The Future of ReiserFS 459
lisah writes "With the announcement of Hans Reiser's arrest this week, many people have been wondering what this will mean for his company, Namesys, and the future of his filesystem work. According to a report at Linux.com, employees at Namesys are circling their wagons and plan to continue working on the project 'in the short term.' One employee admits, 'we are rather shaken and stressed at the moment, although I cannot say we didn't see it coming.'"
OS Developers arrested (Score:3, Interesting)
This makes me wonder how many other primary authors of open source projects have been arrested in the past and how this has affected their projects?
Uneek
Even if not guilty (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:We saw it coming?? (Score:4, Interesting)
Some Related Reading (Score:5, Interesting)
AUTHORITIES SEARCH HOME OF MISSING WOMAN'S HUSBAND [cbs5.com]
ATTORNEY: HANS REISER 'DISTRUSTFUL' OF OAKLAND POLICE [cbs5.com]
UPDATE: POLICE CHARGE HANS REISER WITH MURDER [cbs5.com]
Missing woman's blood found in husband's house [mercurynews.com]
All in all, it's very disturbing. I get the impression at least one of the people involved in this is completely insane.
Re:Problems for Namesys? (Score:4, Interesting)
In larger companies, the CEO generally plays golf most of the time.
In smaller companies, it's quite common for the CEO to be designing the products in great detail, and many a promising open source project has withered for lack of a leader - though I can't see that happening in the case of ReiserFS because it's too big and important.
Re:As expected (Score:1, Interesting)
Anon
Re:Even if not guilty (Score:4, Interesting)
Then again, who doesn't feel that way about their ex-wife.. except, ya know, those few freaks who part on good terms and have each other over for dinner with their new partners. *shudder*
Re:Strange way to prosecute in the US (Score:3, Interesting)
On the other hand in the States what the journalists have more or less a free hand to slant things how they want, both before and during the case -- this is seen as part of their free speech, protected by the First Amendment. So in the U.S. there is a tendency for both sides to go very public, and for both the defence and the prosecution (and the police) to try to spin their point of view.
Some BBC stories discussing the difference:
* Q&A about journalists and contempt [bbc.co.uk] -- following the 2001 discharge of a jury after a "prejudicial" newspaper article, in the case of 2 Leeds footballers accused of attacking a student.
* UK silence over bombings deafens [bbc.co.uk] -- Why much more information about the 2005 London bombings came from the NYPD than the Met.
* Media coverage [bbc.co.uk] and the 2005 Michael Jackson trial.
Re:We saw it coming?? (Score:3, Interesting)
Life outside of coding (Score:1, Interesting)
LIVE
This is really a tragedy of the dehumanization and digitalization of human relations.
Re:We saw it coming?? (Score:3, Interesting)
While I didn't vote for Bush, I'm fairly conservative, against terrorism, agree many of the people there are scum.
However, on his dancing around the torture issue, it is clear that we are torturing people somewhere in the world if not there. As an *American* that really pisses me off- we are supposed to the be the shining light on the hill.
Likewise, there is *pretty clear* evidence that a lot of innocent people got swept up in guantanamo (up to 10%) and their lives have been destroyed and when they got out they *reported* being tortured and observing torture. Yes 90% are probably scum bags but police and other people with authority regularly put innocent people to death because their bias is exactly 100% reversed from what it should be. It should be "We don't want to destroy even one innocent person" instead of "We don't want even one guilty person to get away".
We probably *are* kissing their asses and giving them qurans when we are not torturing them. Which is sort of twisted when you think about it. Oh yea- and there is not another country on earth outside of maybe iceland and canada? that hasn't done the same or worse to their own secret prisoners.
Re:Life outside of coding (Score:5, Interesting)
Working intensly on one single thing (esp. software) just fucks your brain eventually.
Your partner, kids, family and friends should be the biggest kick in your life, not some stupid pile of fucking code.
I used to be really proud to be a software designer, thinking software apps were a big boon to mankind. The more I look around me, the more I think that computer tech (and particularly the web) is isolating and dehumanising us all.
Re:Some Related Reading (Score:1, Interesting)
"In addition, Reiser alleged that Sturgeon wrote into a contract that Reiser must participate in 'Death Yoga,' which he said has the purpose of 'slowing down one's heart to the point of death.'"
Sounds like a period of paranoid schizophrenia -- and have to say your stereotypical introverted, obsessive, male geek profile typically increases the possibility. Add enormous emotional stress caused by divorce and there you go. However, given his age it would have surfaced long before this -- but who knows maybe it did and that was part of the reason for the divorce. Seems like he did have some difficulties behaving in socially accepted ways towards other people.
Re:As expected (Score:1, Interesting)
The last time she was seen alive was when she dropped off the children - were the children witnesses? Where were they during the alleged murder? Where were they while the body was presumably disposed of? They're kind of young to be left alone, but old enough to testify as to what happened.
Re:Problems for Namesys? (Score:3, Interesting)
My conclusion is that Hans Reiser is likely a paranoid schizophrenic.
First he insists that his business associate was doing all this stuff with his wife behind his back, alleging a secret conspiracy. But, it turns out that his wife had a boyfriend who wasn't this business associate. The rational behavior for his wife would be to make the secret relationship public knowledge after the divorce, not to start a new publicly acknowledged relationship.
Hans contends that the relationship continued with his business associate in secret. The only reason she would do that would be to personally make his life unpleasant. But other aspects of her behavior don't fit this. Besides, it's not like people to engage in a secret conspiracy to ruin someone else's life for no benefit to themselves.
This also fits with his outbursts about code reviews and opinions about ReiserFS on LKML being politically rather than technically motivatd.
I'm inclined to believe that he murdered is wife, but it is only an inclination that I base on available evidence and is subject to change in the face of contradictory facts. But, I'm also inclined to believe that he should be classified as insane.
I'm really sad about this. Both for the tragedy of it (I'm aware enough of the idea of the monkeysphere to not pretend that I cared for his wife and kids since I've never met or talked to them and didn't even know they existed before this story), for Hans personally (as I've exchanged words with him on mailing lists), and for the beleagured future of my favorite filesystem. :-(
Re:Some Related Reading (Score:1, Interesting)
I've seen what happens when a paranoid schizophrenic cracks before, and it's very, very sad
I wouldn't claim that he's one (I'm not a doctor and I have no way of knowing), but if that information is actually true, that's exactly what it would lead me to believe. A big stressor like debt or business failure is exactly the thing that can drive a big crack through an otherwise mostly-sound mind, too.
I really hope this speculation is way off base.