Hacker News Reader

Comment by die_sekte | Hacker News Reader

This also shows us the importance of documentation.

Still, I miss _why. There are a few hackers that have equally inspiring projects, and even some that come close to _why's love for teaching or _why's creative ability, but none of them are the _why. I hope he's still somewhere out there, doing something great.

View on HN

This also shows us the importance of documentation. I don't mean to be contrary, but I had the opposite takeaway. There's something almost wrong about having a manual for everything. Put another way, there's something really beautiful about discovery.. and democratizing it to everyone who comes across something instead of just the first guy who got saddled with writing the documentation. I think it's well within the spirit of what _why was up to.

Well, you're probably right, given that this was a tool for teaching.

I just wish _why would come back, regardless of the reasons he left (wanting to be anonymous). Those of us who like him do so regardless of whether we can find out his 'real' name. The character of _why is larger than that.

I like to believe he's out there, using some new pseudonym (or many) and still contributing in different areas.

Even if he's not, there's a lot of good people who still are.

While I think _why added something great to the world, and sad to seem him go. I like to think he left behind his imagine on top, and not a fat elvis. Same reason I miss The Show, but recognize that someone who is dedicated to creativity is always seeking a new way forward and a new path. _why as a character seemed to no longer provide that vessel.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com