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> Nearly 20 years later, it's clear that Stallman is almost certain to be a historical figure remembered hundreds of years from now. Hyperbole much? He's not g
by ppopoff 10y ago
> Nearly 20 years later, it's clear that Stallman is almost certain to be a historical figure remembered hundreds of years from now.
Hyperbole much? He's not going to be forgotten, but... RMS is a hacker icon, but he's a bit obscure outside the community. RMS is legit hating on Facebook here but there's no Hollywood movie about RMS. Zuckerberg is a household name. I'll agree that RMS has done more net good thank Zuckerberg, but who is more likely to show up in a textbook a hundred years removed at this rate?
- jdietrich 10y agoBreadth and depth of fame are orthogonal. Unless he does some remarkable philanthropy, Zuckerberg will be forgotten shortly after Tom from MySpace. Facebook isn't really fundamental to anything, it's just a business that executed an existing concept very well. RMS may never be well known to the general public, but his reputation within his field is likely to endure in a manner similar to Euclid or Eratosthenes. GNU and the GPL are foundational elements of modern computing. Stallman had the fundamental insight that software is inherently political, then built a large part of the infrastructure necessary for humanistic software to flourish. The landscape of modern software would be utterly unrecognisable without the contributions of RMS.
- pyre 10y ago> it's just a business that executed an existing concept very well So is McDonald's, but I somehow think that they've managed to embed themselves into the culture/society enough that they won't soon be forgotten should they ever fall.
- Teever 10y agoSo what can you tell me about the founders or CEOs of McDonalds?
- ppopoff 10y agoSeriously? How about the McDonalds, and Ray Kroc? Never heard of those names?
- Majestic121 10y agoI never heard of Ray Kroc. I just asked around and not one person knew who the CEO of McDonalds is. (Ronald does not count I guess) You're overestimating how famous this guy is.
- pfranz 10y agoI'd expect Ray Kroc to be at the level of a Jeopardy question. I wouldn't expect RMS to be a question. Michael Keaton is playing Ray Kroc in a film that will be released in two months.
- andreyvit 10y agoFWIW, as a single data point, I've never heard of Ray Kroc and didn't know that McDonalds was a name (although I would guess so if asked).
- pyre 10y agoWas there ever a point in time when the founders / CEOs of McDonald's became cultural icons / household names?