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Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

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Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#181

Post by VeejayRampay »

rimantas wrote: post #180
lumberjack wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 owne…

As if free software cannot be buggy and with lousy security. I am so tired of this "open and free makes everything perfect by magic" thinking.

It's not about it being more secure. It's that at least when it's suffering from malfunction, you got shitloads of eyeballs on the thing to make it work and work well. Why do you think all the OpenBSD tools are so ubiquitous?

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#182

Post by mibbitier »

Produce wrote: post #160
hkmurakami wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

RMS is controversial, extreme, and perhaps even crazy. But it's scary to imagine a world without the counterpoint that RMS singularly embodies. In a way, he evokes images of the Dalai Lama: In (metaphorical) exile, regarded as a heretic from many, and revered as a guiding beacon by others.

One step ahead of the curve and you're a genius. Two steps and you're crazy. Three and you're dangerous. RMS#2

Actually, I believe he's behind the curve.

There was a time when some of the things he talks about mattered (1980s), and that time has long gone.

The general public don't buy "computers" to tinker with any more. They buy them just like they buy a toaster. As an appliance to use. The software or hardware it runs is irrelevant. All that matters is the user experience, and if it fulfils the purpose - does it make good toast.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#183

Post by w0utert »

VeejayRampay wrote: post #181
rimantas wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As if free software cannot be buggy and with lousy security. I am so tired of this "open and free makes everything perfect by magic" thinking.

It's not about it being more secure. It's that at least when it's suffering from malfunction, you got shitloads of eyeballs on the thing to make it work and work well. Why do you think all the OpenBSD tools are so ubiquitous?

Keeping this in the context of devices like a pacemaker, do you really believe that an open-source development model would be safer for the people who depend on it than a closed-source model? Do you expect them to flash custom ROMs to the pacemaker that keeps them alive if it turns out there may be a problem with them, instead of going to the hospital to get the thing replaced?

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#184

Post by Joeboy »

rogerbinns wrote: post #123
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…

Are the health insurance plans means tested? ie does a millionaire pay the same as someone who is unemployed? Does the government also contribute some money behind the scenes? In the UK dentistry is not covered by the National Health Service. (More accurately it can be but the vast majority of dentists opt out.) As for waiting lists the UK did significantly increase spending in order to reduce them. (The UK also had…

> In the UK dentistry is not covered by the National Health Service. (More accurately it can be but the vast majority of dentists opt out.)

I don't know about the whole country, but in the cities I've lived in recently it's been no problem to get NHS dental care, at least for the basics. I guess I can't fault your words technically, but I think "In the UK dentistry is covered by the National Health Service" would be at least as accurate as your version.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#185

Post by rwos »

mattbriggs wrote: post #149
rwos wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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."

The quote doesn't make it an allegation, that's right. The other parts do ("[...] that he has advocated for truly awful practices"). That "fact" is not part of the question and as such can only be refuted by invalidating the whole comment, not by answering the question (I hope that makes sense). A real (fair) question would have been something like "Here's a quote - what do you think about it?". Besides, again, it's not the right occasion.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#186

Post by Joeboy »

kprobst wrote: post #72

One of these days it's going to be for real and I wonder how many of his fans will be enraged when someone says something like "I'm not glad he's dead, but I'm glad he's gone".

If someone's able to make a decent case as to why rms being out of the picture makes the world a better place, they should totally be able to say that if it's their opinion. If they're just being a dick then yes, that will be annoying.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#187

Post by wisty »

mibbitier wrote: post #182
Produce wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One step ahead of the curve and you're a genius. Two steps and you're crazy. Three and you're dangerous. RMS#2

Actually, I believe he's behind the curve. There was a time when some of the things he talks about mattered (1980s), and that time has long gone. The general public don't buy "computers" to tinker with any more. They buy them just like they buy a toaster. As an appliance to use. The software or hardware it runs is irrelevant. All that matters is the user experience, and if it fulfils the purpose - does it make good t…

The point he makes is that in the long term, getting locked into a single vendor isn't worth a slightly better user experience.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#188

Post by redthrowaway »

w0utert wrote: post #183
VeejayRampay wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not about it being more secure. It's that at least when it's suffering from malfunction, you got shitloads of eyeballs on the thing to make it work and work well. Why do you think all the OpenBSD tools are so ubiquitous?

Keeping this in the context of devices like a pacemaker, do you really believe that an open-source development model would be safer for the people who depend on it than a closed-source model? Do you expect them to flash custom ROMs to the pacemaker that keeps them alive if it turns out there may be a problem with them, instead of going to the hospital to get the thing replaced?

Nobody's saying they wouldn't just reflash it at the hospital. Replacing a pacemaker requires surgery, which is why they're externally programmable in the first place.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#189

Post by troels »

ktizo wrote: post #162
jahewson wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

In the UK for serious broken bones is about half an hour to an hour, in my experience. Broken wrist, ribs, elbow, skull, pelvis and ankle, so far. I'd be broke or dead in many other countries by now. The inpatient care can be a bit hit and miss, but A&E is generally awesome.

Either you're seriously clumsy or you just have a really big portion of bad luck!

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#190

Post by narag »

andos wrote: post #18
tree_of_item wrote: post #2

Shit. I hope he's okay, it's difficult to tell what happened through the lens of Google Translate. Anyone have more information?

My Spanish is rusty, but the article says that: - Stallman felt ill halfway through a lecture he was offering in Barcelona, probably due to a blood pressure spike; - he asked the staff for medical assistance; - meanwhile, he continued the lecture with some difficulty, but in a good mood; - the lecture was suspended when the ambulance arrived, and was eventually cancelled; - after being attended by the medical staff,…

Your Spanish is not so rusty after all :-)
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