He was a towering figure in the field, and will be sorely missed. His work raised the bar for emulator accuracy and the preservation of video games. There's absolutely no excuse for it - it costs you absolutely nothing to be considerate of others' feelings. Near (Byuu) has previously appeared on HN as the author of BSNES, Higan, and other emulators for retro gaming systems. Also, deplatforming as a process has risks of social inertia, you wouldn’t want conservative Christians deplatforming what they don’t like everywhere, which is why we have multiple jurisdictions and different hosting providers. I have no time for people who harass and are cruel to others. Deplatforming never works in the mid term, there are too many ways around it it is the internet afterall. Sometimes you can see why people get angry online, but this is different - it's not losing your temper, it's deliberate cruelty. I often see people go out of their way to laugh at someone or dismiss something they're going through or struggling with. Near, the creator of SNES emulators bsnes and higan, has died. The particular bullies Near was dealing with are extremists motivated by bigotry, but even everyday 'non-extreme' people can treat others horribly sometimes, particularly online.

It sounds like there was a community of people dedicated to harassing them for no reason other than being 'weird' and I think that's a very frightening and depressing thought. It's horrifying how common it is to harass people simply for being neurodivergent, trans/nonbinary, or otherwise being perceived as 'different'. ClutchPoints - Near, the creator of SNES emulators bsnes and higan, has died. I think it's deeply upsetting that so many people went out of their way to bully Near, who was by all accounts a kind, gentle person.

Near bsnes has died