skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Unless Anon pursues the course of action outlined above, I strongly suspect they will do more harm than good. Even a hint of illegitimacy on the part of Ortiz's opponents will be exploited ruthlessly. Keeping one's own hands clean is a vitally important part of bringing attention to the dirt that others have on theirs.
The difference in this case is that it could reasonably be argued he had an implied license to all the content he downloaded.

The millions of kids downloading music have done more wrong by the letter of the law than Aaron did.
My heart is warmly with you now, as are thousands around the world who mourn Aaron, even those who had never met him. Few things can really alleviate your pain now but I hope you will find some solace in our expressions of sympathy. They show that his values and contributions will live on and continue to inspire many. However brief his presence among us has been, you can be proud of what your son fought for - as we all are.
That blew me away too. I do not know how any one in their right mind could justify that.

Any one explain it?

There must be an argument for it. How does the average American justice in a US court?
Jose Pelluz, excellence on dried fruits
Attacking a person's perceived "enemies" post tragedy is a terrible idea sending the wrong message to those with suicidal thoughts.
Ask HN: Any integrated e-commerce, CRM and help desk solution out there?
We are going to setup an online shop soon for our products (Actual, physical products). In order to assist our customers better, we need to setup a help-desk solution, which should have an integrated discussion forum and a file download area as well. Also, we would like to use a CRM to manage all our customer relationships, leads, campaigns, etc.

Looking at the available software (free or commercial) we were unable to find any solutions out there which combine all these functions.

What we want to achieve is this: A customer buys a product through our online shop. His contact information is immediately registered in our CRM and also in our Help Desk. He can login to our Help Desk and download supplementary software/documentation about his product. He can also login to the discussion forums with the same credentials that were used during the purchase.

Is this too much to ask? I would appreciate any recommendations.
lol... Flash. I remember you well.

Why in the world would you take such a myopic approach to platform development?

Why not a meta-language or cross-compiler that converts the flash to the best-or-closest thing to Flash on ALL platforms, and thus make sure you don't risk your business on the whimsy of Adobe.

When, not IF, Flash dies, so go all the businesses with a Flash based platform.

Think a little deeper and with the flick of a switch, your product lives in the next-best solution for that platform.
Well by the justice departments own logic, we should end her career to send a message to other prosecutors. After all, that's what they would do.
A refreshing change to a front page plastered with Mr Schwarz
It's nice that we're all upset and making a fuss about the conditions leading to Aaron Schwartz's demise (both the mental health one, and the US Gov. Judiciary one). But the truth of the matter is that most of us have followed these issues in the news, and failed to even attempt to do anything (even trivial action) with respect to situations like this one; which are obviously absurd, especially including Aaron Schwartz's. We're all far too complacent, and cowardly; and if we can't manage to sort this kind of crap out, we probably don't deserve the company of people like him.
Interest in software consulting has not gone down 80% overall, it has gone down 80% relative to total search volume over time.

Here's the same graph with "linux" and "news" added:
http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=software%20consulting...

Linux has gone down over time, while a generic term like "news" has gone up. I find it implausible that interest in Linux has decreased, but rather the internet is being adopted by more of the general population.
The Facebook Phone might be based on Firefox OS:

http://all-multimedia-solutions.blogspot.de/2012/12/facebook...

http://www.mozilla-hispano.org/facebook-phone-basado-en-fire...
started by Aaron Swartz (webpy@aaronsw.com)
Did Aaron release the articles, or just download them? If he released them, using what medium?
An analysis of the 30 top grossing mobile games and IAPs in iTunes
Devil's advocate here. If Carmen actually agreed that Aaron's actions were not a crime, but wanted most of all to set a precedent, could that not explain her actions without malice? Maybe she was ideologically on Aaron's side, but recognized that a weak or cancelled prosecution would not yield a useful precedent. If she demonstrated a strong case and lost, it would send a message that Americans don't agree with strict enforcement of copyright in that way.

