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Richard M. Stallman resigns

fsf.org

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Re: Richard M. Stallman resigns

#391

Post by Scarblac »

nabla9 wrote: post #343

RMS has called himself "borderline autistic". His socially clueless black and white thinking makes it look like he is far in the spectrum. RMS is anal about meanings of terms and their use. That's not working well in the current climate where words carry perceived intent. I find myself agreeing with RMS with most of the terminology and its use in this case. Women who tell stories about him paint a picture of lonely s…

Well, he started the movement and got it very far, with the dominant OS using his foundation's license. Despite his limitations. There is no one in the movement who should have the authority to sack him.

But, he resigned himself. This is moot.

Re: Richard M. Stallman resigns

#392

Post by d6e »

kfrzcode wrote: post #165
naringas wrote: post #114

it's rather interesting how all the information technology (social media, etc...) is slowly moving our culture towards increasing self-censorship. One has to have the right opinion or stay quiet. Having the wrong opinion about certain topics is getting more expensive. Stay away from taboos or else... never mind the fact that what we regard as wrong changes across different societies over time. Weirdly all the informa…

I'm hesitant to post anything, anywhere, just because I don't want to offend anyone by expressing an earnest opinion. I think the trend's moving more quickly towards self-censorship than anyone realizes. How can we even quantify that? Those who censor just disappear? What stands out for me is the obvious monoculture we're developing. I miss custom PHPBB boards for every little interest and opinion.

Phpbb forums didn't go away because of self censorship, they were simply replaced with bigger sites like Reddit. If you're trying to create a community around a niche topic, a subreddit is substantially easier to create than deploying and maintaining a forum.

Re: Richard M. Stallman resigns

#393

Post by DoreenMichele »

Scarblac wrote: post #391
nabla9 wrote: post #343

RMS has called himself "borderline autistic". His socially clueless black and white thinking makes it look like he is far in the spectrum. RMS is anal about meanings of terms and their use. That's not working well in the current climate where words carry perceived intent. I find myself agreeing with RMS with most of the terminology and its use in this case. Women who tell stories about him paint a picture of lonely s…

Well, he started the movement and got it very far, with the dominant OS using his foundation's license. Despite his limitations. There is no one in the movement who should have the authority to sack him. But, he resigned himself. This is moot.

The president of the United States never fires anyone. He informs them he expects their letter of resignation on his desk at x time.

FSF was pressured. RMS did not decide this all on his own of his free will.

Re: Richard M. Stallman resigns

#394

Post by [deleted] »

leftyted wrote: post #147

I never much liked Richard Stallman. But he's a freethinker, and freethinkers necessarily exist outside the mainstream. So, despite not liking him, I also don't like this turn of events. It does seem arbitrary to me that the same sexual encounter is classified as rape in Arizona and not rape in Virginia. I suppose we have to draw that line somewhere arbitrary. But I wonder if it was a mistake to classify what is call…

[deleted]

Re: Richard M. Stallman resigns

#395

Post by [deleted] »

kfrzcode wrote: post #165
naringas wrote: post #114

it's rather interesting how all the information technology (social media, etc...) is slowly moving our culture towards increasing self-censorship. One has to have the right opinion or stay quiet. Having the wrong opinion about certain topics is getting more expensive. Stay away from taboos or else... never mind the fact that what we regard as wrong changes across different societies over time. Weirdly all the informa…

I'm hesitant to post anything, anywhere, just because I don't want to offend anyone by expressing an earnest opinion. I think the trend's moving more quickly towards self-censorship than anyone realizes. How can we even quantify that? Those who censor just disappear? What stands out for me is the obvious monoculture we're developing. I miss custom PHPBB boards for every little interest and opinion.

[deleted]

Re: Richard M. Stallman resigns

#396

Post by heisenbit »

rosser wrote: post #97

I find the volume of the noise being made over whether or not the "entirely willing" bit was quoted out of context by the media for sensationalist purposes — which it 100% was — quite curious. To me, the place Stallman screwed up was in trying to quibble over terms in defense of a man who we have reason to believe had sex with an woman of an age in a jurisdiction where that might have constituted rape. Because that's…

I don‘t think it was ‚a man‘ but a close fellow scientist who is dead and can‘t stand up for himself. Which is one reason RMS did not stay away from this fire and one making him speak his own mind - ignoring the other hats he was wearing (but using a lecturing voice). On the one hand it makes it harder to condemn. On the other it is a failure that can‘t be tolerated by high profile figureheads.

Re: Richard M. Stallman resigns

#397

Post by heisenbit »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #393
Scarblac wrote: post #391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, he started the movement and got it very far, with the dominant OS using his foundation's license. Despite his limitations. There is no one in the movement who should have the authority to sack him. But, he resigned himself. This is moot.

The president of the United States never fires anyone. He informs them he expects their letter of resignation on his desk at x time. FSF was pressured. RMS did not decide this all on his own of his free will.

There are numerous reports that he asks someone to ask the person expected to resign to pen such a letter.

Re: Richard M. Stallman resigns

#398

Post by drusepth »

ineffectivtopos wrote: post #52
nemothekid wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the counter argument for what Stallman wrote? I've seen that the "press is going too hard on him", but, honestly, I think they were justified. What is the "big difference" to you? If someone, personally, said to me that that someone be absolved of a crime, because the other, coerced, party was "willing" at that moment, I'd seriously question their morals.

I mean, let's put aside whether the person might have reasoned the other party was willing. This line of reasoning is ridiculous. If someone appears 100% willing to you, and there's absolutely nothing different from a genuinely willing person, why should you be at fault because somebody else put that person under duress, or because they were lying (under duress or otherwise). If someone does a 100% legal thing accord…

Another analogy that might work: trying to pay for something at a store with bills you don't know are counterfeit. Do you still go to jail?

Re: Richard M. Stallman resigns

#399

Post by robocat »

massaman_yams wrote: post #339
xlii wrote: post #254

I, as many others, never personally liked Dr. Stallman and didn’t agreed with many of his views. That being said, the way that that happened is absolutely terrifying. Fact, that people rather crucify someone instead of argue, explain or prove him wrong is the sign of our times. End of free speech is here. It’s free only if it doesn’t offend group powerful enough to destroy you, and it’s narrowing every single day. We…

Clearly you don't have the full picture. This isn't about a difference of views; it's about a long-standing pattern of inappropriate behavior, including (but not limited to) overtly and deliberately staring at women's breasts in a professional context. There's no innocuous explanation here; this isn't an isolated mistake.

Many people (and Richard too[1]) have wondered if he is somewhat on the autistic spectrum. An "innocuous" partial disability would cause poor social interactions, and would lead to difficultly learning social nuances.

Of course he could also just be socially inept (i.e. no excuse for failing to learn good behaviour) and he clearly isn't disabled (anyone actually dealing with autism is doing life in hard mode).

https://www.computerworld.com/article/2551458/asperger-s-oxy...

Re: Richard M. Stallman resigns

#400

Post by hobofan »

xlii wrote: post #254

I, as many others, never personally liked Dr. Stallman and didn’t agreed with many of his views. That being said, the way that that happened is absolutely terrifying. Fact, that people rather crucify someone instead of argue, explain or prove him wrong is the sign of our times. End of free speech is here. It’s free only if it doesn’t offend group powerful enough to destroy you, and it’s narrowing every single day. We…

RMS is a synonym for semantic pedantry and exploring hypotheticals. In such a high-profile position as he has, he should have learned by now when it is the right time to apply those skill and when not to.

I'm frankly surprised that his arguments haven't cost him his position earlier.

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