by ashleymcnamara on 8/20/23, 7:49 PM
Kris was more than just a prominent figure in our industry; she was a beacon of inspiration in open-source. Her passion wasn't just about writing code, but about bringing people together, breaking barriers, and making technology accessible to all. Kris's vibrant personality and dedication to collaboration will be deeply missed, but her impact on the world of open-source won't be forgotten. She has left a personal imprint on many of us, and her spirit will continue to inspire those who believe in the power of community-driven innovation. I will miss her so much. She was truly one of a kind.
by bcantrill on 8/20/23, 3:22 PM
Gutted to hear this. We had the privilege to speak with her late last year on the work she had done on Hachyderm -- and to get her perspective on the Mastodon and the Fediverse more generally.[0] She was a great presence and technologist, and inspiring to many people. It is tragic to have lost someone so young; RIP.
[0] https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/mastodon-wi...
by mgerdts on 8/20/23, 4:05 PM
Some context from someone close:
https://hachyderm.io/@quintessence/110922746691596046
> The person I cherished more than any other, @nova , died unexpectedly late Wednesday in a climbing accident.
> I have no words, only despair. The light in my soul is gone.
> Joe Beda @jbeda and Nivenly are posting announcements. Others will also.
by jcastro on 8/20/23, 3:46 PM
I was lucky enough to work with Kris Nova. I was gutted when I heard this and I'm still in shock. She was in the middle of doing the hachyderm thing and I was struggling with some other stuff and we ended up just happening to meet at a restaurant. "Fuck what people say and think, do you what you want, that's what I'm going to do."
Here's a segment from one of her recent streams. This is how I will remember her:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1884973353?t=1238s
Nóva was a great friend and an asskicker, she loved being a hacker.
by johnklos on 8/20/23, 3:51 PM
I was supposed to climb a mountain with her. There really aren't that many people in this world to whom you can say, "let's do a (slightly out there) thing", to which they say "yes" without hesitation and with 100% certainty.
RIP. I'll be thinking of you on the mountains.
by leetrout on 8/20/23, 4:14 PM
Joe Beda posted more info ~20 mins ago
Last Wednesday evening Kris Nova had a climbing accident and died.
All of us that loved her are heart broken and stunned. She was an amazing person that lived out loud and built connection and community wherever she went. She will be horribly missed.
https://twitter.com/jbeda/status/1693290822370787697
by birdiesanders on 8/20/23, 11:27 PM
by bhouston on 8/20/23, 3:30 PM
Damn that sucks. She was running the mastodon instance with competency and openness and low drama. Seems like what all great engineers should embody.
by adamantinecog on 9/2/23, 3:59 PM
by yewenjie on 8/20/23, 4:36 PM
by dredmorbius on 8/20/23, 5:13 PM
by jxf on 8/20/23, 4:15 PM
This absolutely sucks.
Kris and I worked together only briefly on a small hack project, but everything about them was exactly what you'd imagine in a forward-thinking community leader and technologist.
I'm deeply saddened for those who knew Kris well, and hope some solace is found in knowing that their contributions left the world a brighter place.
by joaquin2023 on 8/20/23, 7:47 PM
I first came across her words in the book Cloud Native Infrastructure, and she had a way to say things concisely, things I had always wanted to express, but never had the words. I was an instant fan. I ran into once at Salesforce Park in SF, and told her about how I followed her and loved her works. It so happened she was talking to a VP at the time, explaining the importance of social media in tech, to that worked perfectly for her. I'll never forget her, and cherish her forever.
by tetromino_ on 8/21/23, 9:41 AM
My sincere apologies to those who knew her: this is a question from someone who didn't, and in fact had not seen her name until stumbling on this thread. What is she so well-known for? Which communities was she a part of? I read this whole thread, followed some of the links, and still am mystified.
by zan5hin on 8/20/23, 4:53 PM
Truly stunned and saddened to learn of her death. By happy accident I discovered Hachyderm soon after I started really using Mastodon. I was very impressed with the space Kris created and the community she fostered there.
My heart breaks for those who knew her personally, and for her family and loved ones.