Of course this would be little solace to Aaron, as he probably would not be made aware until afterward, if ever.
All the good she's done doesn't matter, because when you're a prosecutor, all it takes is one mistake and you've could have blood on your hands. Firing her would send a message to other prosecutors that mistakes will not be tolerated.
I'll leave the semantic discussion aside, since English is neither of ours native language.

>>Only direct, total democracy leads to peace.

Huh? Check the democratic peace theory on wikipedia. It says that democracies don't make wars. This "direct" and "total" democracy sounds like a place I'd be careful moving to...

The problems with democracies is that foreigners can't vote, the behaviour outside can be as dirty as for a "traditional" country. But the home opinion cares more with more internationalisation, it has gotten much better over 50 years or so. (The Aristide example seems shocking, I thought such US behaviour ended with the cold war.)

You present conspiracy theories about the US -- afaik, it isn't US interests where the sea borders around China are. They are not the ones playing the jingoism card.
Sure, but a DA should understand the law both in word and spirit. The job of the government ultimately is to protect citizens, not prosecute them for benefit.
Shit. I'm taking a break from HN for a few days. Its unbearable after someone has died. Its people climbing over each other for attention. Let the man rest in peace.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Swartz

Or simply read some of the upvoted obits/tributes. People knew, used, and admired his work, and many here knew him personally.

Good day, sir.
Long story short:

The type of lawyer(s) who can even competently take this case exist in small numbers and are the big law primadonnas that work for $500 an hour minimum. Just interacting with the government prosecutors to get a scope of the charge and starting to build a defense, before one word is said in court, is easily $200,000 (400 billable hours is nothing) in a trivial case and if you really want to win a 'difficult' case, then expect a lot more.

On top of it, your chances of winning are still pretty slim. Meanwhile your prosecutor has the practical equivalant of not only infinite wealth but the support of "terrorism" and "organized crime" legislation and powers that pretty much strip you of many rights and usually lead into freezing of your assets even if you have that kind of money.

While conservatives in America tend to be pretty wacky, from my perspective as a liberal, I do agree with them regarding federal law enforcement being out of control. Perhaps it was justifiable to have these powers when dealing with actual terrorists and mafioso's but they use these very same powers against computer nerds and potheads.

Obama could reform this if he chose to. I hope this story has legs. This is all quite insane.
Does that make it better, or worse?
I wrote this library for two major reasons:

1) To avoid the complexity of existing frameworks.
2) To be able to quickly and easily test code with various kinds of dependencies.

It is predominately designed to test a single class in an extremely isolated context, not in the context of a full blown testing framework.

It is designed to be a stupid as possible with the intention of allowing the developer (myself) to define very strict test condition and very fine grain control.
Saddened to see someone so talented and young take their own life.

It's never worth it.
I suggest the "Y" logo on Hacker News be lowered to half staff for a day
I actually agree with both of you. The system is so subjective that if you are rightly or wrongly ensnared by it, you always lose at a minimum, money. Civil cases are even more likely to occur because effectively anyone from an employee to a patent troll can play "prosecutor" and again the question is only how much it'll ultimately cost.
Comparing intellectual property law to chattel slavery is a bit tasteless, no?
So according to your argument, the risk is not that we will be unable to access such articles without JSTOR, but that we will be unable to search for articles? That's basically saying that a document search system is too costly to create or maintain for a university library to deal with, and so JSTOR is necessary for queries. Which sounds like an unfounded assumption to me, considering how widely deployed CiteSeerX is.

Even if your argument were true, what exactly was Aaron draining? If JSTOR is providing this valuable search service, wouldn't that alone fund their operation? If having millions of documents is useless because we have no way to search those documents, what difference does it make if Aaron really had been sharing the documents with others? Would it not have been a good thing if Aaron had amassed these articles and made them available using a better search service -- wouldn't we have benefited (and isn't that the whole point of copyright anyway?)?

