
_why's site is back up and this is the "About Me" [unclear if it is _why] - TheBiv
http://whytheluckystiff.net/about/
======
aaronbrethorst

        $ whois whytheluckystiff.net
    
        Whois Server Version 2.0
    
        Domain names in the .com and .net domains can now be registered
        with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net
        for detailed information.
    
        Domain Name: WHYTHELUCKYSTIFF.NET
        Registrar: SAMMAMISHDOMAINS.COM LLC
        Whois Server: whois.sammamishdomains.com
        Referral URL: http://manage.snapnames.com/customer
        Name Server: NS3.CERTIFIEDNUTMILK.COM
        Name Server: NS4.CERTIFIEDNUTMILK.COM
        Status: clientDeleteProhibited
        Status: clientTransferProhibited
        Status: clientUpdateProhibited
        Updated Date: 04-mar-2014
        Creation Date: 19-feb-2014
        Expiration Date: 19-feb-2015
    

Hmm, certifiednutmilk.com?

    
    
      $ whois certifiednutmilk.com
    
      # uninteresting details elided
    
      Registrant Name: Domain Admin
      Registrant Organization: Privacy Protection Service INC d/b/a PrivacyProtect.org
      Registrant Street: C/O ID#10760, PO Box 16 Note - Visit PrivacyProtect.org to contact the domain owner/operator Note - Visit PrivacyProtect.org to contact the domain owner/operator
      Registrant City: Nobby Beach
      Registrant State/Province: Queensland
      Registrant Postal Code: QLD 4218
      Registrant Country: AU
    

Between this, Wordpress, the writing style, and the frequent use of the word
"mate" makes me think this isn't _why. Unless he's being unusually odd.

~~~
wyclif
_why is from Pennsylvania, making the natural use of "mate" and "schooner" in
that sense and context very unlikely (or at least anachronistic).

~~~
shamano
In the contact page there's the following: > I don’t know why you’d need to
contact me through the web. After all, if you’re reading this blog, there’s a
pretty good chance that we know each other already.

That seems very unusual for anyone to say. If the blog was not set up by _why,
it is set up by someone trying to deceive everybody. Moreover all the
mysterious domain and bizarre content and language could be _why trying to do
exactly this.

~~~
gaelian
He's speaking like an Australian, he mentions Sydney in one of his posts, he's
on a domain that is now using name servers registered to an Australian company
(as aaronbrethorst pointed out). I don't think this guy is trying to be _why
or actually is _why, unless _why suddenly came back from out of nowhere with a
new fetish for all things Australian. As an Australian, I'd like to think this
is a possibility, but I have a feeling I would be disappointed.

I suspect the "if you’re reading this blog, there’s a pretty good chance that
we know each other already" bit is intended to be interpreted as him not
thinking that anyone other than those already acquainted with him would care
or know about his blog. Self-deprecation is a fairly typical Australian trait,
by the way.

Most likely possbilities in my mind: this is all simply a bizarre coincidence,
as has already been suggested. Or... well, he is starting a software company
apparently, so assumedly he's in our industry, that makes it somewhat more
likely that he knows the history of the domain. Maybe he has unwisely decided
to try and grab some free attention by taking this domain name knowing full
well its history. I hope it's not the latter.

------
Untit1ed
Looks like some random brit decided he was finally going to get around to
making that blog he'd always wanted and just happened to pick
whytheluckystuff.net as his domain, which was conveniently expired.

He's currently staring at his analytics page in disbelief. "Wow, my writing
really is that good!".

~~~
jamesbritt
His "contact me" form may be a source of further amusement.

------
decentrality
The/a litmus test: does _why use stock photography, stock _anything_ or do
work outside the sphere of totally original and mostly/entirely cartoon
infused? He was/is the unique collage king ( sensory overload + pioneering
humor ).

This blog is almost entirely cookie cutter.

The story of how the domain name originated is not _why's style - he rarely if
ever had anything approaching a sincere self-narrative, much less anything
even close to "explanations" of why _why did X.

A wordpress blog? Could _why actually sleep at night with that existing even
for a moment?

------
Greenisus
The way this is written doesn't sound like _why at all to me.

~~~
koenigdavidmj
One of the two articles also had it use a British spelling on one thing. _why
is known to be American.

~~~
steveklabnik
I'm an American, but I often spell it "colour" because I read a lot of British
writing.

That said, this does not feel like _why, really.

~~~
wyclif
_why is from the great state of Pennsylvania. While most people think of
Philadelphia, it's a rather large state and there's an awful lot to it. But
the phrasing, spelling, and use of certain anglicisms found in, say, Australia
("schooner" is a dead giveaway), makes me conclude this isn't _why.

~~~
steveklabnik
I am actually from PA too, but Pittsburgh.

Yes, I agree that it's EXTREMELY unlikely that this is _why.

------
sandover
It appears to be a flimsy attempt to drive traffic to something called the
Attraction Institute, which I won't dignify with a URL.

~~~
smoyer
Perhaps we should all click on the link and immediately close our browsers,
making it appear like he hired a botnet to click links for him. With enough
clicks, his affiliates will boot him out.

------
gamache
_why's site is not back up. whytheluckystiff.net is back up. This is clearly
not his work.

The new site blows, and whoever set this site up is a dumb asshole.

