[HN Gopher] Kris Nova has died
___________________________________________________________________
Kris Nova has died
Author : chrkl
Score : 638 points
Date : 2023-08-20 14:30 UTC (8 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (nivenly.org)
(TXT) w3m dump (nivenly.org)
| turntabler46 wrote:
| Flip. I am actually gutted, at the moment. We have never crossed
| paths but I remember watching her ECHO episode with Liz Rice a
| few days ago. Listened to her on Hanslemann's podcast too. Seemed
| like such a great soul
| donutshop wrote:
| Nooo :(
| hnarayanan wrote:
| I had only begun following her and her work since the creation of
| Hachyderm, and so sad to hear about this.
| ewindisch wrote:
| Wow. I'm not sure what to say. She and I had a lot in common,
| both personally and in our interests. I hope she's at rest.
| holoway wrote:
| Awful news. RIP Kris.
| brador wrote:
| [flagged]
| replwoacause wrote:
| She looks like a cool fucking person. I just watched 10 minutes
| of her Twitch stream and can tell she is smart and interesting
| just from that alone. I'll have to take some time to learn more
| about her.
|
| What a terrible loss indeed.
| mgerdts wrote:
| Some context from someone close:
|
| https://hachyderm.io/@quintessence/110922746691596046
|
| > The person I cherished more than any other, @nova , died
| unexpectedly late Wednesday in a climbing accident.
|
| > I have no words, only despair. The light in my soul is gone.
|
| > Joe Beda @jbeda and Nivenly are posting announcements. Others
| will also.
| de6u99er wrote:
| That's brutal because it was unexpected, and her loved ones
| could not say good bye.
| blstech wrote:
| Kris was a friend, Inspirer and all around great human being. She
| taught me so much and was loved by everyone in the community. Her
| contributions will not be forgotten or missed.
|
| -- Brian S.
| yewenjie wrote:
| Her recent project - https://github.com/aurae-runtime/aurae
| de6u99er wrote:
| I hope this will continue somehow!
| pimeys wrote:
| Oh no! I never used their server, but I followed them and was
| very impressed about the work they did and the community they
| created. All the best to their family.
| MagaMuffin wrote:
| [flagged]
| leetrout wrote:
| I think this should get a HN black bar
| altairprime wrote:
| You can email the mods at the Footer link and ask them to do
| so.
| RA_Fisher wrote:
| So sorry to read this. I'm thankful for the positive example she
| set for all of us. Gone but not forgotten.
| 0ct4via wrote:
| Kris was a talented engineer and an amazing person. She was doing
| something that she loved.
|
| Kris recently said how she was feeling the healthiest and
| happiest she had ever been.
|
| The loss is gutting to those that know her, or only know of her.
|
| For those that don't know, Kris created Hachyderm[1], which had
| incredible growth[2] after Elon Musk's Twitter takeover. She also
| created the Aurae runtime[3], and went on to create the Nivenly
| Foundation[4].
|
| In Kris' own words,
|
| "Fuck the internet, I'm gonna go climb mountains. If you can - if
| you're lucky enough - please also get outside, if you can."
|
| If you can, take a break. Get outside, and just... take a moment
| to just /be/ outside.
|
| RIP Kris <3
|
| [1] https://hachyderm.io/
|
| [2] https://thenewstack.io/how-hashyderm-scaled-up-after-elon-
| mu...
|
| [3] https://aurae.io
|
| [4] https://nivenly.org
| zegl wrote:
| This really saddens me, RIP.
| jaylittle wrote:
| I only recently became aware of her, but she was awesome. She'll
| be missed.
| the-rc wrote:
| So incredibly sad. No more arguments over the pronunciation of
| "kubectl". RIP.
| minedwiz wrote:
| I find myself unable to think of "systemctl" pronounced as
| anything but "system-cuddle" since watching her stream.
| MadAitcH wrote:
| I used to watch some of her streams. RIP
| cbm-vic-20 wrote:
| This is sad news. Her most recent Twitch stream, from a few weeks
| ago. https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1884973353
| jcastro wrote:
| I was lucky enough to work with Kris Nova. I was gutted when I
| heard this and I'm still in shock. She was in the middle of doing
| the hachyderm thing and I was struggling with some other stuff
| and we ended up just happening to meet at a restaurant. "Fuck
| what people say and think, do you what you want, that's what I'm
| going to do."