RIP Kris
by toomuchtodo on 8/20/23, 3:35 PM
by cbm-vic-20 on 8/20/23, 7:38 PM
by voigt on 8/20/23, 3:04 PM
I’m really sorry to hear this. She did so much for the community and was an inspiring personality.
All the best to her family.
by bbgm on 8/20/23, 4:49 PM
Kris and I got to know each other a bit over the years. I still remember our first meeting vividly. We met for dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Capitol Hill and spent the evening talking containers, Linux, Kubernetes, and Open Source. This is a tough loss. I will take small in the fact that it happened doing the thing she loved.
by replwoacause on 8/20/23, 8:02 PM
She looks like a cool fucking person. I just watched 10 minutes of her Twitch stream and can tell she is smart and interesting just from that alone. I’ll have to take some time to learn more about her.
What a terrible loss indeed.
by predictabl3 on 8/20/23, 3:32 PM
I always figured I'd bump into her again and reconnect. Kris was unlike anyone I've met before. "infectious energy" exemplified. Big ideas and the determination to chase them. I still remember some words of encouragement she gave me, seemingly so easily. :( RIP Kris
by mbStavola on 8/20/23, 3:27 PM
This is incredibly depressing news. Kris Nova will be missed dearly and remembered fondly.
by sabin1001 on 8/20/23, 7:15 PM
She helped me get my current job. Thank you Kris for helping me and please rest in peace.
by 0ct4via on 8/20/23, 5:04 PM
Kris was a talented engineer and an amazing person. She was doing something that she loved.
Kris recently said how she was feeling the healthiest and happiest she had ever been.
The loss is gutting to those that know her, or only know of her.
For those that don't know, Kris created Hachyderm[1], which had incredible growth[2] after Elon Musk's Twitter takeover. She also created the Aurae runtime[3], and went on to create the Nivenly Foundation[4].
In Kris' own words,
"Fuck the internet, I'm gonna go climb mountains. If you can - if you're lucky enough - please also get outside, if you can."
If you can, take a break. Get outside, and just... take a moment to just /be/ outside.
RIP Kris <3
[1] https://hachyderm.io/
[2] https://thenewstack.io/how-hashyderm-scaled-up-after-elon-mu...
[3] https://aurae.io
[4] https://nivenly.org
by blstech on 8/20/23, 8:03 PM
Kris was a friend, Inspirer and all around great human being. She taught me so much and was loved by everyone in the community. Her contributions will not be forgotten or missed.
-- Brian S.
by a_hoglund on 8/20/23, 6:46 PM
I worked with Kris on a project at GitHub this past year. She was always a pleasure to work with, this is such shocking and sad news. Will be praying for those closest.
by pimeys on 8/20/23, 3:15 PM
Oh no! I never used their server, but I followed them and was very impressed about the work they did and the community they created. All the best to their family.
by slimsag on 8/20/23, 6:41 PM
I didn't know Kris, but we had bumped into each-other at various times through open source work. I recall her being a very kind and also deeply technical. Once she was supposed to give a talk in Phoenix, and I was stoked to get to meet her in person finally, unfortunately it got cancelled due to COVID and so I never had the chance.
Rest in peace. I hope her loved ones are able to take the time to grieve and find solice
by Djle on 8/20/23, 2:42 PM
I'm very sorry to hear this. My she rest in peace.
by sp332 on 8/20/23, 8:53 PM
I don't think anyone has mentioned her self-published book, Hacking Capitalism. I haven't even finished it because I keep having to set it down and think. It's not only insightful about how tech workers fit into big companies, but specifically gives advice about how to get ahead in the system without losing yourself.
by acjohnson55 on 8/21/23, 12:42 PM
I didn't know Kris, but I'm so sorry for a loss that has impacted a lot of people I do know.
Reading her last blog post is hauntingly ironic. She describes making a major change in how she directs get her energy, with climbing cited as more representative of her values. And then she died climbing only weeks later.