~~~
codezero
as others suggest, it may not be malicious, could just be someone who doesn't
know/care who _why is and just registered a free domain.

~~~
gamache
And that email I just received may have come from a Nigerian prince. I'm not
betting on it, though.

~~~
squintychino
I can attest that I have no idea who this _why person is.

The internet and the world are larger than this tiny community known as HN.
Just because they may be a big fish in a small pond doesn't mean the rest of
the world knows, or for that matter cares, who _why is.

~~~
edmccard
_why was known by more than just the HN community;

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_the_lucky_stiff](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_the_lucky_stiff)

------
jamesbritt
Why does this feel like an absolute pisstake?

~~~
codezero
Probably it is one. The domain record is fresh, so someone probably scooped it
up.

Also the host is running under CPanel, which hardly seems like _why.

[http://173.192.128.240](http://173.192.128.240)

Here are other sites hosted on the same nameserver and IP:
[http://www.websitelooker.net/ns/ns1.certifiednutmilk.com](http://www.websitelooker.net/ns/ns1.certifiednutmilk.com)

According to:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=773229](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=773229)
his domain expired in January.

------
danabramov
I wish it was a very elaborate prank by the real _why but I'm not holding my
breath.

------
carljoseph
Here's the HN thread of his infosuicide:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=773106](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=773106)

A decent Slate article about his disappearance:
[http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2012/03/...](http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2012/03/ruby_ruby_on_rails_and__why_the_disappearance_of_one_of_the_world_s_most_beloved_computer_programmers_.single.html)

------
pablox_cl
It's obvious that a) it's not him, and b) the new owner it's a dickhead.
Nobody will just "come" with that name as some good hearted people have
suggested.

------
WoodenChair
I didn't know about the original guy, but it was serendipitous finding this
blog for me. I actually enjoyed reading it, and I want to know how it turns
out for this dude.

------
cpb
Guess I'll have to wait until I get home:
[http://i.imgur.com/hihw4Cl.png](http://i.imgur.com/hihw4Cl.png)

------
grandalf
This has got to be a joke being played on us by _why. In a way it's the exact
opposite of the brainy but eccentric cartoon foxes theme.

------
pwim
Someone bought the domain for SEO purposes. The article about "how to get
[his] wife a bit more excited about ‘adult’ activities" mentions he "found
this other site about attracting women called _The Attraction Institute_ ",
which just happens to be selling an ebook about how to attract women.

------
unfunco
I was excited for all of fifteen seconds, I'm pretty sure this isn't _why
(definite lack of character in the copy), I also don't think _why would be
running his website on WordPress (Yeah yeah, easy to setup, easy to host,
etcetera) but _why liked building things, that doesn't really end.

------
nickmolnar2
_why would never write an article called 'setting up my own software
programming company' or use the phrase 'Maybe it would’ve been easier and
safer to just stick out the 9-5 and work my way up the corporate ladder in the
hope that I got promoted enough to be comfortable after a while…'

------
markbao
The other pages on that blog are just meandering prose with a link to another
website, which makes me think that someone picked up the site for its PageRank
to link to other pages. But despite having many inbound links, the domain's PR
is 0. Weird.

------
coherentpony
Can someone explain to me why this is causing such a stir?

~~~
lindbergh
why is part of the net folklore from the late 00s that also saw the emergence
of Hacker News, ruby mainstream programming et al. I believe there's a strong
respect in this community for the work this man has done in previous years.

~~~
coherentpony
From the Wikipedia article in another reply:

    
    
        "Jonathan is _why, he is fine, and he just wants to be left alone."
    

Why aren't we leaving him alone?

------
mafro
The GB locale and the use of "mate" and "schooner" would lead me to speculate
that the author is Australian.

------
keypusher
This is his domain expiring and some random other guy putting up a blog.
Probably has no idea who the original owner was.

------
wcchandler
Wordpress? Really? (not that I dislike WP; just that it doesn't fit his M.O.)

~~~
chc
I don't think this is Why, but not because of that. Why never seemed all that
dogmatic about his technology choices, so I can't see why he necessarily
_wouldn 't_ use WordPress.

------
gk1
For the uninitiated, can someone please provide context?

~~~
jljljl
_why wrote a very popular guide to Ruby, and was a major figure in the
community before mysteriously disappearing, taking a lot of his work with him.

He reappeared briefly last year, then disappeared again.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_the_lucky_stiff](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_the_lucky_stiff)
[https://web.archive.org/web/20090813201826/http://poignantgu...](https://web.archive.org/web/20090813201826/http://poignantguide.net/ruby)

~~~
steveklabnik
For more on his reappearance:
[http://words.steveklabnik.com/closure](http://words.steveklabnik.com/closure)
and
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaWHVceDbFo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaWHVceDbFo)

------
overgard
Oh boy, this is going to end badly. Bring out the popcorn!

------
allworknoplay
_why so serious?

------
menriquez
yeah dude sure....you know how many people make this pledge every day? esp.
after a tragic event or seeing a friend lose a wife or a job or financial
security or succumb to drugs or something?

you're going to find very quickly its much harder to change then it is to
blog.

best of luck tho...and I mean it...I'm not a hater

------
transfire
I wonder _why I wonder _why I wonder _why I wonder

I wonder _why I wonder _why I wonder _why I wonder

