David Heinemeir Hansson is the CEO of 37signals, the company behind HEY and BaseCamp. One feature of HEY is that you can post to your blog simply by composing a new message addressed to it. It works well, but I've got news for ya, Dave: Citadel has had that feature for well over a decade.

I like him, though. He's got good insights and is a fun read. If you're reading my blog here on Uncensored, and you want to read his blog too, go to the hidden room called "DHH" to follow it.

But this blog post isn't about him. It's about people I *don't* like. Specifically, Dianne Feinstein, and Richard Marx Stallman. The former recently died, and the latter is terminally ill. And so, out come the chants of "YOU MUST RESPECT TEH DEAD!!!1"

Nope. In death, as in life, and as I have blogged to death (heh) in this location before: RESPECT IS EARNED. If you were not worthy of respect when you were alive, you don't suddenly become respectable simply because you're now taking a dirt nap. DiFi was a scumbag of the worst kind in life, and she remains a scumbag in death.

As Richard Marx Stallman once said of Steve Jobs: "I'm not glad he's dead, but I'm glad he's gone." Stallman was glad that Jobs was no longer a malign influence on computing. It is one of the few things I agree with him on.
And when Stallman himself is gone, I will say the same thing about him.

To wish death upon another human being or to celebrate their death is in poor taste, with one and only one exception: I will take the indulgence of celebrating the death of Bill Gates. May that day come soon and may Gates, the worst person in the history of the entire world, experience extreme pain and misery on his way down.

But no, if you're an Ultimate Scumbag you don't get respect simply because you died. Some of you might know that I come from a family in which there were quite a few people who were funeral directors. One of them was my great grandfather, who famously said, "don't be concerned about dead people; it's the alive ones you've got to worry about."

Someday I too will pass from this side of eternity into the other side. I will continue to do my best to keep my affairs in order and maintain the respect of my family, friends, and peers. Because, for the thousandth time, respect is earned. I hope that I have done my best to earn the respect of you my readers. I usually only say this on March 10 (the site's birthday) but I truly appreciate the online company of each and every one of you.