Paul Duffy, an attorney for the Prenda Law, died on Monday, a Cook County Medical Examiner spokesperson said, adding that the cause of death is still pending and could take up to three months to confirm. The Madison Recorder noted that Duffy died at a Chicago hospital. He was 55.
Prenda made millions by suing Internet users for allegedly downloading porn illegally, banking on the fact that most of the people receiving its lawsuit threats would choose to settle rather than endure the cost and embarrassment of a lawsuit—even if they did nothing wrong. Duffy was considered a principal for Prenda Law, but he also worked closely with John Steele and Paul Hansemeier, who were affiliated with Prenda's litigation.
(Score: 2) by mendax on Tuesday August 18 2015, @12:54AM
It seems that the comment I made about Linus Torvalds may have implied a certain type of animosity toward him. If the Nobel folks gave prizes for achievements in computer science, Linus should receive one. In fact, both Linus and Richard Stallman should receive it jointly. Linux is just a kernel; the GNU Project's work made it possible to be a practical operating system. Linux and the GNU Project combined made it possible so many things possible that could not have happened without the existence of a free, open-source operating system. We (and I) are forever in their debt.
But that does not change the fact that Linus's behavior toward those who do Linux kernel development is dictatorial. Humility does not seem to be something he knows much about. Of course, compared to Steve Ballmer, Linus is an arrogant mouse. Still, a person can accomplish great things, do work that benefits humanity in unimaginable ways, and still be an asshole. I recall the great Vulcan proverb: Only Nixon can go to China. It can be arguably said that Richard Nixon's visit to China in 1972 opened the door for the creation of the modern China we have today, and that was a great diplomatic achievement. But both Nixon and Henry Kissinger, the man who made that visit possible, are both assholes.
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.