|
| Here's a segment from one of her recent streams. This is how I
| will remember her:
|
| https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1884973353?t=1238s
|
| Nova was a great friend and an asskicker, she loved being a
| hacker.
| kmbannerman wrote:
| Well said <3
| CharlesW wrote:
| Heartbreaking. That is a person who is living her best life.
| dzogchen wrote:
| [flagged]
| weaksauce wrote:
| how do you know that? it's a common route that can be lead
| with a rope and it is about 5.4 and she had a partner with
| her.
| PathfinderBot wrote:
| I'm not a mod, but I think it might be best not to
| continue this discussion right now out of respect for
| Kris.
| winstonSmithy wrote:
| [dead]
| leetrout wrote:
| Joe Beda posted more info ~20 mins ago
|
| Last Wednesday evening Kris Nova had a climbing accident and
| died.
|
| All of us that loved her are heart broken and stunned. She was an
| amazing person that lived out loud and built connection and
| community wherever she went. She will be horribly missed.
|
| https://twitter.com/jbeda/status/1693290822370787697
| dijit wrote:
| [flagged]
| argiopetech wrote:
| To steelman your point, I believe you're saying that an
| Autistic person may have difficulty not "being an asshole" due
| to lack of understanding or awareness of how you're
| interactions with others may be perceived. Therefore, while the
| rules try to be inclusive of autistic people, they are
| simultaneously exclusive by requiring a level of social
| awareness that may be impossible.
|
| Is that correct?
| dijit wrote:
| That is exactly my position, thank you for articulating it so
| eloquently.
| argiopetech wrote:
| I'm glad. I appreciate and understand (viscerally) your
| point, and I don't believe it is deserving of the backlash
| that you have received. Hopefully my restating will support
| a more intelligent conversation, or at least earn you a
| fake internet point or two back.
| CoastalCoder wrote:
| You might want to update your original comment to clarify.
|
| It seems to be getting downvoted by people who
| misunderstanding the comment.
| dijit wrote:
| Unfortunately I cannot edit it, but downvotes are ok.
|
| as others have mentioned, this topic is probably not a
| worthwhile one to bring up as the focus is on mourning
| one of our own.
| KomoD wrote:
| > I pointed out on twitter that the rules for her mastodon
| server were incompatible (IE; "Don't be an asshole" and being
| welcoming to Autistic people)
|
| Calling all autistic people assholes is very worthy of being
| blocked and banned
| serf wrote:
| That's not what was said. What was said was implying that
| autistic folks need the ability to have their actions judged
| from the perspective of their trouble rather than just
| blindly judged 'asshole' when they make a social miss-step.
|
| Regardless, this isn't the time or place for moderation chat;
| one of our own had suffered a tragically early demise, and I
| mourn. My condolences to everyone affected.
| dijit wrote:
| Apologies, that's not what I intended to say, and not what I
| said to her either.
|
| It's unfortunately true that my behaviour (and the behaviour
| of many autistic people) can be easily characterised as being
| an asshole, and vague rules do not help us function.
|
| The condition is very much characterised by being unable to
| understand social cues.
|
| I really was trying only to be helpful and got quite hurt in
| the interaction.
| deanCommie wrote:
| Dijjt, I do have some empathy for you. I'm on the spectrum
| but only mildly.
|
| You're right that social cues are complex and inconsistent.
|
| But it's not helpful to the autistic community to suggest
| that they are unable to learn how not to be an asshole - in
| online, or irl communities. I know many that started with
| struggles, but learned how to handle it.
|
| The trick was wanting to try. To decide that the empty
| annoying irritating things that allstics do are not
| malicious either. And that social interaction is like the
| rules of a very complex game.
|
| It takes time, it takes effort, it takes humility.
|
| I don't know you so I would never presume what your
| situation is. But I know of several people in my life who
| are on the spectrum that I got close to before I realized
| that they genuinely have no interest in self improvement,
| and they use their autistic diagnostic as a cover to see
| themselves as above petty human social squabbles, and that
| their assholishness is a mark of pride that they use to
| refuse to better themselves. I hope that's not where you
| are at.
| Retr0id wrote:
| [flagged]
| 0ct4via wrote:
| Sounds like your message implied that being autistic meant
| being an asshole, which categorically isn't true.
|
| You can be accused of being an asshole, it doesn't mean it's
| because of your autism though - and going "autistic = asshole"
| is absolutely worthy of a ban.