I wish that she had more time to live in her new outlook. I also hope that her impact continues to resonate. RIP.
https://krisnova.net/posts/ego-death/
by turntabler46 on 8/20/23, 4:57 PM
Flip. I am actually gutted, at the moment. We have never crossed paths but I remember watching her ECHO episode with Liz Rice a few days ago. Listened to her on Hanslemann's podcast too. Seemed like such a great soul
by citizenC on 8/21/23, 5:22 PM
She was an incredible engineer and a very empathetic autistic person. She and I had many conversations about inclusion, accommodations, excelling in this field as an autistic engineer in some of the most challenging workplaces. She had a positive outlook to life. This news is too devastating to me. I am only glad that I had a chance to meet her and work with her in this lifetime.
by RA_Fisher on 8/20/23, 7:00 PM
So sorry to read this. I'm thankful for the positive example she set for all of us. Gone but not forgotten.
by johnnyAghands on 8/21/23, 12:37 AM
Oh man, shocked. Sadly, never met her in personally, but have always admired her work in the field and for just generally being an inspiring person. Huge loss. My sincerest condolences to her family and friends :(
by andypiper on 8/21/23, 9:44 PM
Incredibly sad news. Best talk I went to at FOSDEM this year. I was in awe of what she had done with Hachyderm and Nivenly - among other things.
A big loss to the community, and to her friends and family. RIP.
by djhworld on 8/20/23, 4:50 PM
RIP Kris.
She was one of my favourite people to follow on Twitter, and for understandable reasons she left there to start the mastodon instance but I didn't really use it much.
Really shocked to hear the news, she was very influential.
by jonahhorowitz on 8/20/23, 7:43 PM
RIP Kris. I only met her a few times but she was *ing amazing.
by mongol on 8/20/23, 4:54 PM
I have seen her name but I don't know what she is well known for. My condolences, it is always sad when people pass away much too early.
by gwenshap on 8/21/23, 1:38 AM
She was such a kind and impressive human, and inspired so much of my career. I can’t believe she’s just gone. This is heartbreaking.
by ewindisch on 8/20/23, 8:36 PM
Wow. I'm not sure what to say. She and I had a lot in common, both personally and in our interests. I hope she's at rest.
by hnarayanan on 8/20/23, 5:28 PM
I had only begun following her and her work since the creation of Hachyderm, and so sad to hear about this.
by orsenthil on 8/21/23, 6:58 PM
She left too soon. Lots of work for others to carry forward. Peace to her friends and family.
by the-rc on 8/20/23, 10:30 PM
So incredibly sad. No more arguments over the pronunciation of "kubectl". RIP.
by jaylittle on 8/20/23, 5:35 PM
I only recently became aware of her, but she was awesome. She'll be missed.
by eddie_31003 on 8/20/23, 7:11 PM
Rest In Paradise friend.
by jaydestro on 8/20/23, 7:11 PM
Rest in peace. Best wishes to Kris’s friends and loved ones.
by holoway on 8/20/23, 3:38 PM
Awful news. RIP Kris.
by ankurnet on 8/21/23, 3:37 AM
Shocked to hear this news.Still shivering.RIP Kris.
by jgavinray on 8/20/23, 11:27 PM
Terrible news, my thoughts are with her family.
by MadAitcH on 8/20/23, 3:45 PM
I used to watch some of her streams. RIP
by leetrout on 8/20/23, 3:15 PM
I think this should get a HN black bar
by oaf357 on 8/20/23, 5:12 PM
I am deeply saddened by this news.
by zegl on 8/20/23, 3:43 PM
This really saddens me, RIP.
by delgod on 8/21/23, 3:10 PM
Kris, we really miss you
by lsofzz on 8/22/23, 1:49 PM
RIP, Kris.
by kraig911 on 8/20/23, 3:23 PM
What from :(
by donutshop on 8/20/23, 3:09 PM
Nooo :(
by milesward on 8/20/23, 3:01 PM
Oh no :(
by hobo_mark on 8/20/23, 6:39 PM
I lost colleagues and an acquaintance to mountaineering accidents and I do not understand what makes people risk their life doing that.
by soneca on 8/21/23, 1:41 AM
Off-topic, but why this story is so low on the front page?
A ton of upvoted, not many comments (so no indication of flamewar), still is below position 25 for several hours (with much better upvote-to-hours ratio than most of stories above it).
Just weird.