When I was 15 I had to move high school after the death of my mother. I started to socialise at school and joined the investment club. It was a tough time for me and I desperately wanted to make friends and fit in. I wasn’t really into investing but a young man by the name of Chris Seaton was building their website and I loved computers so I wanted to help. Chris taught me how to program, first HTML websites, then PHP based apps, then C# and VBA native apps. Im pretty sure Chris invented the password manager before it was a thing too.
I spent the next few years at high school and sixth form trying to sit near Chris in lessons and talking to him on MSN Messenger and ICQ incessantly about programming, he taught me a lot and set me on a path to choosing computer science as my degree, I just copied him to be honest.
As a teenager, Chris (or Kit as some of his family knew him) wrote a computer programme, in his bedroom in Chandlers Ford, he called Password Safe. RIP Kit
So sorry for the loss you must be feeling. I met and talked to Chris just once, after a talk he gave in London, and found him utterly delightful as well as lucid on all things technical. Blessings and comfort to all who knew and loved him.
About 10 years ago he started a project with Ruby running on Graal before it was known as TruffleRuby. I still remember those HN submissions. SubstrateVM, Graal, The VM to rule it all. And as far as I am aware, he was the only one putting all papers about Ruby and Compilers Design in a single place [1].
I still remember a thread which I have bookmarked somewhere, where you have the lead of JVM, Graal, TruffleRuby, JSC, V8 and Spidermonkey along with another compiler expert arguing ( or in a heated debate ) about Dynamic languages. And when ever you have compiler related submission on HN, you will see him contribute his expertise on the subject.
He has been a valuable member of the Ruby and HN Community. I once joked "I am a simple man, I see Chris Seaton, I Upvote :)." I still remember I felt honoured when he followed me on Twitter.
As a fellow Rubyist and HN reader I know what you mean! There was always something mindblowing from Chris in the thread, usually multiple things. There's a big hole in my heart today.
My god this is awful. He was brilliant, accomplished, and kind. A few days ago he announced his 'permanent rest' (https://twitter.com/ChrisGSeaton/status/1599108759183577088). I'd thought it meant from the Ruby community and that the replies asking if he needed help were reading too much into the wording.
Like many mental illnesses, depression interferes with your perceptions. It's not that that love "wasn't enough", it's that a person deep in depression can't even accurately see or feel that love.
Yeah. The guy had what appears to be a pretty great life. Looking through twitter, there's photos of him with his kids and wife.
I just can't comprehend how someone can arrive at the decision to commit suicide, especially when you have a wife and children, and to then tweet about it. The human mind is an odd thing.
My friend who suffers from depression said it was basically being in emotional pain all the time. She said she has thought a few times that ending her life would stop the pain. It's a horrible form of mental illness. It's pervasive and while she has a grip on it now, it's something she struggles with often.
I also have a friend who committed suicide a few years ago. He had 2 kids but as his other friends described, he had his demons since he was a kid. I wish I could have helped him more.
This bit really chimed with my brief contacts with Chris
> As a college dropout, I’ve always felt underqualified. Embarrassment about my lack of knowledge and credentials has driven me to study hard on my own time. But Chris never once made me feel out of place. Any time I had questions, without judgement, he would take the time to explain things to me.
I never once felt like he looked down on people who knew less than him, he just saw it as an opportunity to share what he knew with them.
In an industry that can sometimes be dominated by arrogant certainty, or people trying to demonstrate their brilliance, he was a breath of fresh air.
I met Chris at a couple of local Ruby meetups in Bristol when he gave talks. He was an extremely smart, but also very personable guy. He seemed to really love what he was doing and relished the opportunity to explain it to people and share what he knew. He had a knack for explaining things really well in a way that never patronised when talking to people who were not experts in his domain. He had a real love of communicating what he knew to other people and his passion for his projects was infectious and inspiring.
He was younger than me (mid 30s?), but managed to pack an immense amount into that time. He was one of those people I've met who I've immediately thought "I need to be more like that". Genuinely inspirational. His death is a real loss to the community.
I wish the best for his family and friends over the next few months. This will be a tough holiday season for them.
You never know what is going on in someone's life and no clue what was going on in his but I think working in tech is harder than people recognize / give credit (and may not have any bearing on Chris, I am not trying to speculate).
Please talk to someone if you are feeling hopeless.
U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 800-273-TALK (8255)
Having been on the other end of it... the reality is harsh. People say they want to know, but in fact... they mostly don't. The reality of it is hard to deal with. It can go on and on.
People have a lot of misconceptions, sometimes for good reasons (it makes life easier to endure). It's a lot like the pushback on #metoo or #blacklivesmatter or <almost anything linked to traumatic experience>. They want to make it your fault because then its not something they have to think about.
I think depression is mostly orthogonal to where you work, although stress may make it worse.
This was definitely my experience. It takes so long and so much effort to get out of a deep depression that it strains everyone around you.
If anyone's gone through or is going through something similar, I highly recommend "The Noonday Demon." It captures much of the subjective experience of someone going through a depression, and how weird and frustrating the experience can be for everyone involved.
https://www.amazon.com/Noonday-Demon-Atlas-Depression/dp/150...
I agree with this. Someone reaching out because they have a problem or need someone to talk to is perfectly welcomed. Someone who does so daily becomes a big f'ing drag on your life, pardon the expression.
My father did that to us kids after divorce, and our relationship has never been the same.
(For those curious, he didn't hurt himself, just became an angry, sad, drunk yearslong drag on us all).
