Automattic's Matt Mullenweg Adds Header to Websites in Memory of Eric Binnion

For the next 30 days, a few billion web requests will carry an extra line of code in memory of Eric Binnion.

The line is written for Nginx, a common web server program. It adds an HTTP header, which is a small piece of hidden information sent along with a web page. This one is named X-Remembering and reads: "Eric Binnion < https://friendsofericbinnion.wordpress.com/ >". The "always" setting at the end tells the server to include it on every response.

The post calls the code poetic. It also says the design team will make the tribute "less AI and more humane in the coming days." The draft does not explain what that change will look like.

Binnion was the 21st recipient of the Distinguished Janitor Award, which the post describes as Automattic's highest honor. The writer says that in recent months people have talked about how to redefine and evolve the award. Any changes will happen inside Automattic.

One idea was to give winners a physical memento, an etched tungsten cube. The writer says they gave Binnion their own cube a few months ago, while he was going through chemo. They shared the note that went with it, titled "Two Totems To Take With You."

In the note, the writer says the cube sits on their desk and is heavier than people expect. Tungsten has the highest melting point of any metal, and the writer says that reflects something they admire most about Binnion. The note adds that tungsten has atomic number 74, the symbol W, and is also called wolfram.

The writer closes by saying they have another post waiting in drafts that is promotional, and asks readers to imagine them happy while reading it. Otherwise, they say, they are "wrecked." They plan to keep going "because that's what Eric always did."