Anarchangel at 02:33, 9 March 2011

2011-03-09T02:33:40Z

Anarchangel: wpd

2011-03-09T02:30:03Z

wpd

New page

{{Infobox person
| name = Rob Levin
| image =
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| birth_name = Robert Levin
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1955|12|16}}
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| death_date = {{Death date and age|2006|9|16|1955|12|16}}<ref name="FreenodeMemorial" />
| death_place = [[Houston, Texas]], [[United States]]
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| other_names = lilo<ref name="FreenodeMemorial" />
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}}
'''Robert Levin''' (December 16, 1955 â€“ September 16, 2006), also known as '''lilo''', was the founder of the [[freenode]] [[Internet Relay Chat|IRC]] network and Executive Director of the [[Peer-Directed Projects Center|PDPC]] charity that helped fund freenode. A computer programmer since 1968, he worked as an administrator and an applications programmer from 1978 onwards.

==#LinPeople and The Linux Internet Support Co-Operative==
In 1994, Rob created the #LinPeople channel on [[EFnet]] as a gathering place for those interested in learning about the Linux operating system. After frustration with the stability of the network, he registered [http://web.archive.org/web/19961109144913/http://www.linpeople.org/ linpeople.org] and hosted an IRC server there. He then invited the #LinPeople channel regulars to join the new server.

Around this time, Rob began canvasing the #LinPeople regulars for support in the form of financial contribution and agreement to abide by a set of policies which he claimed were based on the teachings from [[The Tao of Pooh]]. These policies have since been transferred to Freenode's [http://freenode.net/philosophy.shtml philosophy] and [http://freenode.net/policy.shtml policy] pages. Rob wanted to create an organizing body to which the regulars of #LinPeople could belong. This informal organization was referred to as "The Linux Internet Support Co-Operative," or LISC<ref name="OnlineLinuxSupportGuide" />.

The #LinPeople channel moved with Rob from server to server and remains active on irc.freenode.net. As of June 2008, many of the original members of the channel can still be found there.

==OpenProjects==
From 1994 onwards, he worked to encourage the use of [[Internet Relay Chat]] for [[Free Software]] 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,<ref name="TheRegister_BuyAPiece" /> but did not sell.

==freenode==
{{See also|freenode}}
After courting The [[Free Software Foundation]], 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.

He later supported himself totally through his status as the sole paid employee of PDPC. Levin at one point solicited funds to repay a list of debts, including student loans, and to purchase a [[Recreational vehicle|motorhome (RV)]] for him and his wife to live. In total this amounted to a $312,000 fundraising drive as part of the now defunct SpinHome project which doubled as his personal blog.

==Death==

On September 12, 2006, he was struck by a car while riding a bicycle at night in [[Houston, Texas]] in a [[Hit and run (vehicular)|hit-and-run collision]]. He was not wearing a helmet. <ref name="WikiNews_PDPCPresident" /> After the collision, it was reported that he was hospitalized for several days. He died on September 16.<ref name="ChatMag_RobertLevinDeath" /><ref name="ChatMag_RobertLevinPDPC" /><ref name="Slashdot_RobertLevinLilo" /><ref name="Freenode_20060916" />

