kh1411
Joined 14 years ago
Karma
9
Submissions
7
Member since
Jan 19
Recent submissions
Comment · 14 years ago
Prevalent pop icon: Disney's "The Little Mermaid" was Ariel.
Comment · 14 years ago
Wow I really think you are projecting! You assume his life was a failure after Reddit ("I never failed as badly as he did after the Reddit sale").
I review his life, and it appears to me he started to find his true passions after reddit, and it wasn't about making $, or finding the next big .com, but rather achieving reforms in the areas where his passion(s) took him.
Sadly his final action ends his life but doubtful it ends his legacy. Because of his fame (regardless of any controversy surrounding it), so many are now more aware of needing to step up and "demand progress".
Edit: to fix hanging sentence
Comment · 14 years ago
I think Aaron's legacy will be following a path he seemed to predict in his blog "legacy...trying to do things that change the system instead of following it". This isn't anymore about the details of what Aaron did or didn't do in his lifetime, but instead what should be done to change the systems that his actions helped highlight needing an overhaul.
Like prosecutorial overreach (not just about Aaron's but also the many other lesser known souls caught in it). And changes to CFAA & access to academic writings to be shared with the world etc.
To be honest these weren't on my radar until Aaron died, but since then, the more I've read on the subject and on his life & blog (as he said let curiosity lead you), I am willing to take a stand & fight for reform.
Gotta say his writing is insightful, and as in this example, kind of prophetic (I think). I'm glad it will be around on the web for years to come. http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/legacy
Comment · 14 years ago
At least we seem to agree her office should be investigated as to how they handled the case. It's not acceptable to me that they just be allowed to slither away by issuing a press release absolving themselves. My point is his 'alleged' crime was less offensive to the public good, and a misdemeanor conviction in Aaron's case should've met the prosecutors need for a 'crime' such as this (which was nowhere near as offensive as ballot rigging). Why insist on guilty plea to 13 felony counts unless you are being a hardass &trying to build a name for yourself?
Comment · 14 years ago
I would like them to question her why after 2 yrs of holding this over Aaron's head, depleting his finances, that they didn't think a plea deal for a misdemeanor instead of felony counts would be sufficient deterrent? When I read below Fri. Jan18th, I was incensed even more at how they treated Aaron:
"Last Friday, on the same day that Swartz hanged himself in his Brooklyn, N.Y., apartment, prosecutors from Ortiz’s office stood in a Boston courtroom and allowed a former state representative named Stephen “Stat” Smith to plead guilty to a misdemeanor for rigging absentee ballots in three elections. Swartz’s lawyers asked for the same consideration, that Swartz be allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor. Prosecutors refused.
So, given that Ortiz will not explain herself, we’ll just have to presume she believes that illegally manipulating the outcome of elections, which are the essence of our democracy, is less serious an offense than downloading an online archive of obscure academic articles." (Excerpt fm article by Kevin Cullen, Boston Globe). http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/01/18/taking-heat/L1rfSF47...
Comment · 14 years ago
I was also disappointed with the Part 2 review Orin Kerr posted. This post by James Boyle touches on areas that should've had more consideration by the prosecutors. When I encountered this next article(excerpt below) on Jan18th, it became obvious, how Ortiz's office used Aaron for their own publicity and name making:
"Last Friday, on the same day that Swartz hanged himself in his Brooklyn, N.Y., apartment, prosecutors from Ortiz’s office stood in a Boston courtroom and allowed a former state representative named Stephen “Stat” Smith to plead guilty to a misdemeanor for rigging absentee ballots in three elections. Swartz’s lawyers asked for the same consideration, that Swartz be allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor. Prosecutors refused.
So, given that Ortiz will not explain herself, we’ll just have to presume she believes that illegally manipulating the outcome of elections, which are the essence of our democracy, is less serious an offense than downloading an online archive of obscure academic articles." (Excerpt fm article by Kevin Cullen, Boston Globe). http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/01/18/taking-heat/L1rfSF47...