage was modded informative. To think my mod points expired today and I can't shoot this down myself...

Re:

[gkhan1]

Don't worry, the modder will be meta-modded to hell

Re:

[db32]

And I get modded as a troll lol...seems some people really didn't like the guy. All hail maturity, compassion, and...oh wait this is slashdot isn't it? I love Apple, I hate MS, all DRM is useless, RIAA/MPAA is evil, Republicans are satanists, can I have my karma back now?

More Info

[ballermann]

christel just posted the following in #freenode-announce

christel> Ok, first off, this is not a hoax
christel> Rob was riding his bike on tuesday when he was hit by a car, he has spent the last few days at the neuro trauma ICU at a local hospital
christel> where he has been in a coma
christel> the news reached us this morning that Rob passed away early today
christel> Rob is survived by wife Debbie and son Benjamin
christel> and we ask that you all respect their privacy at this difficult time
christel> Robs funeral is most likely to be monday afternoon, although we have yet to get confirmation as Debs is waiting to hear from the MEs office that it can go ahead as planned
christel> and for those local, wishing to show their respects at his funeral, we ask that you email [e-mail] and we will try direct you as we can
christel> We will take some questions now and try answer them in channel, it would be appreciated if those with questions message beu, and we will answer on channel
christel> thank you
christel> the first question we've had is "What happens to freenode?"
beu> to answer the "who verified this?" question, members of freenode staff have been in contact with Rob's family over the past few days
christel> it is Debs wishes that freenode keeps running as close to normal as possible, and we will be working with the PDPC board to ensure that the network keeps running
beu> we are currently formulating an announcement and hope to have it online soon, in addition to an online "book of condolences"
christel> it has also been asked why lilos client is still connected
christel> i am sure you will all agree that at this point in time, we feel uncomfortable killing his client and find the mere idea rather morbid
christel> Robs nicknames will be quarantined to prevent abuse.
christel> A lot of people have asked how they can help
christel> Debs requests has been that people who knew Rob could donate to PDPC in his memory, or those wishing to make a more general contribution could give something to a bicycle safety campaign in their area.

Re:More Info

[tonsofpcs]

From #freenode-announce
18:03:10 <+christel> the first question we've had is "What happens to freenode?"
18:04:09 <+christel> it is Debs wishes that freenode keeps running as close to normal as possible, and we will be working with the PDPC board to
                    ensure that the network keeps running
18:05:04 <+christel> it has also been asked why lilos client is still connected
18:05:28 <+christel> i am sure you will all agree that at this point in time, we feel uncomfortable killing his client and find the mere idea
                    rather morbid
18:05:44 <+christel> Robs nicknames will be quarantined to prevent abuse.
18:06:01 <+christel> A lot of people have asked how they can help
18:07:07 <+christel> Debs requests has been that people who knew Rob could donate to PDPC in his memory, or those wishing to make a more general
                    contribution could give something to a bicycle safety campaign in their area.
18:08:32 <+christel> we will also try to coordinate so that we can get some things together for Debs and Benjamin, but at this point in time she
                    has no particular wishes in that regard. Those wishing to help his family however, are encouraged to get in touch with us per email
                    (again [e-mail]) and we will try connect you with those in the area that are coordinating support.
18:08:53 <+christel> "Should lilo's fellow Jews sit shiva for 30 days as is tradition?"
18:09:17 <+christel> I am not jewish, and I dont know much about jewish traditions, so i will leave that up to each and every one of you
                    individually
18:09:25 <+christel> "Where, as in city and state, would the funeral be?
18:09:37 <+christel> Rob lived in Houston, Texas and the funeral will be held there
18:10:08 <+christel> "was lilo wearing a helmet and was the car driver responsible? if they are responsible will they be charged?"
18:10:33 <+christel> lilo was not wearing a helmet, we are unsure at this point about what will happen wrt the driver of the car
18:11:30 <+christel> from what we know, it was a hit and run
18:11:37 <+christel> and the driver has not yet been found
18:12:51 <+christel> Any other questions?
18:15:14 <+christel> I am recieving a lot of priv messages, and I am afraid I can't quite manage to reply to each and every one of you at the
                    moment, but I would like to thank you for the support and condolences
18:16:36 <+christel> "will the name lilo still be in use on the server? be it as a bot, or otherwise?" We will q-line the nick to prevent it
                    from being used.
18:20:48 <+christel> it has been asked why lilos client is idle only 27 hours, the reason for that is most likely scripts running

