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Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

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Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#181

Post by ktizo »

rimantas wrote: post #77
aurelianito wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know what the grand-parent was talking about, but if you want to read something that he foresaw before everybody (AFAIK) check the Right to Read essay ( http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html )

So, what is he right about?

Having control over the software that runs on the devices you use to interact with the society of which you are a part is extremely important and the more that computation and networks are used as mechanisms of the state and statelike entities, the more important it gets.

Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#182

Post by a_macgregor »

Over the years Stallman has passed to be an iconic figure that contributed a lot to a fanatic out of touch with the current world.

Comments like saying he was glad Steve Jobs was dead, are what in my opinion makes him a fanatic, yes Steve Jobs was a greedy asshole but being glad that he is dead doesn't portrait Stallman any better.

Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#183

Post by ktizo »

b1daly wrote: post #120
ktizo wrote: post #2

I view Richard Stallman's attitude to this as though he has set himself up as some kind of social/technological guinea-pig for the general public good. Yes, he is fanatical in several senses, especially nasal and botanical, by all accounts ( read Stallman does Dallas: http://stallman.org/articles/texas.html ). But the day that Stallman cannot get on the internet, without compromising his own set of restrictions, is t…

But this idea of having dominion over any computational object (or really any object) is a fantasy. Are you going generate your own electricity riding your generator bike (powered by veggies from your garden) as you code? That's where I think his ideals go off the rails, their totality beyond common sense. FOSS of various flavors is cool. Of course it's not really free though. It's created by people in the context of…

Are you going generate your own electricity riding your generator bike (powered by veggies from your garden) as you code?

You should meet some of my mates who live in caravans. They have a solar cinema.

Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#184

Post by tedunangst »

kiloaper wrote: post #176
mixmastamyk wrote: post #105

Every time an rms article comes up trolls come out of the woodwork to rally about what a kook he is and all "the horrible things" he's done. "Why the nerve, living a life different than I would choose!? IT MUST BE STOPPED." Snooze. I've been reading this fear-mongering regularly since '97. Why is he so threatening? It's not like you have to share a studio apartment with the guy. Have any complainers contributed 1/10t…

"Why is he so threatening?" I used to think Stallman was an abrasive fanatic but now I think otherwise. The reason he makes me uncomfortable is because he highlights the compromises I have made. I think this is part of the reason why some people react so negatively and emotionally to him. He vocally refuses to use non-free software and this, in my humble opinion at least, makes him a constant reminder of how many of…

I used to think he was an abrasive fanatic. Oh wait, I still do. I'm tired of being told my decisions are compromises, and wrong ones at that. I'm tired of being told I owe everything to someone by people who completely ignore history.

Imagine if someone told you "If it weren't for Abraham Lincoln, half the population would still be living in slavery today." You'd laugh in their face.

Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#185

Post by [deleted] »

benihana wrote: post #41

His tone is so arrogant and condescending. >I recommend all the ethical distros — namely, those that are 100% free software. i.e.: Any distro that uses anything that I don't like, namely 100% free software, is unethical. >If you don't know Lisp (or its variant, Scheme), you don't appreciate what a powerful language is. If some random person on hacker news came out and said this, we'd call them a buffoon and say they…

[deleted]

Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#186

Post by tedunangst »

its_so_on wrote: post #171
demetris wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Why is he so threatening?” In my view, because he has influence based on credibility that he does not deserve any more, and because he exerts that influence in ways that do not benefit free software.

could you estimate for me how much it would cost ycombinator-backed companies if the Free software they used did not feel the need (promoted by zealots like him) to be free? How many of these companies could not exist at all? Look at your stack. How much of the software in it are you paying for, and how much is RMS's zealotry paying for? Did you contribute anything yourself to that stack? I think you should send RMS…

You're asking a hypothetical that can't be answered, but it's based on the (very faulty, imo) premise that a world without Stallman would not have any free software. Open source was (and would be) alive and well without him.

Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#187

Post by sbinetd »

ameen wrote: post #157
msg wrote: post #71

Stallman's critique of software, hardware, and services as tools of social control has only become more relevant over the years. Can you imagine his search records being rifled through by a government investigator? Or his Facebook profile being examined by an employer? No, because they don't exist. Nor can you imagine his computer being locked by a bootloader that only allows "Genuine Windows". He's not concerned abo…

While I certainly agree with RMS's reasons for being so committed to his philosophy, I just don't know if it would still be possible to practice in today's world. Almost every system out there, free software or otherwise is monetized one way or another, either you pay for the software, or you are the product being sold.

I'm not quite sure about that. I suppose I'm being used a testing data for RHEL by using Fedora. But on the other hand, I'm not submitting bug reports or any other form of data to Red Hat. I understand your point, and can think of some examples - but I'm struggling to apply it to the software I use.

Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#188

Post by pessimizer »

tedunangst wrote: post #184
kiloaper wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Why is he so threatening?" I used to think Stallman was an abrasive fanatic but now I think otherwise. The reason he makes me uncomfortable is because he highlights the compromises I have made. I think this is part of the reason why some people react so negatively and emotionally to him. He vocally refuses to use non-free software and this, in my humble opinion at least, makes him a constant reminder of how many of…

I used to think he was an abrasive fanatic. Oh wait, I still do. I'm tired of being told my decisions are compromises, and wrong ones at that. I'm tired of being told I owe everything to someone by people who completely ignore history. Imagine if someone told you "If it weren't for Abraham Lincoln, half the population would still be living in slavery today." You'd laugh in their face.

Because slaves would have magicked out of slavery due to the passage of time? I'm not sure why you would laugh in their face rather than suggest alternative scenarios where other processes might have eliminated slavery if Lincoln hadn't happened.

I'm not smart enough to understand your comment. Are you saying that free software would have inevitably come to exist with or without Stallman? If you are, I'd say the burden of proof is on you.

Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#189

Post by mattbriggs »

mixmastamyk wrote: post #105

Every time an rms article comes up trolls come out of the woodwork to rally about what a kook he is and all "the horrible things" he's done. "Why the nerve, living a life different than I would choose!? IT MUST BE STOPPED." Snooze. I've been reading this fear-mongering regularly since '97. Why is he so threatening? It's not like you have to share a studio apartment with the guy. Have any complainers contributed 1/10t…

I don't find him threatening, but I find him offensive. The concept of freedom for human beings is an incredibly important one that people have fought and died over, and needs to be protected at all costs, even our own lives. His movement has consciously coopted the word and the emotive properties that go with it for the purpose of something that is orders of magnitude less important, the freedom of software. I would love to put him in a room with a real freedom fighter and have them discuss their causes. "So, I fight for the freedom of programmers to play with source code" "Oh really? I fight for freedom from the people who have enslaved my race, raped my wife and daughter, and have my son in slavery"

I also don't agree with him, and think he's a jerk for calling people like me unethical for writing non-free software (even though I often contribute my time to writing and improving free software, and live my life in a very ethical and honorable fashion), but honestly, if that was the only thing I wouldn't care so much. Like you said, there are loads of people that believe all sorts of kooky things out there, and life is too short to get bent out of shape over things like that. But man, using terms like he does to paint himself in the light he does really really rubs me the wrong way, and the fact people in my industry stand for it pisses me right off.

Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#190

Post by jiggy2011 »

rwos wrote: post #172
mixmastamyk wrote: post #105

Every time an rms article comes up trolls come out of the woodwork to rally about what a kook he is and all "the horrible things" he's done. "Why the nerve, living a life different than I would choose!? IT MUST BE STOPPED." Snooze. I've been reading this fear-mongering regularly since '97. Why is he so threatening? It's not like you have to share a studio apartment with the guy. Have any complainers contributed 1/10t…

I have a pet theory about why so many[1] people find him "threatening". I believe it's because people do think it's important what he talks about - but feel he talks about it in the Wrong Way[TM]. Anecdotal data points to support my view: The most hateful comments against Stallman usually appear in highly technical forums - I have yet to see that amount of negativism in the comment sections of main-stream media artic…

I think Stallman is also an easy target in that he is the archetype neckbearded geek. He basically represent all the things that non geeks dislike about geeks and people are terrified to be thought of in that way.
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