This comment [1] has a link to this obituary [2] of Matt. The comment is flagged, probably because the author's other comment is very mean spirited, but the linked obituary is excellent.
When it said he died "penniless and alone" the first thing that came to mind was; he gave it all he had, and was still single-handedly exploring a frontier.
Had a handful of interactions with Matt. Probably the last was sometime in the mid- to late-2010s. I essentially started my software development career using software that he was largely responsible for (unknown to me at the time):
These are, in my opinion, some of the best packages in Perl, and there are rarely counterparts that are as good in other languages. Have not found an ORM that is as effortless and featureful as DBIx::Class, for example.
I've read about his tough interactions with other people, and it does seem that, at times, he fell into the classic trap of loving his own ideas too much; but in our interactions (reviewing some of my code on a Perl project), he was really helpful and kind. Also amazingly quick. He read my beginner-level Perl code, instantly understood it, and instantly gave clear, concise feedback.
alt title: Matt Trout (mst) -- prominent Perl developer -- has died aged 42
Matt Trout (mst) was a very big deal in the Perl 5 community, although he was a deeply polarizing figure. He was a big contributor to many Modern Perl projects. I am personally very sad he's dead. I enjoyed the time I spent with him in person, and always found him personally supportive, encouraging, and helpful, although it would be remiss to not mention that a good section of other people found him a very difficult character on many levels.
He was pretty mean to people on irc. If you didn't immediately understand what he said he'd verbally barrage you. Then again the whole perl irc community was pretty toxic.
He would have been happy to tell you himself that he had some rough edges, would speak his mind unvarnished, and would hold strongly onto his own opinions of what he thought was right.
No reason to not say it plainly: he was regularly a total dickhead to people asking for help. But, also, he always gave people first-class expert help. They just had to "pay" by taking a bit of verbal abuse.
I spent over a decade in #perl on freenode/libera and saw so many abusive events that I eventually got tired of hanging out there, mostly due to him but in part also due to a handful of others displaying similar behavior. All the same I was always grateful for how tirelessly he spent so much of his personal time providing help, and I'm sad to learn of his passing.
I used to know him quite well, though not much in a technical context.
He used to wind up taking home every single girl I introduced him to. He and I met when he pulled my FWB at a club and our friendship long outlasted either of ours with the FWB.
He gave me career advice that I followed that set me on a path to the great happiness I now have.
A day on from hearing the news, I find myself particularly grieving his passing. We haven't spoken in a few years and, indeed, I poached one of his employees more recently than we spoke, but I'd like to share an anecdote. Maybe to just get it off my chest.
Matt used to be a regular in $pub. He was always there, frequently at his space on the left edge of the bar, frequently drinking snakebite and black, and as a regular to the same pub I got to know him. He was a man who could fill the room. He was a comforting presence of someone I could talk to any time I was there. He was reliable and engaging conversation.
Anyway, this isn't the story about the first girl I introduced him to who he took home, but actually the severelth.
I took a friend (who I very much wasn't with, nor wanted to get with) to $pub one night and after she and I sat and had a pint or two, we got chatting to Matt. He had an unmistakable charm and wow, did he turn it on.
We got chatting in the beer garden of $pub and we were just chatting, but in that deep and long way that he liked to. I really enjoyed that night, but I saw that Matt and $friend were definitely sharing eyes.
We spoke until kick-out at 1, when Matt invited us both back to his place. Now I knew full well that the invitation was for $friend and he was just being polite, but along I went, following behind as they got closer and closer.
This wasn't the first time I'd been to his and he lived in a flat above a shop on the corner of a stone building with a dome, right near the castle.
Inside the flat was mostly open-plan and you could see up into this slate dome. It served no functional purpose but it was quite the aesthetic.
Whenever Matt invited people back, he'd always invite them to play the board game 'Sorry'. He had an ancient copy and a back-story about how it meant a lot to him that, to my discredit, I don't remember. But we played 'Sorry'.
And as the night wound on, $friend fell further and further into his lap and the point became less and less about the game. He was trying to wrap up.
But I thought "no, you sod. I'm not going until this game is done!" He'd pulled out from under me before and this time, I thought I'd play a joke on him instead.
So I dragged this game on and on. I don't remember the mechanics but I absolutely refused to lose but without winning. I kept it going for over an hour at which point Matt and $friend were staring pointedly at me as I barely concealed a grin for getting to be his cockblock for once.
Finally, the last turn came and I decidedly lost. I was immediately and with urgency ushered out of the flat as the dawn chorus sang with my last memory of them cuddling at the door, scowling at me before he pointedly shut the door.
But do what you must, for I have already won. I walked home and felt like I won that one.
$friend and Matt didn't stay a thing for long, but I'll always remember that time fondly. As will I carry with me the love of Woodford Reserve that he taught me.
Now 10 years into my relationship, when I introduced her to Matt, I had to take him to one side and politely ask him "Don't take this one home." And he didn't try.