|
| Maybe don't be so quick to portray your own experiences onto
| autistic people as whole. If you wanted more specifics about
| what Kris meant by "don't be an asshole," you could've asked
| her (or any Hachyderm staffer).
|
| You are not every autistic person, and not every autistic
| person is an asshole.
|
| Portraying all autistic people as assholes - or implying that
| by virtue of being autistic, they can't _not_ be an asshole -
| is incredibly ignorant and ableist.
|
| While I sympathise with your struggle with intent or clarity,
| it does seem that you were an asshole, and your projected
| assumptions about autistic people because of your own
| experiences are harmful, not helpful.
| CoastalCoder wrote:
| I think you may have misunderstood. (See sibling comments in
| this thread.)
| 0ct4via wrote:
| I understood it fine, but thanks for the assumption.
|
| It was put across in an asshole way, and bringing it up
| when it has no relevance to commiserating the loss of a
| great person and engineer, is an asshole move - autistic or
| not.
| fumeux_fume wrote:
| Would like to politely point out that this is not really the
| time or place to be posting your petty gripes with a person who
| just passed.
| dijit wrote:
| Pardon, I was merely lamenting that I didn't know her better.
|
| It was not my intention to air a gripe.
| CoastalCoder wrote:
| I'm sorry you experienced that.
|
| I'm on the spectrum, and my son even more so. It's painful when
| my heart is in the right place, but neuro-typicals mistake my
| intent and refuse to believe me.
|
| It's taken a lot of effort for me to adjust my communication
| style to avoid those situations. Happily it's mostly paid off,
| but I'm sad that my son will likely need to walk the same path
| somewhat.
| ahelwer wrote:
| (am also on the spectrum)
|
| > neuro-typicals mistake my intent and refuse to believe me
|
| This is an idea I had to unlearn. We struggle as much
| understanding ourselves as understanding other people. When
| people react negatively to our behavior often times we
| immediately jump to extending unlimited benefit of the doubt
| to our own intentions. In reality, our perception of our own
| intentions are often post-hoc fabrications to preserve our
| self-image as a nice person. Letting go of this assumption
| was helpful to a better understanding of interpersonal
| interaction.
| jxf wrote:
| This absolutely sucks.
|
| Kris and I worked together only briefly on a small hack project,
| but everything about them was exactly what you'd imagine in a
| forward-thinking community leader and technologist.
|
| I'm deeply saddened for those who knew Kris well, and hope some
| solace is found in knowing that their contributions left the
| world a brighter place.
| bcantrill wrote:
| Gutted to hear this. We had the privilege to speak with her late
| last year on the work she had done on Hachyderm -- and to get her
| perspective on the Mastodon and the Fediverse more generally.[0]
| She was a great presence and technologist, and inspiring to many
| people. It is tragic to have lost someone so young; RIP.
|
| [0] https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/mastodon-
| wi...
| aberoham wrote:
| Tragic news. I had the privilege to catch Kris at FOSDEM
| 2020[0][1]. Such a force. RIP Kris.
|
| [0]
| https://mirror.as35701.net/video.fosdem.org/2020/K.1.105/kub...
| [1] https://archive.fosdem.org/2020/schedule/event/kubernetes/
| kraig911 wrote:
| What from :(
| ec109685 wrote:
| https://twitter.com/jbeda/status/1693290822370787697?s=20
| abathur wrote:
| I don't _know_ , but she did enjoy mountain climbing, and she's
| seemed to be in good spirits lately
| (https://krisnova.net/posts/ego-death/) so I'm guessing a
| climbing accident until we hear more.
| SideburnsOfDoom wrote:
| Climbing accident has been mentioned:
| https://hachyderm.io/@quintessence/110922746691596046
|
| > "@nova died unexpectedly late Wednesday in a climbing
| accident."
| barathr wrote:
| It appears it was a climbing accident:
| https://hachyderm.io/@quintessence/110922746691596046
| [deleted]
| kraig911 wrote:
| I know it's insensitive to ask but from her recent streams she
| was so full of life. I've really enjoyed listening to her these
| past few years.
| [deleted]
| oaf357 wrote:
| I am deeply saddened by this news.
| danhon wrote:
| .
| hobo_mark wrote:
| I lost colleagues and an acquaintance to mountaineering accidents
| and I do not understand what makes people risk their life doing
| that.
| j45 wrote:
| It doesn't have to make sense to others.
|
| If I was to imagine what I didn't know about mountaineering, it
| might be about working to see views that I couldn't have
| imagined.