If you are struggling with self-worth, please read very carefully the posts of people who actually knew Chris Seaton. People value him by how much of himself and his time he was willing to give to others, not by some absolute measure of his skill. This is a capacity everyone has.
In fact, you probably have touched someone (if unknowingly) in a similar manner.
People who decide to go, very very often leave behind a heart shattered to pieces - unknowingly.
In the US, dialing 988 will also get you access to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. (Technically it is now the 988 Lifeline, but they both refer to the same thing[1].)
Chris often challenged me on discussions about UK politics. It is always important to hear different viewpoints, and I will miss that.
He lived within an hours drive from here. Which somehow makes it worse. This is not exactly Silicon Valley and people of his caliber are not everywhere to talk to.
He was pretty high up in the Army Reserve as well as his day job. It is humbling how much some people fit into a short life. My thoughts to his family and colleagues
I worked with him on TruffleRuby for almost six years, and knew him for a few years before that. I think every one who knew him is shocked and saddened by this news.
I'm sorry for your loss then. We followed each other on Twitter and I tried to plug the TruffleRuby and Graal work wherever I could as I really believed it is the future of Ruby. Beyond that what a brilliant writer. This single article helped me understand so much more about a language I've cherished for nearly two decades: https://chrisseaton.com/truffleruby/deoptimizing/
Readit News
I spent the next few years at high school and sixth form trying to sit near Chris in lessons and talking to him on MSN Messenger and ICQ incessantly about programming, he taught me a lot and set me on a path to choosing computer science as my degree, I just copied him to be honest.
I’ll miss you Chris
I still remember a thread which I have bookmarked somewhere, where you have the lead of JVM, Graal, TruffleRuby, JSC, V8 and Spidermonkey along with another compiler expert arguing ( or in a heated debate ) about Dynamic languages. And when ever you have compiler related submission on HN, you will see him contribute his expertise on the subject.
He has been a valuable member of the Ruby and HN Community. I once joked "I am a simple man, I see Chris Seaton, I Upvote :)." I still remember I felt honoured when he followed me on Twitter.
He will surely be missed by many.
R.I.P
[1] https://rubybib.org
Deleted Comment
I just can't comprehend how someone can arrive at the decision to commit suicide, especially when you have a wife and children, and to then tweet about it. The human mind is an odd thing.
I also have a friend who committed suicide a few years ago. He had 2 kids but as his other friends described, he had his demons since he was a kid. I wish I could have helped him more.
Deleted Comment
http://tenderlovemaking.com/2022/12/07/in-memory-of-a-giant....
We really have lost an exemplar of how to be a member of a community based on knowledge and learning.
I hope he continues to be an inspiration to people in the Ruby world for many years to come.
> As a college dropout, I’ve always felt underqualified. Embarrassment about my lack of knowledge and credentials has driven me to study hard on my own time. But Chris never once made me feel out of place. Any time I had questions, without judgement, he would take the time to explain things to me.
I never once felt like he looked down on people who knew less than him, he just saw it as an opportunity to share what he knew with them.
In an industry that can sometimes be dominated by arrogant certainty, or people trying to demonstrate their brilliance, he was a breath of fresh air.
I met Chris at a couple of local Ruby meetups in Bristol when he gave talks. He was an extremely smart, but also very personable guy. He seemed to really love what he was doing and relished the opportunity to explain it to people and share what he knew. He had a knack for explaining things really well in a way that never patronised when talking to people who were not experts in his domain. He had a real love of communicating what he knew to other people and his passion for his projects was infectious and inspiring.
He was younger than me (mid 30s?), but managed to pack an immense amount into that time. He was one of those people I've met who I've immediately thought "I need to be more like that". Genuinely inspirational. His death is a real loss to the community.
U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 800-273-TALK (8255)
National Suicide Helpline UK 0800 689 5652
His HN profile was also just his name https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=chrisseaton
I wish the best for his family and friends over the next few months. This will be a tough holiday season for them.
You never know what is going on in someone's life and no clue what was going on in his but I think working in tech is harder than people recognize / give credit (and may not have any bearing on Chris, I am not trying to speculate).
Please talk to someone if you are feeling hopeless.
U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 800-273-TALK (8255)
National Suicide Helpline UK 0800 689 5652
People have a lot of misconceptions, sometimes for good reasons (it makes life easier to endure). It's a lot like the pushback on #metoo or #blacklivesmatter or <almost anything linked to traumatic experience>. They want to make it your fault because then its not something they have to think about.
I think depression is mostly orthogonal to where you work, although stress may make it worse.
If anyone's gone through or is going through something similar, I highly recommend "The Noonday Demon." It captures much of the subjective experience of someone going through a depression, and how weird and frustrating the experience can be for everyone involved. https://www.amazon.com/Noonday-Demon-Atlas-Depression/dp/150...
My father did that to us kids after divorce, and our relationship has never been the same.
(For those curious, he didn't hurt himself, just became an angry, sad, drunk yearslong drag on us all).
In fact, you probably have touched someone (if unknowingly) in a similar manner. People who decide to go, very very often leave behind a heart shattered to pieces - unknowingly.
1: https://988lifeline.org/current-events/the-lifeline-and-988/
https://meta.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mental_health_resources
https://988lifeline.org/
He lived within an hours drive from here. Which somehow makes it worse. This is not exactly Silicon Valley and people of his caliber are not everywhere to talk to.
He was pretty high up in the Army Reserve as well as his day job. It is humbling how much some people fit into a short life. My thoughts to his family and colleagues