Something similar happened to Tom Preston Werner of Github when he was in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Conference organizers have a responsibility to emphasize the high incidence of theft and assist them however possible - most people coming from developed countries do not have experience with this type of danger. This seems like a situation that could have been avoided if someone was keeping an eye on Rms' bag.
Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina
11–20 of 124 posts
Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina
#12[deleted]
Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina
#13Had his bag stolen -- glad that he's okay! Normally, though, we wouldn't call this "robbery" in English. Strictly speaking, robbery is used for a theft where force (or threat of force) is involved.
He was robbed by someone attending his talk, not mugged on the street at gun point so I don't think that "glad he's okay" is appropriate here, especially since "okay" in this case means that he's in a foreign country without passport, money and medicine. Such a shame.
He wasn't "robbed" at all. He was a victim of theft.
If he'd actuallyh been robbed (as the headline stated) concern for his physical well-being would be entirely appropriate. That's what I meant by my comment.
Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina
#14Something similar happened to Tom Preston Werner of Github when he was in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Conference organizers have a responsibility to emphasize the high incidence of theft and assist them however possible - most people coming from developed countries do not have experience with this type of danger. This seems like a situation that could have been avoided if someone was keeping an eye on Rms' bag.
rms, he himself, should have kept an eye on the bag, not somebody else...
Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina
#15Considering RMS a careful person, he probably had backups for all the important information. However, for a person like him, that laptop is probably much more important: he needs to get a specific laptop that respects his freedom, as that one did, so he's probably going to be a bit behind on his e-mails until he gets a proper replacement.
the joys of cloud computing. oh wait...
Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina
#16Considering RMS a careful person, he probably had backups for all the important information. However, for a person like him, that laptop is probably much more important: he needs to get a specific laptop that respects his freedom, as that one did, so he's probably going to be a bit behind on his e-mails until he gets a proper replacement.
Here's his interview on The Setup where he describes his laptop and the software he uses http://richard.stallman.usesthis.com/
Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina
#17Had his bag stolen -- glad that he's okay! Normally, though, we wouldn't call this "robbery" in English. Strictly speaking, robbery is used for a theft where force (or threat of force) is involved.
Turing thanks for letting me know - I adapted the title after I verified he was technically mugged.
Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina
#18That sucks. I would have hoped that the university / event organisers would have provided any help possible to at least get his paperwork back in order though. The article makes it sound like he was pretty much left on his own devices after the theft.
Yep, he was. Although I find it difficult to think that RMS would find himself helpless and with no one around that would care for him, I do believe that the University/Event organizers couldn't care less for what happened.
what? any evidence (of lack of care from organisers)?
Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina
#19Considering RMS a careful person, he probably had backups for all the important information. However, for a person like him, that laptop is probably much more important: he needs to get a specific laptop that respects his freedom, as that one did, so he's probably going to be a bit behind on his e-mails until he gets a proper replacement.
the joys of cloud computing. oh wait...
"Most of the time I do not have an Internet connection. Once or twice or maybe three times a day I connect and transfer mail in and out. Before sending mail, I always review and revise the outgoing messages. That gives me a chance to catch mistakes and faux pas." http://richard.stallman.usesthis.com/
Oh well. The interview is from 2010 though.
Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
He was robbed by someone attending his talk, not mugged on the street at gun point so I don't think that "glad he's okay" is appropriate here, especially since "okay" in this case means that he's in a foreign country without passport, money and medicine. Such a shame.
He wasn't "robbed" at all. He was a victim of theft. If he'd actuallyh been robbed (as the headline stated) concern for his physical well-being would be entirely appropriate. That's what I meant by my comment.
Oh, I see. Mea culpa then.