Please wear a helmet

[spun]

18:10:08 "was lilo wearing a helmet and was the car driver responsible? if they are responsible will they be charged?"
18:10:33 lilo was not wearing a helmet, we are unsure at this point about what will happen wrt the driver of the car

This is not to blame lilo in any way for not wearing a helmet, but please, let's learn from what happened here. Always wear a helmet when riding a bike. The speed you are going doesn't matter, it's the distance from your head to the ground, which is the same on a bike as it is on a motorcycle. My life was probably saved once because I was wearing a helmet when I hit a pothole after coming off a long hill. Bike helmets nowadays are light-weight and not at all dorky looking.

Again, the driver is to blame for this, not lilo. Doubly so as they fled the scene, when perhaps if they had stayed and summoned help immediately, lilo might have survived.

Rest in peace, lilo. My condolences go out to his family.

Re:

[masklinn]

WTF?

I don't see any informations on the circumstances of the accident, nor what happened to the car's driver. For all we know it could've been a mechanical issue with the car, or the driver didn't pay enough attention and is in jail, or anything.

I know this is slashdot, but how about not being stupid and judgemental just for once?

Re:

[bsane]

Or the fault of the cyclist... It happens sometimes.

Re:

[Megane]

It was a hit-and-run, you insensitive clod.

That's right. Texas state law. If you're involved in an auto accident, you stay to render aid, etc.

Re:

[theonetruekeebler]

We don't yet have details of the accident, except that it was a bike-car collision and the car left the scene. This is not to exhonerate the driver, of course. For all we know a bored psychopath crossed three lanes to do him in. But most likely this was a simple and tragic traffic accident.

I was in a bus once when a bicycle plowed into us. If it handn't happened right below my window, I never would have known it happened. I'm almost positive we had the right-of-way and he somehow failed to comprehend

Re:Who hit him?

[nacturation]

Who's with me?

I hope the police are, so they can arrest you. What's missing in all of this are the details. Maybe Rob went down an embankment that was too steep and his brakes failed, causing him to veer into oncoming traffic causing an unavoidable accident for the unfortunate motorist who happened to be there. Perhaps Rob wasn't wearing a bicycle helmet, further complicating any head trauma. Maybe he was wearing dark clothing and cycling at night without any lights or reflective gear.

It's amazing that we live in an age where we have access to computers and, through that, to some of the world's best accumulated wisdom and knowledge. And yet there are still some shits like you who want to pick up the pitchforks and torches to arrange a lynch mob even when you likely don't possess any detailed information on the circumstances. But even if you were there and know everything firsthand, I still find your reaction a little too stuck in the dark ages.
 

Re:

[fotbr]

By your logic, any vehicle on the road is fail safe. Car breaks? Roll to a stop at the side of the road.

I've had the front tire on my bike blow out on me. Its not pretty, and it certaintly isn't fail-safe. Luckily for me, it wasn't on a road, it was on a bike path around a lake, so I didn't have to worry about being hit by a car.

And while you're right that MOST drivers don't care about cyclists, there are more than a few cyclists that ALSO need an attitude adjustment -- you're on a public road, follow t

Re:

[recursiv]

What makes you think he was running red lights and stop signs? BTW, turns need not be turned on a bike if both hands are necessary for the safe operation of the bike. That's the legal wording in most states, I believe. I frequently find that both hands are necessary for the safe operation of my bike when approaching a corner.

I suppose you never exceed the speed limit on public roads since you hold traffic law in such high regard?

Re:

[flewp]

I think part of the problem drivers have with cyclists is precisely that a lot of cyclists don't follow the rules, and lack common courtesy. It seems that bicyclists seem to think they deserve special treatment on the road as well. Recently I was travelling down a main street in a car with a friend, that had major construction and was limited to one lane each way. A rather narrow lane. We get stuck behind a guy on a bicycle doing no more than 10 mph. We had no room to pass him. The result of this was

Re:Who hit him?