| dijit wrote:
| To be perfectly fair with you, it's less dangerous than
| driving.
|
| https://www.summitpost.org/mountaineering-accident-statistic...
| kelnos wrote:
| I don't think those statistics mean what you think they mean.
| And those two activities are not directly comparable in that
| way.
| ghaff wrote:
| Raw numbers don't mean much unless you normalize to the
| number of participants in some way and, really, to the level
| of the activity. Not a lot of people are killed flying in
| wing suits but that's not because it's such a safe activity.
|
| To be clear, I think mountaineering is a perfectly rational
| activity for people to pursue so long as they're going into
| it with their eyes wide open. I've certainly done activities
| in that vein that some reasonable percentage of people would
| probably consider excessively dangerous for various reasons.
|
| I wouldn't personally do many of them but I'd hesitate to
| criticize people in general for pursuing activities that have
| greater than typical day-to-day danger associated with them.
| hobo_mark wrote:
| I'm not criticizing. I'd like to understand what might make
| climbing a tall rock worth losing my life.
| outside1234 wrote:
| Sitting in front of a computer will claim a lot of lives
| through inactivity but manny people still do it because
| it brings meaning / relaxation / connection to other
| people to their lives.
|
| Its the same with mountaineering.
| ghaff wrote:
| There's risk in all manner of things. Some I would
| _personally_ consider as high risk for relatively low
| personal reward--or I 'm not physically capable of doing
| them anyway (which alas covers more things than used to
| be the case).
|
| But people like challenges, experiences, etc. some of
| which are never going to be wholly risk free. I'm not
| going to pressure someone to get out of their comfort
| zone in a way that puts them in potential physical danger
| but I fully understand people who pressure themselves.
| I've certainly gotten into some dicey situations now and
| then. Nothing serious happened--I was generally prepared
| --but it wouldn't have taken a lot for things to go
| sideways.
|
| Or maybe you get distracted and forget to look both ways
| before crossing the street.
| dijit wrote:
| FWIW the article I linked says exactly the same thing as
| you.
|
| It's _essentially_ impossible to properly normalise across
| hours of doing the activity.
|
| Those stats, are at best, an estimate but it's
| _exceptionally_ favourable to mountaineering.
| ghaff wrote:
| I clicked through the link and looked at what data was
| available--looked like a lot of broken links. But,
| depending on your definition of mountaineering, as
| someone with a fair bit of experience in the area, I
| simply don't believe that mountaineering at any
| significant level is safer than driving whatever sort of
| normalization you settle on. The latest fatality stats
| for US roads is something like one per 100 million miles.
|
| However, as both you and the link suggest, it's
| essentially impossible to normalize. I don't know how I'd
| even draw a hard line between a "walk in the woods" and
| "mountaineering." But do whatever works for you.
| [deleted]
| ocdtrekkie wrote:
| Simply put: They enjoyed doing it. I wouldn't do it. But I
| would say I definitely see why someone would rather leave this
| world doing something that brought them joy over something like
| cancer.
| ldehaan wrote:
| [dead]
| jonahhorowitz wrote:
| RIP Kris. I only met her a few times but she was *ing amazing.
| dredmorbius wrote:
| A self-authored bio of Kris for those unfamiliar with her, here:
|
| <https://krisnova.net/bio/>
| eddie_31003 wrote:
| Rest In Paradise friend.
| johnklos wrote:
| I was supposed to climb a mountain with her. There really aren't
| that many people in this world to whom you can say, "let's do a
| (slightly out there) thing", to which they say "yes" without
| hesitation and with 100% certainty.
|
| RIP. I'll be thinking of you on the mountains.
| slimsag wrote:
| I didn't know Kris, but we had bumped into each-other at various
| times through open source work. I recall her being a very kind
| and also deeply technical. Once she was supposed to give a talk
| in Phoenix, and I was stoked to get to meet her in person
| finally, unfortunately it got cancelled due to COVID and so I
| never had the chance.
|
| Rest in peace. I hope her loved ones are able to take the time to
| grieve and find solice
| jaydestro wrote:
| Rest in peace. Best wishes to Kris's friends and loved ones.
| [deleted]
| bbgm wrote:
| Kris and I got to know each other a bit over the years. I still
| remember our first meeting vividly. We met for dinner at a
| Mexican restaurant in Capitol Hill and spent the evening talking
| containers, Linux, Kubernetes, and Open Source. This is a tough
| loss. I will take small in the fact that it happened doing the
| thing she loved.
