Ilya Zhitomirskiy, age 22 and Founder of Diaspora (Facebook Rival), Has Died of Suspected Suicide.,

Founder of Open-Source Facebook Foe Dies at 22

Published November 14, 2011

| FoxNews.com

Diaspora founders from left to right: Maxwell Salzberg, Daniel Grippi, Raphael Sofaer and the late Ilya Zhitomirskiy.

Ilya Zhitomirskiy, one of the co-founders of Facebook-alternative Diaspora, died Saturday night at the age of 22.

A spokesman for the San Francisco medical examiner's office confirmed the death of Zhitomirskiy to FoxNews.com, originally reported Sunday by popular tech news blog TechCrunch. He was unable to confirm reports that the young man committed suicide. 

Confirmation of the final cause of death could take weeks, he said.

Peter Schurman, a Diaspora spokesman, declined to comment on specific details but acknowledged Zhitomirskiy's death. "We're all very sad that Ilya has passed away," Schurman told FoxNews.com.

...

Diaspora has launched a site redesign in the wake of Zhitomirskiy’s passing.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/11/14/founder-open-source-facebook-foe-dies-at-22/#ixzz1dnuJigd8