About Rip Rank
An independent project about how the living judge the dead.
I'm Seth Soffer, the founder of Rip Rank.
Ever since Steve Jobs died, I've been fascinated by how people react online when a famous person passes away. Some deaths trigger a massive public response - shared stories, arguments about legacy, thousands of RIPs. Other notable people die and barely make a ripple. Why do some people remain culturally alive after death while others fade almost immediately? That question has been rattling around in my head for years.
Rip Rank is my attempt to explore it. The site tracks signals like Wikipedia pageviews, YouTube views, and Reddit discussion to measure ongoing public interest in deceased luminaries. Those numbers provide useful context, but they're not the final word. Rip Rank also gives actual humans a framework to RIP, rate, rank, review, and curate the people who left a mark on history.
A RIP is a sign of appreciation. Ratings and reviews give you room to judge the work, influence, character, or lasting relevance of a luminary. The goal isn't to manufacture a definitive historical truth - it's to watch how reputation, attention, nostalgia, admiration, and infamy shift over time. We rank movies, athletes, presidents, albums, and restaurants; Rip Rank applies that same instinct to the people who came before us.
Rip Rank is an independent project operated by Rip Rank, LLC in Pennsylvania. It's not owned by a media company or a data broker. It's built and maintained by one person who is genuinely interested in how the living judge the dead.