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Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina

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Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina

#101

Post by nimblegorilla »

billpatrianakos wrote: post #85
stinkytaco wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Running the risk of being an armchair psychologist, I think it's pretty well established that RMS likely falls somewhere on the autism spectrum, or at least has some sort of behavioral condition that leads to behavior like this, as well as his documented social quirks. Which is to say that I think he's probably mentally stable, but a bit strange by everyday standards.

But punching himself in the head? I knew Stallman was weird as we all did and that yeah, he's probably got some disorder but when he's punching himself in the head publicly you can't help but wonder if maybe we should reevaluate our faith in his ideas. Having a mental disorder does not automatically invalidate anything he's ever promoted or done but for me personally, I'd ask myself whether the next idea he promotes…

>> People don't seem to really question him as it is...

I'm not sure with whom or where you hang out, but I'd say Stallman is one of the most controversial figures in the world of software. Even people who mostly agree with his viewpoints often say he takes it too far.

Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina

#102

Post by jrockway »

billpatrianakos wrote: post #71

Reading about Stallman's reaction to this makes me wonder about his mental stability. "Punching himself in the head"? And cursing? Now, cursing I can understand but the picture painted in the story makes it look like Stallman was throwing a tantrum, screaming obscenities, punching himself in the head and then crying. We all knew he was an eccentric fellow but when you're punching yourself in the head, in public no le…

"Punching himself in the head"?

FWIW, I don't think the author is a native speaker of English, and may mean something closer to "facepalm" than "beating the shit out of himself".

Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina

#103

Post by javert »

drostie wrote: post #49
javert wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks. I sort of almost majored in English in college (besides being a native English speaker) and didn't even realize the distinction there (i.e. "robbery" implies force).

It's one of those things that bugs me about the early chapters of the novel Nine Princes in Amber : He glared at me, I don't know how long. Finally, "I haven't got a thousand here," he said. "Name a compromise figure," I said. After another pause, "It's larceny." "Not if it's cash-and-carry, Charlie. So, call it." "I might have five hundred in my safe." "Get it." Larceny is what happened to RMS, and I like to just re…

Very interesting, thanks for this :D

Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina

#104

Post by javert »

RockyMcNuts wrote: post #43
nakkiel wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand the downvotes. Care to explain?

It's a technical talk, not a subway car. He's a guest. It's not realistic, or hospitable, to expect him to watch his belongings while he's interacting with his audience. Plus it's a new account that's trolling.

It's his responsibiity to make sure someone is watching it for him or to watch it himself, though. In the ideal case, someone would offer to watch it for him, but I'm guessing that didn't happen here.

That said, I do like the idea (suggested elsewhere) of pooling some money to get him a new one right away.

Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina

#105

Post by pandres »

EGreg wrote: post #94

With so much traveling, all around the world, and dealing with thousands of people, something's bound to happen. I hope RMS has an enrypted backup of his data on his home server. It isn't that hard to do, even if you care deeply about privacy and freedom. As for the rest of the stuff ... I really hope that the organizers can obtain the medicine for him in short order. It's the least they can do. The stolen passport d…

Most medicines have already been obtained for him. He has friends and the foundation helping him in Argentina, the main thing is the laptop.

Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina

#106

Post by pandres »

mrleinad wrote: post #7
MehdiEG wrote: post #3

That 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.

He comes pretty often to latin-america and he has friends and the foundation helping him at all times. One is still to get pissed of at the amount of time and work wasted because of this.

Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina

#108

Post by mattst88 »

makmanalp wrote: post #59
chimeracoder wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It might be hard to find a Lemote Yeelong (at least the particular model he uses, which lets him use a free BIOS). Here's one, though I'm not sure if it's the correct version: http://www.lemote.com/en/products/Notebook/2010/0310/112.htm...

From his usesthis interview: "I do hope to switch soon to a newer model of Yeelong with a 10-inch display." Also I found it on Amazon, with Prime: http://www.amazon.com/Screen-Lemote-Yeeloong-8101_B-Netbook/... $450. If one of the known / trusted HN elders decides to pool the money, this seems doable.

The man who runs Freedom Included, Inc. (the seller of the laptop through Amazon) works at the Free Software Foundation with RMS. I don't think RMS will have trouble getting a new laptop.

Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina

#109

Post by stfu »

makmanalp wrote: post #59
chimeracoder wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It might be hard to find a Lemote Yeelong (at least the particular model he uses, which lets him use a free BIOS). Here's one, though I'm not sure if it's the correct version: http://www.lemote.com/en/products/Notebook/2010/0310/112.htm...

From his usesthis interview: "I do hope to switch soon to a newer model of Yeelong with a 10-inch display." Also I found it on Amazon, with Prime: http://www.amazon.com/Screen-Lemote-Yeeloong-8101_B-Netbook/... $450. If one of the known / trusted HN elders decides to pool the money, this seems doable.

I would donate to anything Stallman related anytime. But I am not quite sure if this would be in his intention. Are there any public infos about his personal/financial situation?
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