Mr. Morden tribute thread

[PSOL]

Atlas isn’t the only space where a loss of this skilled titan is present; he was an expert political analyst, a scientific genius, and a great family man.

[ملكة كرينجيتوك]

I had no idea he also worked in science outside the forum. It's very rare indeed for someone to be able to be held in such high esteem across such varied fields. Even if we on the forum can't be there in person to show our respects, I'm sure many, many will. Rest in peace.

He was an astrophysicist, apparently quite an eminent one. I'm not sure if we have a decided-upon approach yet for whether and how to allow discussion of his offline life in the context of his forum memorial, but he did some pretty impressive things, mostly in the burgeoning field of studying galaxies outside the Local Group.

If his mother checks the forum again and sees this thread, I hope she takes some comfort in how much this community loved, valued, and admired her son.

RIP to a forum legend. In olawakandi we trust, and may Leip bless America.

This is "Mr. Morden's" mother letting you know that you were correct in your assumption that the 18+ days of silence was an indication that Mr. Morden had died.  About 2 hours after creating his last post on this site Mr. Morden suffered a massive brain bleed.  After spending 4 days in an unconscious state and on life support, he died peacefully in late September.

I just wanted to add clarity to all the suppositions.  As I expect you know, he enjoyed this site tremendously.

My condolences ma’am. Your son shall be missed by us all.

[Thunder98 🇮🇱 🤝 🇵🇸]

RIP, Mr. Morden was a great poster who made this blog a better place with his vast knowledge.

[ꙮ]

Saying it seems silly in a way— given he had a real life outside of this site, which was doubtless far more important— but he was truly one of the titans of Atlas. This site and this community is how I knew of him, and however tangential a connection that may be in reality, I am saddened by his death. Learning that he was a well-respected professional and a well-loved man by his family only deepens that feeling.

Rest in Peace Mr. Morden.

[ꙮ]

I had no idea he also worked in science outside the forum. It's very rare indeed for someone to be able to be held in such high esteem across such varied fields. Even if we on the forum can't be there in person to show our respects, I'm sure many, many will. Rest in peace.

He was an astrophysicist, apparently quite an eminent one. I'm not sure if we have a decided-upon approach yet for whether and how to allow discussion of his offline life in the context of his forum memorial, but he did some pretty impressive things, mostly in the burgeoning field of studying galaxies outside the Local Group.

If his mother checks the forum again and sees this thread, I hope she takes some comfort in how much this community loved, valued, and admired her son.

I understand the concern over allowing discussion of his offline life and the concerns over confirming his real-life identity. That said, I would love to read more about his work if those discussions do ever happen.

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

I had no idea he also worked in science outside the forum. It's very rare indeed for someone to be able to be held in such high esteem across such varied fields. Even if we on the forum can't be there in person to show our respects, I'm sure many, many will. Rest in peace.

He was an astrophysicist, apparently quite an eminent one. I'm not sure if we have a decided-upon approach yet for whether and how to allow discussion of his offline life in the context of his forum memorial, but he did some pretty impressive things, mostly in the burgeoning field of studying galaxies outside the Local Group.

If his mother checks the forum again and sees this thread, I hope she takes some comfort in how much this community loved, valued, and admired her son.

I understand the concern over allowing discussion of his offline life and the concerns over confirming his real-life identity. That said, I would love to read more about his work if those discussions do ever happen.

I'm sure some users on the forum know. He was active for almost two decades.

I think a rule against this exists, though. I'm one of the most socially-inept people I've met and even I think, say, linking muon's wikipedia page would go over poorly.

[💥💥 brandon bro (he/him/his)]

Very sad.

His passing and the responses it engenders are a reminder that this board really is a special place. We should all strive to be so earnestly loved and respected, and to treat others the same way he did. May we all find something that we can dedicate ourselves to and contribute the same way he did to this community.

RIP FF

[ꙮ]

[Clipped]
I'm sure some users on the forum know. He was active for almost two decades.

I think a rule against this exists, though. I'm one of the most socially-inept people I've met and even I think, say, linking muon's wikipedia page would go over poorly.

Of course, I can understand why that would be a bad idea. The rules on forum privacy exist for good reason.

[Sir Mohamed]

Ugh, the good die young?

I'm speechless. It was way, way ahead of time. May he rest in eternal peace and may god bless his family and friends and give them strength in this time of mourning.

[Ferguson97]

RIP and condolences to his family. I expected him to be older, but I checked his profile, and he was just 46. Only the good die young. His contributions to Atlas and the scientific community will be missed.

[thumb21]

This is horrible, rest in peace...

[Fuzzy Bear]

I had no idea he also worked in science outside the forum. It's very rare indeed for someone to be able to be held in such high esteem across such varied fields. Even if we on the forum can't be there in person to show our respects, I'm sure many, many will. Rest in peace.

