[Chugalug] Richard Stallman and open source

[Ed King]

time to get laid, Chad




________________________________
From: Chad Smith <chad78 at gmail.com>
To: Chattanooga Unix Gnu Android Linux Users Group <chugalug at chugalug.org>
Sent: Tue, December 11, 2012 1:00:42 PM
Subject: Re: [Chugalug] Richard Stallman and open source

My issue is with *him* as a person.

I don't like him.  I don't like his personality, I don't like his arrogance, I 
don't like his self-promotion.  So, yes, I don't like his tone.

He is a megalomanic, a narcissist, an idiot (when it comes to dealing with human 
beings), and a jerk.

He believes everyone should do things the way HE thinks that they should be 
done.  That all software should be his definition of "Free Software®™©".  That's 
not freedom - that's the opposite of freedom.  If programmers don't have the 
choice to NOT give away their software - to NOT share their code ... then they 
are not free.  The software may be free - but the programmer is not.

I like open source software.  I use open source software.  I have promoted and 
supported open source software - with my time, my voice, and my dollars.  I 
believe that there are good things about open source software.

I am one of those people who promote the pragmatic side of it.  Many hands make 
light work, many eyes make bugs small (and few)....  I also understand the 
pitfalls of having data locked in some proprietary format that you don't have 
control over and could potentially lose access.  Anyone who has ever had to 
design anything in Publisher and doesn't always have access to a Windows machine 
knows that fear.

It especially pisses me off when he attacks people who are actively developing, 
promoting, and encouraging open source software because they are not "Free 
Enough".  These people are on your side, idiot.  Stop shooting your allies.

But it's not an all-or-nothing thing.  It's not even an "us vs. them".  It's not 
just that open source isn't the enemy of "Free Software®™©" 
and proprietary software is. Why does there have to be an "enemy" at all?

Just do your thing and let other people do theirs.  If you want to explain the 
benefits of your way of doing things, fine - but don't claim that doing things 
any other way is evil.

If you want to promote Free Software as the best way - fine. Do not claim it is 
the only way.  Because it's not.

-Chad W. Smith
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