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> GNU is becoming the PETA of software, and it's not a good look. As a GNU hacker (and co-maintainer of GNU Guix) statements like this make me sad. It is very
by rekado 8y ago
> GNU is becoming the PETA of software, and it's not a good look.
As a GNU hacker (and co-maintainer of GNU Guix) statements like this make me sad. It is very unfortunate that Richard Stallman's personality is casting a shadow on the GNU project, which was started by him but is really a loose connection of projects that share ideas that were outlined in the GNU Manifesto.
I see GNU Guix in the tradition of other GNU software like Emacs or the Hurd that aim to give users more power and to remove arbitrary limitations. Emacs is probably the epitome of a hackable system that lets the user shape the software according to their own needs to an extend that is extreme and rarely found in any other system.
The Hurd aims to allow regular users to do things that in traditional Unices requires super-user privileges. It aims to remove arbitrary obstacles to free users from the unhealthy power dynamics of the user/admin division.
Guix gives users powerful tools to manage their software environments without having to beg admins, and to easily package software variants without having to depend on professional distributors. At the same time no user can harm another user on shared systems. Guix gives users the ability to take advantage of software freedom, by making it really easy to hack on software in a user-controlled reliable system.
When seen from this perspective, the GNU system that individual software projects are contributing to is a collection of tools that liberate users from helplessness due to unnecessary restrictions. This common goal defines the modern GNU project these days, and I think it is very unfortunate to overlook this because of Richard Stallman and his quirks, his sometimes dictatorial style, or his harmful attitudes towards important social aspects of free software.
I appreciate Richard's past work immensely, but I do not consider him representative of the GNU project that I work on, nor do I think his leadership style is benefiting the project.
Give GNU a chance based on the project's merits and its goals. Long live Free Software --- copyleft and non-copyleft alike!
- astrodust 8y agoI've got some simple advice: Get rid of RMS. Get rid of him now. The longer he's the figurehead of GNU, the longer he has any say in your projects, the longer he'll poison the well. This "joke" fiasco touched off a firestorm of commentary from people that are quite clear that he's been highly problematic for decades now. You don't want someone toxic running GNU. Microsoft managed to shed their sweaty gorilla and look what's happened to them. They're not fully redeemed, but they stopped fighting and destroying. Just as the early FSF cared not for tradition, for history, for the investment of time and energy on the part of others, they should not care today if they want to be a radical force for change. Keep that spirit. Tear down anything worth destroying because it gets in the way of what's right. The important question, the only question, for an organization that promotes actual change is what can he do to improve things tomorrow. Sadly we've lost Aaron Swartz, but that's the caliber of person you need today. Fearless, energetic, passionate, and fighting the right fights from the front lines. Aaron will be missed, but the FSF and GNU should be looking for, encouraging, motivating the next Aarons no matter what their background is.