[bcmm]

to err is human

Granted, but this was a hit-and-run. That means that after hitting him, the driver drove off to avoid having to face the consequences, probably lengthening the time it took for help to arrive. That isn't an error, it's a deliberate, selfish attempt to get himself off the hook. I hope someone witnessed it and got the licence plate number, because IIRC the driver can go to prison for not stopping.

BTW I don't agree with the GP, I just don't think "to err is human" applies here.

Re:

[Gordonjcp]

Got a link to something saying (verifiably) that it was a hit-and-run?

In any case, maybe if you weren't so dead set against CCTV cameras on busy city streets you'd have the guy's number plate. There have been 10 hit-and-run RTAs in the city where I stay, and every single one has been traced through CCTV footage. I'd say that was a net win.

Re:

[bcmm]

From #freenode-announce. [pastebin.ca]

christel "was lilo wearing a helmet and was the car driver responsible? if they are responsible will they be charged?"
christel lilo was not wearing a helmet, we are unsure at this point about what will happen wrt the driver of the car

christel from what we know, it was a hit and run
christel and the driver has not yet been found

No, it's not verifiable, although if you ask around people will agree that christel said this. It is all very sudden and I don't think anyone knows yet.

Re:

[treke]

Dunno about the power cord, but he has on occasion accidently banned everyone from the network. He's provided a great tool for projects over the years, and I wish his family the best in dealing with this horrible occurance.

Re:

[scotch]

News flash: driving in the roads is also dangerous. Are you willing to give up your life to make a statement about that? I mean that's the false dicotomy you've set up, either you are or you aren't. Reading your post, it would appear you think their are risk free activities about which one has to make no risk/benefit analysis (a less emotionally-laden way of saying "willing to give up my life to make a statement"). However, if there are such activities, cycling in the woods certainly isn't one of them.

Re:

[scotch]

Of course it's not rocket science to say that. It is completely unsupported to say that. Where are your studies? How much more dangerous? I might believe it to be true, but what I don't grant you that is that the difference between the two activities is big enough to call one "dangerous as hell" while the other on is not. You can't just claim it, where are your numbers?

Also, assume you do come up with some numbers. Like say, to make some up, cycling on the roads results in 3x more fatalities per hour

Re:

[recursiv]

http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/health/risks.htm [kenkifer.com]

Here are some stats for you.

Executive summary: You're wrong.

But read it for yourself. It's very in depth.

Re:

[tap]

Your common sense is completely wrong. The reason you think bicycling is dangerous is because you don't do it. It's unknown to you, and so you fear it. Data from Failure Analysis Associates, fatalities per million exposure hours:

Skydiving 128.77
General Flying 15.58
Motorcycling 8.80
Scuba Diving 1.98
Living 1.53
Swimming 1.07
Snowmobiling .88
Motoring .47
Water skiing .28
Bicycling .26
Airline Flying .15
Hunting .08

Bicycling is much safer than driving, not more dangerous. And that's just looking at in

Re:

[tap]

The statistics are just fatalities per million exposure hours. "Living" just refers to other causes of death not listed. Like heart disease or lung cancer.

Re:

[RonnyJ]

who the hell modded this as troll?

Probably people who read the subject 'Opportunity from Tragedy' - there's no opportunity from such a tragedy.

Re:

[wpanderson]

Yeah, in retrospect, that subject wasn't very tactful.

Re:

[OrangeTide]

well geeks are often socially unaware.

Re:Helmets & Accidents

[TheViewFromTheGround]

hile I largely agree with your point about helmets, I was really surprised to see this research [bath.ac.uk], which showed that drivers in the study drove closer to the cyclist and generally increased the likelihood of a collision when the cyclist was wearing a helmet. This could have some safety implications in an high-density urban environment, where a cost/benefit analysis needs to be made that looks at the safety tradeoffs. Particularly because helmets are really necessarily all that good at helping in a collision

Re:

[ForumTroll]

Christel was asked about that article in #freenode-announce and that article is not about lilo. Here's the relevant log:

18:47 < dungodung> http://www.khou.com/news/local/crime/stories/khou0 60911_ac_bikeauto.8af6ff6f.html [khou.com]
18:47 <+christel> dungodung: that is not lilo
18:49 <+nalioth> that news article is NOT about lilo

RIP lilo. You will be missed and I wish your family all the best.

