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Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

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Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#141

Post by ternaryoperator »

elemeno wrote: post #63
muyuu wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was obviously a joke and I seriously doubt anyone would be offended by that. I know I'm not and I'm relatively understanding about the austerity measures.

You'd have to point me at something that would suggest it was said in jest then, since I don't see anything that would support that assertion. Frankly, there's a reason why I used the word 'appreciate' rather than 'respect' and that's because while RMS has done much good for the world, he's also an extremist and a fundamentalist who's publicly held convictions in some areas indirectly damage the cause he's fighting f…

Actually, the OP's original article in Spanish states that he said it ironically and that everyone in the room laughed. See the before-last paragraph.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#142

Post by tzs »

mikebike wrote: post #124
benihana wrote: post #76

This presents an interesting situation. Is Stallman okay with being hooked up to medical computers even though they may not be running free software? What about the privacy issues involved in being checked into a hospital?

This Stallman quote (transcript from an interview) may be instructive here: "And the issue doesn't really arise for software that goes in a watch or a microwave oven or an automobile ignition system. Because those are places where you don't download software to install. It's not a real computer, as far as the user is concerned. And so, it doesn't raise these issues enough for them to be ethically important." Source:…

A similar argument could be made about software running on servers, and circa that same time as that quote on microwave ovens I believe Stallman in fact took the position that servers did not raise such issues either.

He's changed his mind about servers since then, so I wonder if he also has since changed his mind on devices?

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#143

Post by icebraining »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #133
icebraining wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And we would do that... why?

Either the doctors will have to work for free, or the rest of us will, to pay for others' health care.

We don't work for free, we work in exchange for the privilege of living in society.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#144

Post by jodrellblank »

jahewson wrote: post #127
Tichy wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not the same in all European countries. I think in the UK it is like you describe. I was quite shocked, however, when I heard about the typical wait times for things like broken teeth or bones (weeks - that was 18 years ago, though, don't know the current state). In Germany there are specific health insurances you have to pick. However it has become mandatory to have health insurance a couple of years ago, and t…

No the UK does not make you wait weeks for broken bones. That would never make sense, because the bone would have healed in that time in the incorrect position, and then require expensive surgery to re-set it. It's so obviously nonsense.

Maybe not habitually, but it's not unheard of.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2672411/Crippled-m...

Circumstances seem to be debatable, though.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#145

Post by craigvn »

bostonpete wrote: post #116
zackzackzack wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it were anyone but Stallman, I would have thought you were being an ass about the situation. But realistically, I could see that being a concern for him and his ethics. I hope he doesn't die on principle quite yet though. There aren't too many FOSS clinics AFAIK.

I don't see how it would realistically be a concern for him. That's like saying he wouldn't be willing to get on a plane or drive a car b/c they use closed source software...

I am pretty sure he has thought about this.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#146

Post by rev_null »

squidbot wrote: post #115
firichapo wrote: post #4

I just wanted to add that at no point does the article mentions that he collapsed. Looks like he suffered an increase in blood pressure and decided to call it of. A doctor was contacted and he was able to walk away by his own means.

Google's translation made the article a bit more amusing: "The president of the Free Software Foundation has begun to feel ill, apparently due to a power surge" He needs better line filtering I'd guess!

He must've been wearing his "power tie".

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#147

Post by lumberjack »

redthrowaway wrote: post #98
benihana wrote: post #76

This presents an interesting situation. Is Stallman okay with being hooked up to medical computers even though they may not be running free software? What about the privacy issues involved in being checked into a hospital?

I'm not rms, and I don't speak for him, but his opposition to non-free software is predicated upon the claim that it harms the user. As death is arguably a greater harm than any non-free software could inflict, I suspect he would say that it is not wrong to use non-free software to save a life if no free alternative is readily available. You can ask him yourself, if you want: rms@fsf.org He replies to almost all emai…

To continue with the above comment, I'd like to point out that RMS has valid concerns regarding non-free software running inside your body.

You don't want to have a buggy pacemaker with unencrypted unprotected wireless access.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07/27/buggy_pacemaker_code...

https://www.softwarefreedom.org/resources/2010/transparent-m...

Moreover I don't feel comfortable using a technology that is owned, developed and maintained exclusively by one company.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#148

Post by dschobel »

benihana wrote: post #76

This presents an interesting situation. Is Stallman okay with being hooked up to medical computers even though they may not be running free software? What about the privacy issues involved in being checked into a hospital?

I was thinking about this just the other day as I was getting a flu vaccine. As far as accepting closed source technology in your life, that seems like the vastly more salient domain.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#149

Post by mattbriggs »

rwos wrote: post #58
raganwald wrote: post #32

Social/Moral question: Is it acceptable to wish Mr. Stallman well in light of allegations that he has advocated for truly awful practices? e.g. Dutch pedophiles have formed a political party to campaign for legalization. I am skeptical of the claim that voluntarily pedophilia harms children. http://stallman.org/archives/2006-may-aug.html

Asking such a loaded question when RMS can't even defend himself is just incredible cheap. If you had genuine interest in knowing whether these allegations are true, you could have asked differently (and on a different occasion). No, that's not a "Social/Moral" question, that's just a statement. I would down-vote you, if I could.

its not an allegation when you link to richardstallman.org. What he said was

"Dutch pedophiles have formed a political party to campaign for legalization.

I am skeptical of the claim that voluntarily pedophilia harms children. The arguments that it causes harm seem to be based on cases which aren't voluntary, which are then stretched by parents who are horrified by the idea that their little baby is maturing."

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#150

Post by mattbriggs »

figglesonrails wrote: post #104
b0rsuk wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Am I the only person to notice the word "voluntarily" (sic) ? Presumably he meant willingness of both sides. I haven't given the subject much thought, but it's certainly not in the same league as someone joining you in your bathtub against your will.

Legally, minors are considered "incompetent", the idea being that they wouldn't know if something would be harmful to them in the long run. Additionally, the level of wisdom/intelligence is just too different -- children are extremely easy to manipulate compared to adults, especially since adults are almost unanimously regarded as "authority figures", doubly so if a family member. Voluntary means little if you can't…

beyond that, children really don't have a sexuality until at least puberty. There is no such thing as "voluntary" pedophilia.
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