Had Aaron been accused of hacking into JSTOR to download the source code of their search system, you might have a point. Instead, he was accused of copyright infringement and of violating a network use agreement (because he was trying to evade the ban of his laptop's IP address); at no point was JSTOR's valuable search service even an issue in this case.
Can you prove it?

His whole point is that there is no conclusive evidence that there is no purpose to life, and there will never be if there is none to be found, and that is precisely why the only way to find one is to keep looking for it.

Specific religions as we know them have nothing to do with this. Indeed, even he said he had logically convinced himself there is no God. It doesn't all have to be about God-in-a-book.
one very big mistake reddit made was removing /r/reddit.com and leaving a vacuum for "default, catch-all subreddit" that people are now trying to shoehorn other defaults like /r/pics and /r/funny into
Would that make it a "T", a "t", or a "y"?
Aaron Swartz on SOPA (Video)
The goal must be to get her fired for abuse of power. Getting the press involved is the only way to accomplish this. Calling a Congressman by itself will only help if done in a huge and coordinated way. That kind of suggestion on its own is a safety valve, the sort of futile thing that people who don't want see justice served would suggest. As for the justification of putting prosecutors beyond elections because of "the South": Reconstruction and Jim Crow have somehow become the excuse for birthing a class of invulnerable prosecutors that threaten a young Jewish kid in Boston with 35 years in jail for downloading some history PDFs! We really licked Jim Crow now, good job! I am sure that burning the democracy to save it makes some sense in some universe, but not this one.

No matter. The fact that this woman cannot be disciplined by electoral measures is what necessitates the use of the Internet and the press:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5048632
Rather than forming a lynch mob against the prosecutor let's consider working on a petition more along the lines of this one:

"Posthumously Pardon Aaron Swartz"

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/posthumously-pardo...
That's about as realistic as expecting people to dump Aaron by telling them he downloaded a bunch of files without paying for them. It made him a hero.

You talk to her friends and family about her, and you'll just make her a hero in their eyes, the same way Aaron's actions made him a hero to reddit and 4chan.
Maybe she was told to do it from higher-ups, and was fighting for the right thing piece by piece but it just wasn't achievable in this instance without maybe a resignation--which in her estimation would only lead to replacement by someone who would follow orders and not even give her own level of push-back.

It is perhaps even more likely that that isn't the case, but don't assume things.
A plea to Google: please improve this search "how to commit suicide"
Shocked by Aaron Swartz death, I think that we all must help avoid what is avoidable.
Congress is bought and elections are a choice among the bought.

We are dealing with prideful arrogant people. They need a vivid example in order to get their attention. Destroying this case's prosecutors' careers is only a good start.
The only conclusion I can draw from his life and the events leading up to his demise is that he must have upset someone deeply entrenched in the circles of power. Otherwise the witch-hunt just doesn't make any sense. After all ask yourself what motive did the prosecutor possess for going after him like that?
The Internet reacts to Aaron Swartz. RIP, Aaron - we'll miss you.
The second petition will never be granted. I can say this with certainty because it is legally impossible to grant a pardon when someone has not been convicted (or plead guilty to) a crime to finality (i.e., the exhaustion of appeals).

As with the Enron fellow who died during his appeals, Aaron will never legally be guilty of whatever it was he was specifically charged with because his case was never adjudicated to finality.
Aaron Swartz on Github
No real change when you limit to US searches since 2007:
http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=software%20consultant...
I have survived clinical depression and drug abuse, including long term suicidal ideation, plans, and gestures. I will talk to you, if you want. Email in profile.
Days like these, I can't help but share some Pooh:

https://quip.io/q/awa

Disclaimer: I am a founder of the above entity, this is just my expression of solidarity for Aaron.
That's not how politics works. It's never been how politics works. This is why most people simply ignore Silicon Valley and the Internet when it comes to political issues.

