Neowin has just gotten word that the Creator of the Freenode IRC network, Rob Levin (aka lilo) has passed away. Although there is not much information yet on the subject, this is what fellow Freenode staff member, christel has released:
"On the 12th of September Rob Levin, known to many as Freenode"s lilo, was hit by a car while riding his bike. He suffered head injuries and passed away in hospital on the 16th. He spent his last few days at the neuro trauma ICU at a local hospital where he was in a coma. The news reached us this morning that Rob passed away early today. Rob is survived by wife Debbie and son Benjamin, and we ask that you all respect their privacy at this difficult time. Robs funeral is most likely to be monday afternoon, although we have yet to get confirmation as Debbie is waiting to hear from the MEs office that it can go ahead as planned and for those local, wishing to show their respects at his funeral, we ask that you email staff@freenode.net and we will try direct you as we can."
Christel also stated that "[It] is Debbie"s wishes that freenode keeps running as close to normal as possible, and we will be working with the PDPC board to ensure that the network keeps running." Rob"s IRC client is still connected to Freenode. Once it logs off, Robs nicknames will be quarantined to prevent abuse.
More updates will be posted as the story unfolds.