The death of this climber is an unfortunate tragedy that could happen to almost any one of us. What we can learn from it is not anything new but a useful reminder of the dangers we accept in our amazing sport. Having a debate about the pros and cons of various knots and techniques is always useful to educate and get people thinking - thinking is most likely to save you from unfortunate accidents. And this article and its comments refer to tying-in systems - so here's my thoughts... It seems a great idea to always teach beginners a figure of 8 - they can easily check it themselves (Does it have the 8 shape? Are there two ropes side-by-side everywhere? Is the tail as long as your forearm?) It is much easier and more foolproof than a bowline - so if in any doubt use an 8... But I find a bowline much easier to use for myself and would encourage experienced climbers to learn it and use it. Here is my thinking: it can easily be tied in one fluid movement - so less chance of distraction halfway through no tying a knot then threading through the harness then completing it so you have either tied a knot or not at all! (You are less likely to instictively think that you have tied in when you have not) it is faster to tie if tied neatly with a proper stopper knot (double fishermans') it is just as safe and as strong as an 8 it comes undone easily after loading - so a sport climber's dream, but equally safe for trad in my experience against this is the fact that it does need to be tied well/neatly and accurately, but all knots should be if they are to be as effective as possible. In climbing your tie-in knot is essential to preserving your life so if using a bowline the stopper knot is definitely essential. In contrast in sailing your life does not depend on the knot directly, and is more likely to depend on being able to release the knot extremely quickly (to reduce sail and prevent a knock down/capsize). As in all areas of climbing there is more than one way to do anything and ALL choices have their pros and cons - learn what the pros and cons are and think about the situations where you apply techniques as to how appropriate they are right there and then. Good luck.