hal@finney.org wrote:
> One of the weaknesses of "electronic communities" is that we don't notice
> when people leave.
WOW this was a great post, Hal, thanks! You are so right.
> I looked back at the archive for two years ago, and I saw many familiar
> names who were once active but who have not posted recently...
Yes, den Otter, where has that guy gone? He and the others are
suddenly missed, now that you mention their names.
> I'm sure most of these people are doing fine, and have just gone on to
> other things. But it is strange to have all these departed ones who are
> around only in memory, ghosts who haunt our electronic gathering place.
Hal, I am on a mathematical list that is pretty international. There was
a poster from Britain who was active, posting nearly every day, patiently
answering newby questions, etc, a real mathematical saint. With bad
kidneys. He was undergoing treatment, but they didnt have lithotrypsy
available in his part of Britain. The treatment went wrong and he
ended up with an infection. He was talking about selling a bunch of
possessions to come to America for treatment, but his posts dwindled and he
eventually disappeared never to return about a year and a half ago.
No one on the list knew him in the flesh. We must sadly assume he
perished. There was no memorial service by his list buddies, just
a bunch of messages imploring him to check in if he was lurking,
which he evidently wasnt. {8-[ Damn. spike
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jul 27 2000 - 14:12:05 MDT