Richard M. Stallman resigns

#1

Post by maxdeviant » Tue, Sep 17, 2019, 2:15 AM UTC

Richard M. Stallman resigns
fsf.org

Re: Richard M. Stallman resigns

#2

Post by Donald » Tue, Sep 17, 2019, 2:21 AM UTC

Context: RMS waded into the MIT Epstein scandal

https://medium.com/@selamie/remove-richard-stallman-fec6ec21...

> I’ve concluded from various examples of accusation inflation that it is absolutely wrong to use the term “sexual assault” in an accusation.

Re: Richard M. Stallman resigns

#3

Post by aurelian15 » Tue, Sep 17, 2019, 2:22 AM UTC

More information on‒what I guess‒is the relevant backstory (RMS making reprehensible statements related to the Epstein scandal) can be found (among other places) in this blog post [1] by Matthew Garrett (original source referenced in the post is [2]).

[1] https://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/52587.html

[2] https://medium.com/@selamie/remove-richard-stallman-fec6ec21...

Re: Richard M. Stallman resigns

#4

Post by favorited » Tue, Sep 17, 2019, 2:24 AM UTC

Not unexpected, but I'm surprised it happened so soon after he resigned from MIT/CSAIL.

Earlier today the director of the GNOME Foundation requested that RMS resign from the FSF, and said severing ties with the FSF could happen if he didn't step down.

https://blog.halon.org.uk/2019/09/gnome-foundation-relations...

Re: Richard M. Stallman resigns

#5

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Sep 17, 2019, 2:29 AM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Richard M. Stallman resigns

#6

Post by djrobstep » Tue, Sep 17, 2019, 2:30 AM UTC

This is a good step.

Stallman has been a liability as a figurehead for a long time, and software freedom deserves better standard-bearers.

I saw Stallman once at a public lecture. He was incredibly rude, but is seemingly oblivious to how obnoxious he is being (he struck me as somebody heavily on the spectrum).

I hate to think how many people have written off the cause of software freedom as a joke because of his conduct.

People around him ought to be telling him in stronger terms that his views and general manner are unacceptable.

Re: Richard M. Stallman resigns

#7

Post by dang » Tue, Sep 17, 2019, 2:32 AM UTC

The previous thread was https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20989696.

Re: Richard M. Stallman resigns

#8

Post by jimrandomh » Tue, Sep 17, 2019, 2:32 AM UTC

Before jumping to criticize Stallman, be aware: there is a big difference between what today's round of headlines claim Stallman wrote, and what he actually wrote. Given the relatively clear-cut nature of the lies the press has told about him, I think he ought to be suing for libel.

Re: Richard M. Stallman resigns

#9

Post by Kye » Tue, Sep 17, 2019, 2:33 AM UTC

I've always heard the person who brings a company to a turning point might not be the one to make the turn. Maybe it's the same for movements. Open source went a long way with his poor behavior, but now it's likely to become a liability as open source spreads further into a world of collapsed context and diverse experiences.

Re: Richard M. Stallman resigns

#10

Post by javagram » Tue, Sep 17, 2019, 2:35 AM UTC

A good comparison by another poster today here between RMS’ statements on the mailing list and the lies the news media published about them https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20990426

I wonder what this means for the influence of the FSF in general. And will RMS stop working on emacs and other software?