Posted: 6/28/2021 12:05 AM
(Edited: 7/25/2021 12:33 AM)
Post subject: Near (byuu) has passed away
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Noxxa
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Near (formerly known as byuu), emulator coder of bsnes, higan and ares fame (alongside many other emulation-based projects) has, according to a document from an anonymous friend, committed suicide. This was posted some time after a series of tweets from Near, describing how their life was effectively destroyed beyond repair because of cyberbullying efforts. At the time of writing, no direct confirmation of Near's death exists yet, but more news might emerge in the upcoming days, and several tech blogs and gaming websites have already picked up the story. I'll keep this post updated as news develops. Update 06-28: A day after the initial tweet by marcan42, he followed up with a tweet stating that he contacted the police department in charge of the investigation, and they have confirmed that Near passed away the day before. No outside news source to corroborate it has been known yet. Update 07-23: USA Today posted a news article, "Respected developer who was bullied online dies by suicide.". The news article includes an interview of Near's employer, who confirmed their death.
http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa <dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects. <Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits <adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.
Posted: 6/28/2021 12:17 AM
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Exostum
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They killed my brethren Near. May Near soul find peace at least. Lucyaël condemn the farm of harassment and doxxing to eternal punishment in hell
May the moon and the sun of arkantothia protect you.
Posted: 6/28/2021 12:41 AM
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EZGames69
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In the short time I was able to talk to Near, they were one of the nicest down to earth people I’ve ever met in the Retro gaming/emulation scene. Their dedication to accurate emulation inspired many people and was a great help in tons of documentation of retro gaming. I hope he rests in peace.
[14:15] <feos> WinDOES what DOSn't 12:33:44 PM <Mothrayas> "I got an oof with my game!" Mothrayas Today at 12:22: <Colin> thank you for supporting noble causes such as my feet MemoryTAS Today at 11:55 AM: you wouldn't know beauty if it slapped you in the face with a giant fish [Today at 4:51 PM] Mothrayas: although if you like your own tweets that's the online equivalent of sniffing your own farts and probably tells a lot about you as a person MemoryTAS Today at 7:01 PM: But I exert big staff energy honestly lol Samsara Today at 1:20 PM: wouldn't ACE in a real life TAS just stand for Actually Cease Existing
Posted: 6/28/2021 12:59 AM
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BigBoct
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I saw some tweets about this from some tasvideos members I follow. I didn't realize that "Near" used to be byuu until I saw this thread. Cyberbullies are the worst.
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Posted: 6/28/2021 5:40 AM
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moozooh
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A horrible, horrible way to go. Once-in-a-lifetime talent lost to someone's desire for cheap entertainment. The circumstances around this are infinitely aggravating, so here's a friendly warning: This is regarding the Kiwi Farms thread in particular, which by now has over 30 pages of some grade A psychopathy. Having your skin crawl after a few minutes of reading is the least you should expect from it. If you're mentally unstable, depressed, have a bullying-related trauma, etc., DON'T go there. This is what terrorism looks like.
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
Posted: 6/28/2021 7:53 PM
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phoenix1291
Joined: 7/17/2012
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His death is unfortunately confirmed... https://kotaku.com/the-brilliant-snes-emulator-creator-known-as-near-has-d-1847182851
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Posted: 6/28/2021 8:57 PM
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Amaraticando
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I'm not so sure. Near claims to have no real-life friend. This Hector Martin says he is a friend of a friend of Near. He's also the one who called the police department asking for confirmation, according to
I have spoken to the police department in charge of the investigation, and they have confirmed that Near passed away yesterday, June 27th 2021. In respect of their privacy, I will not be seeking out any further information. Please don't ask.
https://twitter.com/marcan42/status/1409494303244656644 Does it even work that way in Japan? Can some random person ask the police if a certain, unrelated individual has committed suicide? The Japanese users here might answer.
Posted: 6/29/2021 12:12 AM
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ixfd64
Joined: 5/25/2010
Posts: 30
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I must admit I've never used bsnes, but this is very sad news. :-(
Posted: 6/30/2021 12:31 AM
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kaan55
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I personally never knew the guy, but hearing people like this take their own life is always heartbreaking to me. How sick and twisted do you have to be to torment someone to the point where they feel so helpless, that they feel like suicide is their only escape. I hope these bullies won't get out of this scott free. It's okay Near. They can't hurt you anymore. May you rest in peace you poor soul.
Posted: 9/3/2022 11:27 PM
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Sir_VG
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Apparently Kiwi Farms, the site that apparently bullied Near to the point of suicide, has finally been blocked by Cloudflare. Per Cloudflare's Blog:
We have blocked Kiwifarms. Visitors to any of the Kiwifarms sites that use any of Cloudflare's services will see a Cloudflare block page and a link to this post. Kiwifarms may move their sites to other providers and, in doing so, come back online, but we have taken steps to block their content from being accessed through our infrastructure. This is an extraordinary decision for us to make and, given Cloudflare's role as an Internet infrastructure provider, a dangerous one that we are not comfortable with. However, the rhetoric on the Kiwifarms site and specific, targeted threats have escalated over the last 48 hours to the point that we believe there is an unprecedented emergency and immediate threat to human life unlike we have previously seen from Kiwifarms or any other customer before.
Source: https://blog.cloudflare.com/kiwifarms-blocked/ While it doesn't make up for their death, and it's even further from justice, it's definitely a small step in the right direction to make sure people like Near aren't hurt by groups like Kiwi Farms.
Taking over the world, one game at a time. Currently TASing: Nothing
Posted: 9/4/2022 3:26 AM
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Patashu
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Good riddence. And a big THANK YOU to anyone who helped expand the campaign to the point where Cloudflare finally had no choice but to act, starting with keffals.
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