Mozilla, Tor Join Calls to Oust Richard Stallman from Free Software Foundation

Post by captaincurrie » Wed, Mar 24, 2021, 11:18 PM UTC

orra wrote: post #67

mark_l_watson wrote: post #30

As a very liberal person, I have to say that I am disgusted by cancel culture. Disgusted. This is so harmful to society, and is a dark path that the left has taken in my country. To put it plainly, my political party has turned into whinny little people. People should lose their jobs over things like sexual or any type of harassment but when I read Stallman's actual comments last year, I thought that it was very clea…

A plethora of women have come forward, with their stories of sexual harassment and manipulation by RMS. (See links in other posts; e.g. the first link in the open letter's appendix.) This isn't just about him describing a "sex trafficking victim" as "entirely willing", and hence not a victim of "sexual assault". This is wrong on so many levels.

Post by orra » Wed, Mar 24, 2021, 11:18 PM UTC

tubbyjr wrote: post #45

orra wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is ableist nonsense. First, nobody is ostracizing Stallman for being socially awkward. He is being ostracized for sexual harassment. Second, neurodiversity and social awkwardness don't excuse you being an asshole, from being a bully, or from being a danger. I think most people, whether neurodiverse or not, understand that. Finally, does he have an autism diagnosis? Just like with the recent tragic Atlanta shooti…

Unbelievable... so autism is now a treatable disease? Is LGBTQ++ also treatable according to you? Your comment is bigotted nonesense across the whole gamut.

Post by _y5hn » Wed, Mar 24, 2021, 11:19 PM UTC

krapp wrote: post #58

ipnon wrote: post #44

I believe there is a significant chilling effect in regards to speaking out in the defense of Richard Stallman, a man who has never been convicted of a crime, and who in response to the allegations in the open letter has said things such as: "We know that Giuffre was being coerced into sex – by Epstein. She was being harmed," "Through personal conversations in recent years, I've learned to understand how sex with a c…

>I believe there is a significant chilling effect in regards to speaking out in the defense of Richard Stallman Sorry? What chilling effect? People are coming out of the woodwork to defend him. Most of the comments on most threads on Hacker News defend him. I can't think of anyone more vigorously and vociferously defended by the tech community except maybe Aaron Swartz. If there's any chilling effect at all, it's in…

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Mar 24, 2021, 11:20 PM UTC

jrm4 wrote: post #39

I'm trying to weigh this very carefully and it's hard to get a complete picture (which is part of the problem,) but I think the thing that rubs me most the wrong way is the general flimsiness of the arguments against RMS. It's very clear that he has words and actions in the past that must be addressed and atoned for (and perhaps has) -- but it is not at all clear to me that these words and ideas justify removing the…

Post by wmf » Wed, Mar 24, 2021, 11:21 PM UTC

geofft wrote: post #53

jrm4 wrote: post #39

I'm trying to weigh this very carefully and it's hard to get a complete picture (which is part of the problem,) but I think the thing that rubs me most the wrong way is the general flimsiness of the arguments against RMS. It's very clear that he has words and actions in the past that must be addressed and atoned for (and perhaps has) -- but it is not at all clear to me that these words and ideas justify removing the…

Quoting from their website, "The FSF is a charity with a worldwide mission to advance software freedom." The question for the FSF Board isn't whether Stallman deserves to be punished, or anything - they're not a court of law. The question for the FSF Board is whether adding Stallman to the board accomplishes their mission of advancing software freedom. The FSF is not the Stallman Foundation (the way that there's a Ga…