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Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

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Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#751

Post by bawolff »

jraph wrote: post #572
bawolff wrote: post #437

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> He has/had arguable/unacceptable behavior, but I believe we strongly owe him. Arguably that describes most people ever considered heroes. Just look at the controversy of anyone who ever had a statue made of them I think to change the world you have to be somewhat not of it - you have to rebel against social norms. The people who rebel against social norms don't just rebel against the right ones but also are wrong s…

There has to be some truth to this. However, you don't need to make women uneasy (among other things) to promote free software. His heroic work on free software shall not shield him from criticism about other aspects of him. Reacting because accepting bullshit from heroes is widespread but dangerous (not saying you are doing it).

People are complex and rarely just pure good or bad.

I agree its incredibly dangerous to accept bs just because someone is famous, but i also worry that if we throw out all the sinners we'll have no heroes left.

Its a hard question how to square all that and i don't have the answer.

Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#752

Post by onethought »

Freedom2 wrote: post #224
onethought wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is why I made the point about the metal in a Tesla. It’s hardware, it’s yours, you have no reasonable capability to modify it, yet that is uncontroversial. So why is the software?

That doesn't make sense. I can sell the metal, I can shape it to my will, I can rip it apart and use it for other things. Can I do that with the software?

You can ruin it sure. You don’t know the specific alloy. So you couldn’t reasonably modify for anything useful, what’s its melting point? How should you cool it? You don’t know. You’d have to reverse engineer it, just like the software

Same with the software, there is a pc and an FSD chip in there. You could definitely muck with it. You just don’t have any details. Is it because you’re a software engineer and not a metallurgist that you think like this?

Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#753

Post by onethought »

mbakke wrote: post #244
onethought wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is why I made the point about the metal in a Tesla. It’s hardware, it’s yours, you have no reasonable capability to modify it, yet that is uncontroversial. So why is the software?

A metal bar will always be a metal bar. Software is malleable, and Tesla (or hackers) can change it under your feet. You should be able to inspect it and have a say in what it does or whether to accept the next update. See the recent Philips Hue debacle for an example of when software that's been running well for years suddenly turns on the user.

Metal isn’t malleable? I guess they just dug it up in the shape of a car.

See recent car recalls where there is a structural problem with the car.

This is not unique to software.

Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#754

Post by seabass-labrax »

NegativeK wrote: post #549
omgmajk wrote: post #361

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You and I are quite alike it seems, Linux always on some device, server, laptop since 1997 - Debian is home. I do tolerate Windows to some extent however, it doesn't bother me too much. But that might be the gaming nerd inside talking.

Fellow Debianer that visits Windows. It's fine when I'm derping around in Photoshop or something, but it's infuriating for actual work. Debian is home.

Are you aware of Photopea? It's FOSS and a very capable alternative to Photoshop. It evens runs smoothly on my old Android 5 tablet.

https://www.photopea.com/

Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#755

Post by seabass-labrax »

clbrmbr wrote: post #496

One day I got a call from RMS’s assistant asking if I could help sell books for FSF at a conference. Not even bothering to ask what kind of conference it was, I said “For Richard Stallman, anything!” Two days later I found myself selling books alongside a self-described nomad and was approached by the leader of the communist party of Great Britain who shook my hand and said “I’m a big fan of your work.” Was one of th…

I'm curious to know what the conference was; would you mind sharing that?

Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#756

Post by jraph »

someotherperson wrote: post #734
jraph wrote: post #572

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There has to be some truth to this. However, you don't need to make women uneasy (among other things) to promote free software. His heroic work on free software shall not shield him from criticism about other aspects of him. Reacting because accepting bullshit from heroes is widespread but dangerous (not saying you are doing it).

> However, you don't need to make women uneasy (among other things) to promote free software. Plenty of people with physical disabilities make people "uneasy" -- who's wrong here? The burn victim or the person taking offence to it? Stallman didn't do anything towards women that warrants the criticism he received. The claims have been debunked and it just comes down to him coming across as a 'creep' -- aka considered…

https://nitter.net/starsandrobots/status/994267630457401344

> I remember being walked around campus by an upperclassman getting advice during my freshman year at MIT. "Look at all the plants in her office," referring to a professor. "All the women CSAIL professors keep massive amounts of foliage" s/he said. "Stallman really hates plants."

If this is true, he must have been doing something to women that goes beyond being unattractive, no?

You really really should avoid making people build such workarounds to avoid you. And the fact that it's women specifically is suspicious.

Now, I'd really like to be proven wrong, that'd be pretty great. It saddens me that RMS was like this.

Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#757

Post by jraph »

rastapasta42 wrote: post #733
jraph wrote: post #572

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There has to be some truth to this. However, you don't need to make women uneasy (among other things) to promote free software. His heroic work on free software shall not shield him from criticism about other aspects of him. Reacting because accepting bullshit from heroes is widespread but dangerous (not saying you are doing it).

how did he make woman uneasy? Is dirty neckbeard a crime now? :(

> Is dirty neckbeard a crime now?

Of course not. I'm obviously not talking about his appearance and could not care less about his hygiene.

Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#758

Post by jraph »

bawolff wrote: post #751
jraph wrote: post #572

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There has to be some truth to this. However, you don't need to make women uneasy (among other things) to promote free software. His heroic work on free software shall not shield him from criticism about other aspects of him. Reacting because accepting bullshit from heroes is widespread but dangerous (not saying you are doing it).

People are complex and rarely just pure good or bad. I agree its incredibly dangerous to accept bs just because someone is famous, but i also worry that if we throw out all the sinners we'll have no heroes left. Its a hard question how to square all that and i don't have the answer.

I think we can recognize heroes as such, without idealizing them and still accept to hear about and recognize their worse sides. I would not want to throw RMS away.

And I think we should also stop considering huge assholes as heroes / models, like Picasso.

Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#759

Post by lelanthran »

jodrellblank wrote: post #608
lelanthran wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I presume you're being ironic. > One should listen to them. > One should also be aware of the massive selection bias in views you're going to hear. And I presume that you feel the ones who died trying to escape would have a different opinion of communism than the ones who lived to produce your selection bias?

> " for many other people he represents a depostic regime that routinely violates human rights " "The Democratic People's Republic of Murderistan is a human rights violating hellhole, so that's what you want whenever you say you support Democracy. There is no selection bias from people from there because they should know what Democracy is if anyone does".

> "The Democratic People's Republic of Murderistan is a human rights violating hellhole, so that's what you want whenever you say you support Democracy. There is no selection bias from people from there because they should know what Democracy is if anyone does".

I think the difference is that we have more than one example of masses of people fleeing to democracies, even if they have to do so illegally, while there are no examples of masses of people fleeing to communist countries.

It's pretty obvious what the non-armchair citizens of various governing styles prefer, and what they don't.

Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#760

Post by kortilla »

luma wrote: post #726
kortilla wrote: post #542

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re not comprehending the post. It’s not about changing APIs. It’s about proprietary control over who is allowed to use them. Free software isn’t about API churn, it’s about rights.

I feel like I comprehend, I just disagree. It's fine to be an absolutist about these sorts of things but I have to put dinner on the table and my customers run the kit they run and I don't get to declare if it's "free enough" for me to interface with.

If you comprehend, why is your post about changing APIs?
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