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Death of Matt Lightner (creator of Site5) (ryanbigg.com)

86 points by auxbuss ↗ HN
I just read on Ryan Bigg's blog that Matt Lightner, the guy who started Site5 when he was 15, has died. His facebook account "is currently unavailable". I have no idea of the circumstances, and it would be wrong to speculate.

Here's a link to his personal web-site: http://www.mattlightner.com/

Site5 was one of the mileposts on the way to where we are today and it's so sad to lose an innovator so young.

26 comments

[ 4.5 ms ] story [ 64.2 ms ] thread
sunchild
I'm a Site5 customer. One of the things that I love about the company is that I can pretty much forget about it until I need to change something. None of the pushy upselling and other annoyances that are business as usual for so much of the rest of the web.
brianbreslin
I'm pretty sure they sold site5 about 18 months ago. I agree solid service for the price.
bwb
Over 3 years ago Joel and I bought Site5 from Matt/Rod. Feel free to hit me up too.

Thanks, Ben Site5 CEO bwb@site5.com

skbohra123
RIP. Seems like there's no wikiepedia entry for Matt Lightner?
dkd903
Really depressing when such young and dynamic people die un-timely deaths. :(
[dead] ultimatewarrior
Reality, there's nothing like it.
[deleted]
(comment deleted)
meiji
Very sad to hear this. Despite working in the industry for some time (and therefore being able to have free quality hosting) I have paid for Site5 hosting for some time now. That's a mark of their service.

Deepest sympathies to his family, friends and colleagues

wyclif
Just 28 years old. Sad. What was the cause of death?
ukdm
Tom Sepper (COO of Site5) posted on Web Hosting Talk (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showpost.php?s=fed7907b397ade5...) when someone asked this same question. His response included the following:

"With respect to everyone in mind, it's not our place to release any details (nor are they fully known)."

tomjen3
Another suicide?
hermannj314
Given 28 and male it is equally likely he died of road fatality, suicide, poisoning or a violent act. They are all pretty close and then it just drops off to very rare stuff. So it is probably not wise to speculate at all.
powertower
Drug overdose.
hermannj314
Depending on intent, the CDC will classify that as either poisoning or suicide.
wyclif
That's nice and everything, but I'm really not interested in Tom Sepper's opinion on proper etiquette. I'm just curious about what happened, thanks.
bwb
That is pretty private information, and up to his family if they want to get into medical details. The important point is that it sucks, not the reason for it. Thanks, Ben
ryanbigg
Agreed here. While it would satisfy the curiosity of people, it is not really all that relevant how he died, just that he is now dead.

There are rumors, but there's no point talking about them because there's no facts behind them. You may as well say he was killed fighting a dropbear.

inovica
Whilst I've never been a customer (as I had our own dedicated servers) I've followed Site5 for years. They have always had a reputation for good customer service and this is usually instilled by the founders. Whilst I don't know the circumstances behind Matts death, it is very sad to see someone so young die. My thoughts are with his family.

At least Matt has been created is able to continue beyond him. That he was (with help of his cofounders and colleagues) able to build this business feels, to me anyway, that he has done more than many people who live longer lives

omarqureshi
Very sad to hear. Really nice guy to talk to an IRC - I shall indeed miss his banter.
bwb
It is very sad, I couldn't believe it when Vince told me. Way too young and too much great stuff left to do.

I'm sure his family appreciates the communities outpouring of support, thanks for that everyone! Ben Site5 CEO

kellishaver
I've been a Site5 customer for about 9yrs now, and that's by far the longest I've stayed with any web host. I had a few email exchanges with him back in the early days and he always left me with a great impression - very friendly, very smart, very dedicated to taking care of customers and providing a great service.
acangiano
I exchanged a few emails with Matt in the early days of Site5's support for Ruby on Rails. Truly upstanding guy who was committed to his business. So sad to see him pass away so young.

We don't know what's the cause of death, but given his young age, there is a chance that he may have taken his own life. Depression can be a disease as real as heart disease. If you are depressed, and reading this, please seek help.

mml
I had no idea he was such a big deal. strange to see random people you've had conversations with show up in on the front page, much less an obit out of the blue.