If the likes of 4chan or reddit attack a federal prosecutor personally, all they will do is spur political action against reddit and 4chan. The underlying cause of their action will be ignored and forgotten.

(Note: SOPA is not an exception; major Silicon Valley companies spent serious amounts on lobbying to get that bill dropped. The internet opposition had exactly zero impact on its political fate.)
I agree, the DOJ, they selectively enforce those crimes that render political gain rather than for public benefit.

Example, Wall Street Securitized Mortgages whereas tens-of-thousands of mortgage deeds were scanned into a database, then destroyed despite state laws stating otherwise so the loans on people's homes could be traded on Wall Street like they were pork bellies. Did the DOJ do anything? NOPE!!!

But they sure went after Aaron, the bastards
Thoughts of the future in the wake of death
If it's larger than Aaron, then people shouldn't be using his death as the core reason for their crusade.
MIT is very open. They just put ID card readers on the student center in the last month or so. I used to see homeless people in the computer labs around campus and the student center all the time.
Obama Signs Bill Finally Allowing Netflix-to-Facebook Sharing
Sounds like you need help, or help finding help? Suicide is not the answer. I don't know who your are or where you live, but if you need help just email me, you can find my email in my profile. I don't know exactly what I can do for you but I will try because I know this post is a call for help.
If there is no God, then our lives are even more important, because those things we value as humans--like love, friendship, kindness, happiness, curiosity, and humor--only exist because we're here to value them. As Harry James Potter-Evens-Verres put it:

"There is no justice in the laws of Nature, Headmaster, no term for fairness in the equations of motion. The universe is neither evil, nor good, it simply does not care. The stars don't care, or the Sun, or the sky. But they don't have to! We care! There is light in the world, and it is us!"
He returned all of the articles he downloaded to JSTOR when he was asked to. He did not distribute them.

UPDATE: Here's JSTOR's confirmation of the above: http://about.jstor.org/statement-swartz
"I know a criminal hack when I see it, and Aaron’s downloading of journal articles from an unlocked closet is not an offense worth 35 years in jail."

Prosecutors regularly ask for outrageous sentences which from my observation are rarely granted.

Here is the case of Mark Drier. Government asked for 150 years, he got 20 years:

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/07/13/breaking-marc-dreier-sen...

Michael Miliken theoretically could have faced 520 years:

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/30/business/junk-bond-leader-...

This is what happened (he got 10 and that was reduced):

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/06/business/milken-s-sentence...
treated Aaron Swartz as a pawn in the political game she is playing

Well, maybe. It's also entirely possible that she was just doing her job, and didn't totally understand the technical aspects of what Swartz was accused of doing.
Also saw this in a post below as another option

Suicide Hotlines (USA): http://suicidehotlines.com/national.html
1-800-SUICIDE
1-800-273-TALK
Please if you are depressed or suicidal seek professional help.
On github: https://github.com/aaronsw
Excellent quote! I couldn't agree more.
Agreed, if that article is accurate those charges are ludicrous. There are plugins for every major browser that basically do the exact same thing, which any average layperson can use. What's next, claiming that AdBlock is inspecting and subverting Internet traffic, and hence a crime under the Wiretap Act?
Inside the Terror Factory - FBI’s massive efforts to create fake terrorist plots
Extremely happy to see so strong and direct words. We owe him that much.
For starters, because it may not be true. Another comment here claimed that the increase in traffic accidents (note: not deaths or even injuries, we're just counting accidents) is offset almost perfectly when we gain an hour of sleep. See http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199604043341416

I am completely in favor of abandoning DST, but am not convinced that it helps the cause to argue in terms of deaths. The opposition may claim with even greater efficacy among the general public that stopping DST will endanger children on Halloween (as has been claimed before).
Maybe we can hammer her hard enough to drive her to suicide. Wouldn't that be a win?
I disagree. It would provide a formal acknowledgment from our government that it was wrong to prosecute Aaron for his crimes with the severity that it did, and if worded thoughtfully, could establish some limiting precedent for how far future crimes like these should be prosecuted.

