[TimorousBestie]

Sam Hughes (qntm) is very much alive, last I checked.

[rcxdude]

I think they are just making reference to the "death of the author" concept in literary analysis, which basically says that what the author was intending to convey should be ignored when analysing the work: the work stands alone.

[reductum]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_the_Author