Re:

[mobby_6kl]

>Incredibly tasteless at a time like this.

Welcome to the Interweb!

Dead friend signed on IRC

[jasonhamilton]

I had a friend who died at a young age from a terminal disease, he was in his early 20's.

His IRC client stayed signed on for about 6 months. Everyone knew he was dead, but we kept him oped in the channel. It was a bit freaky, but it was good having him around in spirit.

Not sure what happened, I guess his shell account was deactivated... and his client was gone.

More Bike Tips

[lullabud]

We're not all cyclists, I know, but we're all geeks, we all use the roads, and of course nobody likes to see comrades die under any circumstances. I thought it would be appropriate to point out some cycling related tips to go along with the parent's "always wear a helmet" statement.

USE LIGHTS: Lights on your bike are to BE SEEN, even in daylight. Use them front and back, flashing. Many drivers subconsciously associate flashing lights with cars, and hence they will factor you into their driving logic, wh

Re:

[dargaud]

USE LIGHTS: Lights on your bike are to BE SEEN, even in daylight

Bike lights are next to useless at night, useless in a city at night (any secondary reflection of a shop light will get noticed 100 times better) and just plain invisible and a waste in daylight.

Personally I find mirrors on bikes annoying. Back road advice is the best. Another thing of note is that in many european countries, in case of bike/car collision, the car driver is automatically guilty. It may seem unfair, but it's no different than

Re:

[amorsen]

Bike lights are next to useless at night, useless in a city at night (any secondary reflection of a shop light will get noticed 100 times better) and just plain invisible and a waste in daylight.

I'm not sure what kind of lights you are using, but flashing LED lights are very visible.

Re:

[Achromatic1978]

in case of bike/car collision, the car driver is automatically guilty

Hmm, I wonder what the risk-return ratio is, and whether I should go visit Europe and start maliciously running into cars on my bike and living off the proceeds of lawsuits?

Re:

[hanwen]

in case of bike/car collision, the car driver is automatically guilty

Hmm, I wonder what the risk-return ratio is, and whether I should go visit Europe and start maliciously running into cars on my bike and living off the proceeds of lawsuits?

they're not automatically guilty for US-style emotional damage lawsuits (which are not very common in Europe either), but rather for material damages, and the hospital bill. If you would try to sue a car driver for emotional damage or lost productivity after

Re:

[1u3hr]

Bike lights are next to useless at night, useless in a city at night (any secondary reflection of a shop light will get noticed 100 times better) and just plain invisible and a waste in daylight.

However, in many places they're legally required. Here the cops occasionally have a blitz and charge cyclists riding at night without lights. And you would be in a poorer legal position if there was an accident. Besides, I use sidestreets, parks, as much as possible, and there headlights really are necessary.

Re:

[cdn-programmer]

Missing attribution. Does this mean copyright infringment? Sheesh... at least he could have said Tennyson wrote it!

Simple

[Myria]

What exactly was indispensible about lilo?

Nothing, he was replaced by grub.

Re:

[Achromatic1978]

With all due respect to Rob Levin, I'm not sure he's the kind of guy Dimebag or Steve Irwin would gravitate to in a crowd...

Critical Mass (less cowardly version)

[PengoNet]

Many of us only knew Rob from his "global announcements" on IRC, but still he will be sorely missed. I only hope his death does not discourage cyclists. The more people cycling, the safer it is for cyclists everywhere, and the fewer sad incidents like this one.

I will be supporting lilo and cyclists everywhere by attending Critical Mass [wikipedia.org] to make it safer for cyclists. I encourage all slashdotters and freenoders to seek out and attend their own local Critical Mass (organised by YOU).

The next Cr