Convicted murderer, filesystem creator writes of regrets to Linux list \ stacker news ~tech

Convicted murderer, filesystem creator writes of regrets to Linux list arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/01/convicted-murderer-filesystem-creator-writes-of-regrets-to-linux-list/

2984 sats \ 13 comments \ @kristapsk 20 Jan tech

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1448 sats \ 8 replies \ @lechiffre 20 Jan

The entire letter:

https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/b98b29cf-27d9-49e0-b10b-1848399badfd@kittens.ph/T/#u

Kind of surreal

652 sats \ 5 replies \ @rheedi0 20 Jan

Wow thanks for sharing this. That's a fascinating read. The depth of regret and emotion, the self-reflection, all the little wisdoms he peppers in between technical discussion points -- and all of that under the weight of this horrible crime he's committed and in prison for. I've never read anything like it

2580 sats \ 4 replies \ @k00b 20 Jan

If you're looking for something like it and you thinking about the ethics of technology broadly, I highly recommend reading Ted Kazinsky's Manifesto.

710 sats \ 2 replies \ @elvismercury 20 Jan

I read that long ago and it made a big impression on me. It was one of the first examples I can remember of me actually having read something that I then saw discussed everywhere, where people were talking about it, and about TK, and I was like how can you be missing all the nuance in this situation? How are you not addressing any of the actual things?

But it prepared me for the world, certainly. All the same issues relevant everywhere, and bitcoin is no different.

121 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b 20 Jan

It was assigned in an Ethics in Technology class required for my CS degree. I don't think any of my classmates actually read it, considering how few people discussed it with cryptography prof that taught the course and I, but I found it incredibly lucid and surprising.

121 sats \ 0 replies \ @elvismercury 20 Jan

If that essay doesn't shake you up and make you question some deep things about being a person in society, I don't know what would. You don't have to agree with it, but to not take it seriously is fucking bonkers.

588 sats \ 0 replies \ @rheedi0 21 Jan

Interesting, I'll have I check that out. I was also reminded a bit of Close to the Machine by Ellen Ullman -- that strikes some similar tones.

121 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b 20 Jan

This reads like something from Ted Kazinsky - who is absolutely fascinating to read - criminal levels of nonconformity and original thinking.

635 sats \ 0 replies \ @kristapsk OP 20 Jan

Hans Reiser is legend, I used to use ReiserFS as a default filesystem on all my Linux machines back in a day.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @elvismercury 20 Jan

It's not often you see somebody apologize for killing their wife, explain their coding decisions around balanced trees versus extensible hashing, and suggest that elementary schools offer the same kinds of emotional intelligence curriculum that they've worked through in prison, in a software mailing list. It's quite a document.

Wow.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Lost_dogz 21 Jan

Fascinating read, thanks for posting!

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @BlueSlime 21 Jan

SUSE didn’t want a format change, they wanted incremental improvements to V3. That’s the way it is for a lot of filesystem architects. Incrementally changing things they know are deeply wrong to their cores, but stuck in that misery of doing so.

Interesting observation

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @026180d3a3 20 Jan

I feel like this guy is being given too much of a voice, considering his crime.