== Origin of his nickname==
Contrary to popular belief, his [[nickname]], lilo, did not come from the [[LILO (boot loader)|Linux Loader]] nor from the movie ''[[Lilo & Stitch]]''. It stems from [[John Varley (author)|John Varley]]'s ''[[The Ophiuchi Hotline]]'', where lilo is the female main character of the story. In his own words:<ref name="Linode_UML" />
<blockquote>I'm named after a favorite science fiction character, in John Varley's THE OPHIUCHI HOTLINE. I am ''not'' named after the LInux LOader, and I didn't write it! :) -- lilo, winter 1993</blockquote>
<blockquote>Nor am I named after the little girl in the movie, nor the air mattress, nor Last In Last Out. ;) -- lilo, summer 2003</blockquote>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="FreenodeMemorial">{{cite web |url = http://web.archive.org/web/20061030070805/http://lilo.freenode.net|title = Rob Levin Memorial Website|publisher=[[Freenode]] - via [[Internet archive]]|accessdate=October 2, 2010}}</ref>
<ref name="OnlineLinuxSupportGuide">{{cite web |url = http://ftp.utcluj.ro/pub/docs/how-to/mini-how-to/Online-Support |title = THE LISC ONLINE LINUX SUPPORT MINI HOW-TO |first = Rob |last = Levin}}</ref>
<ref name="TheRegister_BuyAPiece">{{cite web |url = http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/01/29/buy_a_piece_of_net/ |title = Buy a piece of Net nostalgia for $5,000 |first = Kieren |last = McCarthy |date = 2003-01-29 |publisher = The Register}}</ref>
<ref name="WikiNews_PDPCPresident">{{cite web |url=http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/PDPC_President_Rob_Levin_has_died |title=PDPC President Rob Levin has died |accessdate=January 28, 2008 |publisher=WikiNews}}</ref>
<ref name="ChatMag_RobertLevinDeath">{{cite web|url=http://www.chatmag.com/news/092106_levin_death_confirmed.html|title=Robert Levin Death Confirmed by Houston Police, other Area Sources.|accessdate=March 30, 2007|author=Chatmag News|date=September 21, 2006 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20061129063440/http://www.chatmag.com/news/092106_levin_death_confirmed.html |archivedate = November 29, 2006}}</ref>
<ref name="ChatMag_RobertLevinPDPC">{{cite web|url=http://www.chatmag.com/news/091606_rob_levin.html|title=Rob Levin of Peer-Directed Projects Center and Freenode Dead.|accessdate=September 16, 2006|author=Chatmag News|date=September 16, 2006 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20061018022025/http://www.chatmag.com/news/091606_rob_levin.html |archivedate = October 18, 2006}}</ref>
<ref name="Freenode_20060916">{{cite web |url=http://freenode.net/news-2006-09-16.shtml |title=Freenode.net news |date=2006-09-16 |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080331070525/http://freenode.net/news-2006-09-16.shtml |archivedate= 2008-03-31 }}</ref>
<ref name="Linode_UML">{{cite web |url=http://www.linode.com/uml/irc/logs/uml.log-2003-12-03 |author=Rob Levin |title=#uml log |date=2003-12-02 |accessdate=May 9, 2007}}</ref>
<ref name="Slashdot_RobertLevinLilo">{{cite web |title=Rob Levin, lilo of Freenode, Passes|date = September 17, 2006 |url=http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/09/16/2152243&from=rss |work=Slashdot |accessdate=September 17, 2006}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{wikinews|PDPC President Rob Levin has died}}
* [http://www.openverse.com/~dtinker/agalmics.html Agalmics] â€“ Rob Levin's essay on the marginalization of scarcity
* [http://www.openverse.com/~dtinker/agalmics.html Agalmics] â€“ Rob's essay on the marginalization of scarcity
* [http://lilo.freenode.net/ Rob Levin] â€“ Memorial at Freenode.net
{{Persondata 
| NAME =Levin, Rob
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH =December 16, 1955
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH =September 16, 2006
| PLACE OF DEATH =[[Houston, Texas]], [[United States]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levin, Rob}}
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:American computer programmers]]
[[Category:Internet Relay Chat]]
[[Category:Road accident deaths in Texas]]
[[Category:Cycling road accident victims]]

[[Category:wpd]]Zillion bad behaviors by deletionists. who knows how much good info is lost

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   <ref name="Slashdot_RobertLevinLilo">{{cite web |title=Rob Levin, lilo of Freenode, Passes|date = September 17, 2006 |url=http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/09/16/2152243&from=rss |work=Slashdot |accessdate=September 17, 2006}}</ref>
 }}
 ==External links==

Rob Levin - Revision history

Anarchangel at 02:33, 9 March 2011

Anarchangel: wpd