I don't really get this "joke" but man do I hate the trend of removing any personality from code. Programming used to be FUN and a way to express yourself. Easter eggs exemplified this. Now its cold and business only.
Who controls glibc?
21–30 of 528 posts
Re: Who controls glibc?
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
If additional context is needed: this was in the documentation for the `abort()` function
I think this is it [0]? Has it been changed since this discussion, or was it not removed? I honestly don't get the joke. [0] https://www.gnu.org/software/libc/manual/html_node/Aborting-...
It was reverted earlier after RMS saw the commit, and added himself to the email chain. RMS said that as the leader of the GNU Project, he gets the final say, and said to the maintainers that they are under him.
One of the maintainers then reverted the commit.
To explain the 'joke': In the box at the bottom of that page, it's basically RMS saying that if the government outlaws abortion, they'll have to not give any information on the `abort()` function, and instead say it's not an "acceptable way of terminating a program" (or rather, "acceptable way of terminating a pregnancy")
Re: Who controls glibc?
#23Email thread: https://sourceware.org/ml/libc-alpha/2018-05/msg00001.html That gets a bit whacky when RMS asserts control over glibc as the GNU project maintainer and asks them to add it back: https://sourceware.org/ml/libc-alpha/2018-05/msg00149.html
Is there a mirror somewhere? Sourceware seems to be getting HN'd
The documentation for the glibc abort() function had this entry, that was removed:
@c Put in by rms. Don't remove.
@cartouche
@strong{Future Change Warning:} Proposed Federal censorship regulations
may prohibit us from giving you information about the possibility of
calling this function. We would be required to say that this is not an
acceptable way of terminating a program.
@end cartoucheRe: Who controls glibc?
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
The email thread is far more interesting/informative. I would argue it would be a better link for the main headline.
I disagree. Neither one of those links actually show the 'joke' that was removed.
It's described in the thread a few posts in I believe, but I also don't think the text of the joke is the point. The LWN article linked elsewhere in this thread probably better highlights the real issue: That RMS has made an authoritarian demand that his joke remain in the manual despite most everyone who maintains glibc opposing that.
Re: Who controls glibc?
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is there a mirror somewhere? Sourceware seems to be getting HN'd
The documentation for the glibc abort() function had this entry, that was removed: @c Put in by rms. Don't remove. @cartouche @strong{Future Change Warning:} Proposed Federal censorship regulations may prohibit us from giving you information about the possibility of calling this function. We would be required to say that this is not an acceptable way of terminating a program. @end cartouche
And then re-added: https://sourceware.org/git/?p=glibc.git;a=commitdiff;h=ffa81...
Re: Who controls glibc?
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think this is it [0]? Has it been changed since this discussion, or was it not removed? I honestly don't get the joke. [0] https://www.gnu.org/software/libc/manual/html_node/Aborting-...
It was reverted earlier after RMS saw the commit, and added himself to the email chain. RMS said that as the leader of the GNU Project, he gets the final say, and said to the maintainers that they are under him. One of the maintainers then reverted the commit. To explain the 'joke': In the box at the bottom of that page, it's basically RMS saying that if the government outlaws abortion, they'll have to not give any i…
Ignoring everything else, I have to say that the joke is super confusing and frankly not really funny. I would have been confused if I tried to read that page without any context. For that reason alone I think it should be removed.
Re: Who controls glibc?
#27it's a cringey joke but the PC police trying to convince RMS to remove it is equally cringey. with this trend soon we won't allow ourselves to say anything because words lead to feelings and we can't have that, for some reason.
Re: Who controls glibc?
#28To call it a joke is a bit of a stretch, more like a turn of phrase or wink to the reader.
As far as explicitly inserting one's politics into communal tools, this case is so mild it's hard to fathom any grounded person wasting time on it.
However, there is a case at the moment of the author of the BFG tool for git adding a paragraph of text about fighting trump at the end of his tool's output. He won't get rid of it until he's out of office.
Another case where Atlassian was putting in LGBT rainbow stuff into the output of a successful push.
Really obnoxious stuff. I don't mind devs having a personality but develop a sense of decorum.
As weak as the RMS line was, best keep any snifter of politics out of your tools. It's just lame at the end of the day.
Re: Who controls glibc?
#29I am with RMS on this one. It is not an abortion joke, it is a censorship joke.
He doesn't take a stance on abortion (a sensitive matter) but on whether they (FSF or a foreign NGO for example) are allowed to talk about abortion.
Re: Who controls glibc?
#30I am with RMS on this one. It is not an abortion joke, it is a censorship joke. He doesn't take a stance on abortion (a sensitive matter) but on whether they (FSF or a foreign NGO for example) are allowed to talk about abortion.
Indeed. The irony of censoring a censorship joke is probably lost on the censors.