| sp332 wrote:
| I don't think anyone has mentioned her self-published book,
| Hacking Capitalism. I haven't even finished it because I keep
| having to set it down and think. It's not only insightful about
| how tech workers fit into big companies, but specifically gives
| advice about how to get ahead in the system without losing
| yourself.
| mbStavola wrote:
| This is incredibly depressing news. Kris Nova will be missed
| dearly and remembered fondly.
| joaquin2023 wrote:
| I first came across her words in the book Cloud Native
| Infrastructure, and she had a way to say things concisely, things
| I had always wanted to express, but never had the words. I was an
| instant fan. I ran into once at Salesforce Park in SF, and told
| her about how I followed her and loved her works. It so happened
| she was talking to a VP at the time, explaining the importance of
| social media in tech, to that worked perfectly for her. I'll
| never forget her, and cherish her forever.
| djhworld wrote:
| RIP Kris.
|
| She was one of my favourite people to follow on Twitter, and for
| understandable reasons she left there to start the mastodon
| instance but I didn't really use it much.
|
| Really shocked to hear the news, she was very influential.
| sabin1001 wrote:
| She helped me get my current job. Thank you Kris for helping me
| and please rest in peace.
| voidfunc wrote:
| [flagged]
| bhouston wrote:
| It was a climbing accident on Wednesday.
| voidfunc wrote:
| Ugh. Terrible
| bhouston wrote:
| Damn that sucks. She was running the mastodon instance with
| competency and openness and low drama. Seems like what all great
| engineers should embody.
| sp332 wrote:
| She created the Nivenly Foundation to run it, and removed
| herself from the admin position a few months ago.
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRxRNe6yeg0&t=1237
| de6u99er wrote:
| https://nivenly.org/projects/
| ashleymcnamara wrote:
| Kris was more than just a prominent figure in our industry; she
| was a beacon of inspiration in open-source. Her passion wasn't
| just about writing code, but about bringing people together,
| breaking barriers, and making technology accessible to all.
| Kris's vibrant personality and dedication to collaboration will
| be deeply missed, but her impact on the world of open-source
| won't be forgotten. She has left a personal imprint on many of
| us, and her spirit will continue to inspire those who believe in
| the power of community-driven innovation. I will miss her so
| much. She was truly one of a kind.
| jasoneckert wrote:
| Beautiful tribute! And when those entering the industry explore
| the open source world, they'll see her front and centre among
| the other greats at https://www.facesofopensource.com/kris-
| nova-2/
| theacodes wrote:
| I only ever directly interacted with Kris once, and that's all
| I needed. She was so kind to me when I reached out for advice
| and support during an extremely difficult time in my life.
|
| She will be missed so much.
| efm wrote:
| I also only spoke with Nova once. She was kind and helpful
| beyond what I could have hoped for.
|
| Her energy and enthusiasm for life shone like a bright star.
|
| She will be missed.
| milesward wrote:
| Oh no :(
| a_hoglund wrote:
| I worked with Kris on a project at GitHub this past year. She was
| always a pleasure to work with, this is such shocking and sad
| news. Will be praying for those closest.
| predictabl3 wrote:
| I always figured I'd bump into her again and reconnect. Kris was
| unlike anyone I've met before. "infectious energy" exemplified.
| Big ideas and the determination to chase them. I still remember
| some words of encouragement she gave me, seemingly so easily. :(
| RIP Kris
| zan5hin wrote:
| Truly stunned and saddened to learn of her death. By happy
| accident I discovered Hachyderm soon after I started really using
| Mastodon. I was very impressed with the space Kris created and
| the community she fostered there.
|
| My heart breaks for those who knew her personally, and for her
| family and loved ones.
|
| RIP Kris
| zapdrive wrote:
| [flagged]
| zapdrive wrote:
| [flagged]
| mongol wrote:
| I have seen her name but I don't know what she is well known for.
| My condolences, it is always sad when people pass away much too
| early.
| voigt wrote:
| I'm really sorry to hear this. She did so much for the community
| and was an inspiring personality. All the best to her family.
| toomuchtodo wrote:
| https://krisnova.net/
| bhouston wrote:
| [deleted]
| leetrout wrote:
| I read that this morning. She said she was pretty happy at
| the start of her most recent stream
|
| https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1884973353
|
| Said she was running and climbing and the happiest she's been
| in her life.
| Djle wrote:
| I'm very sorry to hear this. My she rest in peace.
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