He was an astrophysicist, apparently quite an eminent one. I'm not sure if we have a decided-upon approach yet for whether and how to allow discussion of his offline life in the context of his forum memorial, but he did some pretty impressive things, mostly in the burgeoning field of studying galaxies outside the Local Group.

If his mother checks the forum again and sees this thread, I hope she takes some comfort in how much this community loved, valued, and admired her son.

This is really cool. 

We DO have accomplished people here.  I mean REALLY accomplished people here. 

[muon2]

I had the privilege to meet Mr. Morden in person while I was at a conference in San Francisco. We had an enjoyable conversation talking about tech and Atlas. For those who weren't aware, Morden was my predecessor as modadmin (along with Nym90).

[LAKISYLVANIA]

Very sad. RIP.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Shocking News. He and Virginia were the first two posters I encountered in my travels here.

R.I.P.

[Lambsbread]

This is an unbelievable shock. While looking over the other thread, I also saw BRTD mention that TrueFederalist/Ernest had passed away as well. I was unaware of this and am now processing the passing of two Atlas titans that I have known since my earliest days on here.

Mr. Morden was a forum institution and, by all accounts, a literal genius outside of the forum. I always remembered him for his sharp wit--he was the origin of many Atlas jokes, including asking if your family knows about [forum meme] IIRC.

Goes to show that we ought to appreciate the little community that we have here. I'm so honored to have known so many great folks through this website and learned much from them. In a way, their legacy lives on through all of us.

The touching tributes in this thread are just further proof that Mr Morden left behind a fantastic legacy and I hope wherever he is now, he is at peace.

Love you guys.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

This is an unbelievable shock. While looking over the other thread, I also saw BRTD mention that TrueFederalist/Ernest had passed away as well. I was unaware of this and am now processing the passing of two Atlas titans that I have known since my earliest days on here.

Just FTR, that's been speculated but unconfirmed, but DT had pointed out that Ernest disappeared around the time of a COVID spike. Presumably clarence has passed on simply because of his age and a post I recall where he mentions buying a house "that I plan to die in." He had married the woman of his dreams toward the end, so hopefully if that's indeed the case, he died happily and peacefully.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

I think if you wanted to describe the platonic ideal of an atlas poster, Morden would be up there. He clearly loved this place and was deeply embedded in the social fabric, while remaining dignified, refusing to get involved in petty gossip and drama; he was nostalgic without being reactionary. His posts all showed him to be a really well-informed and intelligent person who was interested in the field of psephology rather than partisan hackery. And more importantly than any of that, he was a decent man who nobody had a bad word for.

[Mr. Smith]

This is an unbelievable shock. While looking over the other thread, I also saw BRTD mention that TrueFederalist/Ernest had passed away as well. I was unaware of this and am now processing the passing of two Atlas titans that I have known since my earliest days on here.

Mr. Morden was a forum institution and, by all accounts, a literal genius outside of the forum. I always remembered him for his sharp wit--he was the origin of many Atlas jokes, including asking if your family knows about [forum meme] IIRC.

Goes to show that we ought to appreciate the little community that we have here. I'm so honored to have known so many great folks through this website and learned much from them. In a way, their legacy lives on through all of us.

The touching tributes in this thread are just further proof that Mr Morden left behind a fantastic legacy and I hope wherever he is now, he is at peace.

Love you guys.

Wait, what? When?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Also if his mother is reading this a big thanks to her, this is like the worst possible scenario for any parent and I can't imagine what it's like to go through, and taking time to inform some obscure internet forum even months later is never going to be a priority, especially with the time to find this place. I wonder if even my mother would come here to inform this place if this happened to me and if she'd be even aware. Thank you very much for reaching out as you did.

[CherryBlink]

Also if his mother is reading this a big thanks to her, this is like the worst possible scenario for any parent and I can't imagine what it's like to go through, and taking time to inform some obscure internet forum even months later is never going to be a priority, especially with the time to find this place. I wonder if even my mother would come here to inform this place if this happened to me and if she'd be even aware. Thank you very much for reaching out as you did.

Yes, this is Mr. Morden's mother, and I am so touched by all the heartwarming tributes on this site.  I did not work hard at finding the website (though navigating is another story!).  Mr. Morden's best friend is an occasional poster, and he thought I might be interested in reading some of Morden's posts through the years.  When I saw that there was such speculation as to why he had dropped off the site, I thought it was important to clarify the situation.  Thank you all for embracing my son who left us at age 45.

[John Dule]

This man wrote over 40,000 posts without once giving a single editorialization on an issue. That alone elevates him to gigachad status.

[President Johnson]

This is just shocking and incredibly sad. I always perceived him as a polite effort-poster who did an amazing job with providing data such as PredictIt.

RIP, FF. Gone way too soon.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I also must say, I've always remembered him for my discovering and bringing up my "10-year old daughter": https://talkelections.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=114467.0

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I am really saddened to hear this. He was a genuine class act and one of the best posters this forum has ever had. Memory eternal!