I've met Matt on several occasions, and while he was a challenging character, he was also full of life and ideas, and an inspiration. He was a genius in an old-school, no-compromise way. I have been away from Perl for a long time, but some of my best memories and some of the most intelligent conversations took place while with MST and the rest of that amazing community. Fly high.
Super sad to see this. I worked with Matt around 2004.
Super smart kid, very nice to work with. I ended up supporting one of the systems he built (in Perl). I used his Cataylst Perl framework for some projects after that because of him.
Readit News
[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44523887
[2]: https://curtispoe.org/blog/rip-mst.html
RIP to a headbanger of math.
I've read about his tough interactions with other people, and it does seem that, at times, he fell into the classic trap of loving his own ideas too much; but in our interactions (reviewing some of my code on a Perl project), he was really helpful and kind. Also amazingly quick. He read my beginner-level Perl code, instantly understood it, and instantly gave clear, concise feedback.
It's a shame he has passed.
As I said on irc:
He brought many people into the community, and encouraged their growth (like me)
I popped into the scene by sending a few Moose patches and then coming onto irc displaying an utter lack of understanding of anything
Matt set me straight, and encouraged me to send more patches and I ended up as the manager for Moose
and then inherited the ownership of literally hundreds (perhaps thousands by now) distributions
that work helped me move from being mediocre at my job to being stellar, and enabled me to move on to much better jobs
Which mst was a huge reason why irc.perl.org is still around.
Matt Trout (mst) was a very big deal in the Perl 5 community, although he was a deeply polarizing figure. He was a big contributor to many Modern Perl projects. I am personally very sad he's dead. I enjoyed the time I spent with him in person, and always found him personally supportive, encouraging, and helpful, although it would be remiss to not mention that a good section of other people found him a very difficult character on many levels.
He wasn't a particularly heavy HN user, but here he is: https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=mst
I spent over a decade in #perl on freenode/libera and saw so many abusive events that I eventually got tired of hanging out there, mostly due to him but in part also due to a handful of others displaying similar behavior. All the same I was always grateful for how tirelessly he spent so much of his personal time providing help, and I'm sad to learn of his passing.
Deleted Comment
Dead Comment
He used to wind up taking home every single girl I introduced him to. He and I met when he pulled my FWB at a club and our friendship long outlasted either of ours with the FWB.
He gave me career advice that I followed that set me on a path to the great happiness I now have.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Matt used to be a regular in $pub. He was always there, frequently at his space on the left edge of the bar, frequently drinking snakebite and black, and as a regular to the same pub I got to know him. He was a man who could fill the room. He was a comforting presence of someone I could talk to any time I was there. He was reliable and engaging conversation.
Anyway, this isn't the story about the first girl I introduced him to who he took home, but actually the severelth.
I took a friend (who I very much wasn't with, nor wanted to get with) to $pub one night and after she and I sat and had a pint or two, we got chatting to Matt. He had an unmistakable charm and wow, did he turn it on.
We got chatting in the beer garden of $pub and we were just chatting, but in that deep and long way that he liked to. I really enjoyed that night, but I saw that Matt and $friend were definitely sharing eyes.
We spoke until kick-out at 1, when Matt invited us both back to his place. Now I knew full well that the invitation was for $friend and he was just being polite, but along I went, following behind as they got closer and closer.
This wasn't the first time I'd been to his and he lived in a flat above a shop on the corner of a stone building with a dome, right near the castle.
Inside the flat was mostly open-plan and you could see up into this slate dome. It served no functional purpose but it was quite the aesthetic.
Whenever Matt invited people back, he'd always invite them to play the board game 'Sorry'. He had an ancient copy and a back-story about how it meant a lot to him that, to my discredit, I don't remember. But we played 'Sorry'.
And as the night wound on, $friend fell further and further into his lap and the point became less and less about the game. He was trying to wrap up.
But I thought "no, you sod. I'm not going until this game is done!" He'd pulled out from under me before and this time, I thought I'd play a joke on him instead.
So I dragged this game on and on. I don't remember the mechanics but I absolutely refused to lose but without winning. I kept it going for over an hour at which point Matt and $friend were staring pointedly at me as I barely concealed a grin for getting to be his cockblock for once.
Finally, the last turn came and I decidedly lost. I was immediately and with urgency ushered out of the flat as the dawn chorus sang with my last memory of them cuddling at the door, scowling at me before he pointedly shut the door.
But do what you must, for I have already won. I walked home and felt like I won that one.
$friend and Matt didn't stay a thing for long, but I'll always remember that time fondly. As will I carry with me the love of Woodford Reserve that he taught me.
Now 10 years into my relationship, when I introduced her to Matt, I had to take him to one side and politely ask him "Don't take this one home." And he didn't try.
Super smart kid, very nice to work with. I ended up supporting one of the systems he built (in Perl). I used his Cataylst Perl framework for some projects after that because of him.