Rob Levin
Encyclopedia
Robert Levin also known as lilo, was the founder of the freenode
IRC
network and Executive Director of the PDPC
charity that helped fund freenode. A computer programmer since 1968, he worked as an administrator and an applications programmer from 1978 until his death.
and Open Source
projects. He was one of the founders of the OpenProjects Network (OPN), which quickly grew to become the largest IRC network used by the free software community
. The OpenProjects.net domain was later put up for sale, but did not sell. It also came to light that he mismanaged funds intended for the OPN, even going so far as to use them to pay his cell phone bill, his rent, buying food, and paying off student loans.
, Levin renamed The OpenProjects Network to "Freenode" in an effort to make the IRC network more palatable to the GNU project. As the leader of freenode
and later the Executive Director of the PDPC, a 501(c)(3) charity founded in Texas, Levin was responsible for fundraising activity for the PDPC.
in a hit-and-run collision
. After the collision, it was reported that he was hospitalized for several days. He died on September 16.
Freenode
freenode, formerly known as Open Projects Network, is an IRC network used to discuss peer-directed projects. Their servers are all accessible from the domain name [irc://chat.freenode.net chat.freenode.net], which load balances connections by using the actual servers in rotation...
IRC
Internet Relay Chat
Internet Relay Chat is a protocol for real-time Internet text messaging or synchronous conferencing. It is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels, but also allows one-to-one communication via private message as well as chat and data transfer, including file...
network and Executive Director of the PDPC
Peer-Directed Projects Center
The PDPC is known as the organization which runs the freenode IRC network, prominent open source projects such as the GNU Project operate an IRC chat service. The PDPC is incorporated in England and Wales.- Goals :...
charity that helped fund freenode. A computer programmer since 1968, he worked as an administrator and an applications programmer from 1978 until his death.
OpenProjects
From 1994 onwards, he worked to encourage the use of IRC for Free SoftwareFree software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
and Open Source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
projects. He was one of the founders of the OpenProjects Network (OPN), which quickly grew to become the largest IRC network used by the free software community
Free software community
The free-software community is an informal term that refers to the users and developers of free software as well as supporters of the free-software movement. The movement is sometimes referred to as the open-source software community or a subset thereof...
. The OpenProjects.net domain was later put up for sale, but did not sell. It also came to light that he mismanaged funds intended for the OPN, even going so far as to use them to pay his cell phone bill, his rent, buying food, and paying off student loans.
Freenode
After courting The Free Software FoundationFree Software Foundation
The Free Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded by Richard Stallman on 4 October 1985 to support the free software movement, a copyleft-based movement which aims to promote the universal freedom to create, distribute and modify computer software...
, Levin renamed The OpenProjects Network to "Freenode" in an effort to make the IRC network more palatable to the GNU project. As the leader of freenode
Freenode
freenode, formerly known as Open Projects Network, is an IRC network used to discuss peer-directed projects. Their servers are all accessible from the domain name [irc://chat.freenode.net chat.freenode.net], which load balances connections by using the actual servers in rotation...
and later the Executive Director of the PDPC, a 501(c)(3) charity founded in Texas, Levin was responsible for fundraising activity for the PDPC.
Death
On September 12, 2006, he was struck by a car while riding a bicycle at night in Houston, TexasHouston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
in a hit-and-run collision
Hit and run (vehicular)
Hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic accident , and failing to stop and identify oneself afterwards...
. After the collision, it was reported that he was hospitalized for several days. He died on September 16.
External links
- Agalmics – Rob Levin's essay on the marginalization of scarcity