Rob Levin

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Robert Levin (December 16, 1955–September 15, 2006), also known as lilo, was the founder of the freenode IRC network and Executive Director of the PDPC charity that helped fund freenode. A computer programmer since 1968, he worked as an administrator and an applications programmer from 1978 onwards. From 1994 onwards, he worked to encourage the use of Internet Relay Chat for Free and Open Source projects.

On September 12, 2006, he was struck by a car while riding a bicycle in Houston, Texas in a hit-and-run collision. After the collision, it was reported that he was hospitalized for several days. He died on September 15. ^[1]^[2]^[3] Levin's death certificate says that the cause of his death was accidental blunt head-force trauma^{[citation needed]}.

Levin is survived by his wife Debbie and son Benjamin.

[edit] The origin of his nickname

Contrary to popular belief, his nickname, lilo, did not come from the Linux Loader nor from the movie Lilo & Stitch. It stems from John Varley's The Ophiuchi Hotline, where lilo is the female main character of the story. In his own words:

I'm named after a favorite science fiction character, in John Varley's THE OPHIUCHI HOTLINE. I am not named after the LInux LOader, and I didn't write it! :) -- lilo, winter 1993 || Nor am I named after the little girl in the movie, nor the air mattress, nor Last In Last Out. ;) -- lilo, summer 2003