It's true that the laws themselves need to change, but I think you're underestimating the impact of a President's words.
Not to mention that his entire thesis ("scrolling is the true problem!1! OMG!") is unsupported and rather dubious...

All those other things he mentions are also problems, despite his proclamation to the contrary.

Even if he somehow has managed to "fix" the scrolling "problem" (and judging from the comments on this story, he hasn't even come close), reading stuff on on a computer will still be mostly the same (for better or for worse) experience.
> Decisions made by officials in the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s office and at MIT contributed to his death.

Damning
DNA pioneer James Watson takes aim at "cancer establishments"
All prosecution is political and white collar crimes doubly so.

No, all laws are political. Enforcement of the law, especiallly at the federal level, is apolitical. White collar crimes are not special; indeed, white collar crimes are by far the worst types of crimes because they strike directly at the foundation of the system itself (i.e., trust).

There's no politically neutral AI calling the shots.

Exactly. Letting prosecutors pick and choose which statutes they enforce would make prosecution political. This is what happened in the South for 100 years when blacks were prosecuted aggressively and white defendants were not (especially in cases with black victims). It's also the reason why prosecutors at the federal level generally do not have discretionary authority to decide what crimes they will enforce absent a presidential directive or a directive from the head of their agency.
I can't remember a specific incident, but I'm fairly certain I've done things more "inconsiderate" than this.

Cripes, this reads like something Larry and Sergey would have done in the early days of Backrub (later Google), not something that you get prosecuted for and face the possibility of 35 years in jail for.
JSTOR Statement on Aaron Swartz
The most prominent and continuous use of jury nullification occurred in the American South in the 20th century to nullify murder charges against those who had lynched black people or killed them by burning down their homes and churches.

Didn't change the law in the direction they wanted, and didn't achieve justice either.
All Obama has to say is that Massachusetts law enforcement acted stupidly. It'd have the same effect, as they've done so before, and he's said so before.

http://articles.cnn.com/2009-07-22/us/harvard.gates.intervie...
The sole purpose of a grand jury is to determine if there is sufficient evidence that a crime may have been commited to justify an expensive investigation, filing charges, or proceeding to trial (depends on the jurisdiction).

The grand jury hearings have no bearing on the determination of guilt, much less on the adequacy of the prosecution's case.
Simple traffic methods that anyone can follow
For those basically judging Aaron for his action, let me suggest that if you are so against suicide, you should stop lecturing and judging others. Instead, be compassionate, accepting, caring, patient, help people carry their burdens, turn the other cheek, be the bright spot in their day. People who attempt suicide are generally people who cracked under the strain. You generally don't know what burdens they bore, how you and others made the burden more instead of less. If you think people should choose to stay in this world, work on making it a choice worth making for more people. Be kinder, gentler, more generous. Or stfu when someone decides "enough is enough".
I don't think he is suggesting, explicitly nor implicitly, an equivalency in severity.
Nixon's acceptance was seen as a admission of guilt. I am not sure it would be wise to petition for a pardon, not only for a crime that may not have been committed, but for a crime that many at this site feel should be legal behavior.
The Internet Has Physical Ambitions
Yeh I have thought the same thing. So, who could it be?
Federal courts vs normal courts are like the difference between the NBA and high school basketball, or the NFL and college football.

Most of the rules are the same, but the game is played at a much higher level and the stakes are higher.
> Can you prove it?

There are depressingly few subjects in the world amenable to anything like what the mathematicians would call "proof".

I have no "proof" of anything philosophical. No-one does. But in my experience, laymen banging on about "proof" are likely doing so in defense of some ludicrous belief whose nonsensical tenets they loudly invite all comers to "disprove" - an impossible task. Let's hope you're not one of them.