The interesting thing is why this (false) accusation appears now, years later. I don't recall people saying it at the time, which makes sense because it was obviously untrue.
You removed it from the directory. Not very honest, is it?
Also, how is criticizing Aaron Swartz off topic? The other commenter brought it up. No one made him commit suicide but HN has a boner for this guy like he's a victim.
The YC directory is a YC feature, not an HN one. I'm pretty certain HN mods (dang, tomhow) have no direct influence over that, though they might care how inclusion/exclusion of investment embarrassments reflects on HN itself.
HN itself clearly hasn't shied away from critical coverage of that venture.
Your other argument shows a distinct lack of empathy and a certain disregard for facts of the matter.
I think anyone can be a hacker. Anyone can break any laws. But to kill yourself over it? It's in the extreme. I don't believe law enforcement has to take the blame for that.
The only reference to Swartz that I see in the parent comment is:
> Through good times and rough ones, including the loss of Aaron Swartz (who I only knew of through HN), this has stayed a place for real conversation.
And the rest was just upbeat talk in general.
Unless the parent comment was edited, I don't understand why you responded:
> What Aaron Swartz did to himself was tragic, but he did decide to break the law. Something that is glossed over here.
By "here", I assume you mean "HN in general", but your comment comes off as loaded (e.g., "did to himself" sounds like a conscious attempt at asserting a framing), and the timing seems poor (i.e., that particular innocuous comment, on this particular day).
Take heart: there are a lot of people like Aaron Swartz. Of course you'll find them in proportionally fewer numbers, when you look somewhere that attracts with money/power.
