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Comment by na85 | Hacker News Reader

As usual, RMS is content to sit back and complain rather than take action to try to effect positive change.

Has he written any code in the last decade, or is he still going around giving the same tired speeches over and over?

Do his anachronistic computing habits contribute to his continued irrelevance?

Ubiquitous broadband connectivity has changed the world and it seems RMS is still living in the past. I hate SaaS models just as much as the next user, but I am also a realist. There's just no reason for corporations to take RMS's "ethical" route when the profits lie squarely in the other direction. Lofty academic ideals don't buy your family groceries.

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> There's just no reason for corporations to take RMS's "ethical" route when the profits lie squarely in the other direction. Lofty academic ideals don't buy your family groceries.

I agree he's a bit too extreme; I recall a video where he told a proprietary software developer that between continuing to do his job and letting his children starve, he should do the latter.

But there does have to be someone advocating for this, because free software is in general a social good and is unarguably indispensable in our industry. It's not impossible to make money off it either; look at Red Hat and Canonical, for example. But I'd never argue that all software has to be free or that everyone should do it.

I agree he's a bit too extreme; I recall a video where he told a proprietary software developer that between continuing to do his job and letting his children starve, he should do the latter.

I'd like to know the context, because that sounds like a "ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer" situation. It's a common trolling/derailing technique: you make a general point, and people reply with these very specific and extreme situations that "disprove" it.

I'd never argue that all software has to be free or that everyone should do it.

Why not?

>I'd like to know the context, because that sounds like a "ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer" situation.

Agreed. The situation where you have to do an ultra-specific job or starve from lack of employment doesn't really exist. Jobs manage to appear and disappear over time without a death toll of millions.

>> I'd never argue that all software has to be free or that everyone should do it.

> Why not?

Because not all useful types of software have volunteers willing and able to write them or business models that sustain them. Expecting all software to be free is unrealistic.

I'm having trouble making any sense of your comment. Are you trying to say that writing code is the only effective way to spread free software, and that activism and awareness efforts are useless? But then you just fall back and insult RMS's computing habits, as if they somehow affect his ideals or the message he's trying to get across.

While I agree that we're not going to see companies mass-adopt free software as long as there is no legal or economic reason for them to do so, I don't see how randomly insulting one guy has anything to do with the movement.

> As usual, RMS is content to sit back and complain rather than take action to try to effect positive change.

Apart from inventing your world, RMS also has the absolutely unforgivable habit of being right about things. This is what really pisses people off about him. (see also: Theo deRaadt)

Inventing my world?

You mean how he invented democracy, electricity, the internet, the worldwide web, air travel, artificial satellites, and cars?

Oh wait, he invented none of those things.

I'd say his greatest achievement is GCC, which is a pretty awesome piece of software, but to claim he invented anyone's world is laughable.

> world

emacs, GCC, gdb, earlier GNU software were written by RMS.

He gave meaning to the term free software and propagated use of free software and free hardware. His ideas on using non-free Java, Flash, TiVo and DRM put those issues on centerstage.

If we see GPL being used so widely his dedication cannot be ignored at all.

Just like Steve Jobs didn't write all code of Apple or Next (FYI: He wrote none) but still he is "creator" it current Apple, similarly RMS is a chief figure of free and copyleft software.

Thanks for reinforcing my point

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