Today is Aaron Swartz’s death anniversary. He was involved in the development of the social news aggregation website Reddit until he departed from the company in 2007. He is often credited as a martyr and a prodigy, and his work focused on civic awareness and progressive activism.
He died by suicide because he made JSTOR articles free and they were gonna put him in federal prison for it. He felt academic knowledge should be accessible to everyone and shouldn’t be behind a paywall.
In the states, academic PhDs are said to be “giving back” to the community by spreading knowledge. I found this to personally not be the case as articles get published in obscure journals that the vast polity never read. In short, I’m with Aaron on this one and nixed academia.
rip
He left behind a legacy, a memory and a cunt of a business partner.
He is missed.
And now Reddit is Billionaire owned, fed CIA propaganda and is full of dislike/like/comment bots..
Aaron’s rolling in his grave.
# The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz
[https://youtu.be/9vz06QO3UkQ?si=rrifTvGtqw9BEUia](https://youtu.be/9vz06QO3UkQ?si=rrifTvGtqw9BEUia)
What the Feds did to him is fucking horrible
May his soul rest in peace
I always up vote Aaron. I can’t believe it’s been 12 years already. I hope his family is doing okay.
I wish more people could be like Aaron. Unfortunately that was thwarted. Rip.
The death of Aaron changed everything.
He shall never be forgotten
sweet angel man. you gave so so so so much and they took so much. i think you’re really cool xx
He would be fucking ashamed of what this has become since.
Would have definitely hated how it all turned out
“Martyr”
What happened to him
Aaron was an awesome guy. I was lucky enough to work with him on a few projects early on in reddit. Reddit was never the same without him.
Too many brilliant pioneers gone at such a young age. The greedy sellouts seem immortal though.
someone I’d actually like to meet in the afterlife
Reddit moment in the comments section
Rest in Power ✊🏽
In today’s short attention span, it’s good to see people remembering him.
And now reddit is full of bots to spread the fascist rhetoric.
I will never forget Aaron Swartz. As someone who works in academia, I tell people about him all the time.
He also created RSS feeds…I think 🤔
i think about him so often since learning his story. rest in peace aaron. you are so loved and valued
I recommend Lawrence Lessig’s talk on Aaron for those with the time, about an hour and a half on Harvard Law School YouTube. Absolutely excellent talk about Aaron’s life and what he was doing.
Rest in peace
You started something good
Aaron rest in power
o7
I highly recommend the documentary about him “the internet’s own boy”
Legend. ❤️
Man I was here for all of this as it happened and now it feels like ancient history.
Aaron was an extraordinary person. I’m glad the internet does not forget.
Never heard of him…bum
Didn’t plan on crying right now.
Rest in peace Aaron.
I worked with him on Reddit originally oddly enough.. we had some pretty big plans for free education let’s say we got fucked up
His name was Aaron Swartz.
Another martyr. A healthy society shouldn’t have as many as we do.
And then fuck face took over and gave us… *this*
The Internet’s Own Boy is amazing
He was a legend and an amazing mind, hope he is resting well
RIP 🤘🏻
And he would be incredibly upset with Reddit now, overtaken by bots and a primary disinfo platform in the social media sphere, all allowed in the name of profit.
A huge proponent of free speech. I am sorry Reddit didn’t turn out the way he envisioned it.
the Internets boner for this guy is so weird.
Rest easy.
I absolutely mean this with utmost respect and admiration for this wonderful human being, and may he rest in peace. But that is the most Reddit looking motherfucker I have ever laid eyes on.
So why did Mark Zuckerberg kill Aaron?
Asking for a Facebook friend.
He would LOVE all the ads this place has now.
He must be stoked with what it has become…starting with such lofty goals…