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Now what's the ugliest, awful story about your behavior? Kindly share it publicly along with proof of your actual identity. This is relevant information for an

Now what's the ugliest, awful story about your behavior? Kindly share it publicly along with proof of your actual identity. This is relevant information for anyone who might consider giving you a job, having a relationship with you, or renting you a place to stay, so it's totally appropriate to air your dirty laundry in a entirely public forum and associate it to your real identity. Thank you.

tptacek 7y ago
There's a name for things like "the ugliest, awful story known about your behavior"; they're called "your reputation".
- quotemstr 7y ago
  It used to be possible to reform one's reputation. Now, people with a grudge will spread old stories about you to strangers for as long as you live and make it impossible for you to get back on your feet. Is that a just society? The guy is an old man who's already been stripped of all positions of influence. Why do you want to make him sleep on the street too? At what point will you believe justice has been served? Attacking the defenseless and powerless is cruelty itself.
  - tptacek 7y ago
    You're hyperventilating. I don't want anyone to sleep on the street and very much doubt Stallman will meet that fate. At the same time: Stallman has a reputation as a houseguest, and it is relevant to this branch of the discussion.
    - quotemstr 7y ago
      Oh, I'm sure you don't want him to sleep on the street. It's just interesting that you're doing everything in your power to bring about that situation.
      - dang 7y ago
        You're breaking the site guidelines in multiple ways. Would you please review them and stop doing this? We've had to ask you several times before. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- topmonk 7y ago
  You misquoted me. I didn't write known. The whole point of my request was to show the absurdity of justifying spreading rumors about someone simply because their bad behavior is known.
  - tptacek 7y ago
    A firsthand account is not a rumor.
    - topmonk 7y ago
      It's not objective fact either. We don't know Stallman's side of the story. Besides which, you're dodging my point.
      - tptacek 7y ago
        Stallman is free to provide his side of the story. Miguel de Icaza doesn't need Stallman's permission to provide his own story, nor does anyone need anyone's permission to point out that de Icaza told that story.
        topmonk 7y ago
        Stallman isn't obligated to swoop in and give his side to the story everytime someone says something nasty about him. That's a ridiculous standard especially for someone as famous and controversial as he. Yea, I agree you don't need anyones permission to post this kind of stuff, it is free speech, afterall. I just object to you justifying it as somehow being moral, just because it's relevant information to someone who might interact with him in the future. This is a public forum, and posting this kind of stuff here is being an asshole. That's my only point.
        tptacek 7y ago
        It's literally a thread about people potentially lending guest bedrooms to Stallman, and a comment from someone who did that.
geofft 7y ago
Hm. When I was 17, I cut things off very poorly with a girl I was interested in. (My real name is associated with this HN account.) I suppose for fairness we should count only being over age 18, so, I once hit my best friend with a car because I was picking them up from the airport, they were loading luggage, and I took my foot off the brake without realizing it was in reverse instead of park. (They were not injured.) Do you regularly associate with people for whom having Stallman-level worst behaviors is common? Also, it's generally common to apologize after doing something bad, to acknowledge that the behavior was mistaken, as a step to forgiveness. I did not apologize to the girl (it seems more harmful than not at this point to reconnect) but I did apologize to the friend immediately. Did Stallman apologize to de Icaza for his behavior?

tptacek 7y ago

There's a name for things like "the ugliest, awful story known about your behavior"; they're called "your reputation".

quotemstr 7y ago
It used to be possible to reform one's reputation. Now, people with a grudge will spread old stories about you to strangers for as long as you live and make it impossible for you to get back on your feet. Is that a just society? The guy is an old man who's already been stripped of all positions of influence. Why do you want to make him sleep on the street too? At what point will you believe justice has been served? Attacking the defenseless and powerless is cruelty itself.
- tptacek 7y ago
  You're hyperventilating. I don't want anyone to sleep on the street and very much doubt Stallman will meet that fate. At the same time: Stallman has a reputation as a houseguest, and it is relevant to this branch of the discussion.
  - quotemstr 7y ago
    Oh, I'm sure you don't want him to sleep on the street. It's just interesting that you're doing everything in your power to bring about that situation.
    - dang 7y ago
      You're breaking the site guidelines in multiple ways. Would you please review them and stop doing this? We've had to ask you several times before. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
topmonk 7y ago
You misquoted me. I didn't write known. The whole point of my request was to show the absurdity of justifying spreading rumors about someone simply because their bad behavior is known.
- tptacek 7y ago
  A firsthand account is not a rumor.
  - topmonk 7y ago
    It's not objective fact either. We don't know Stallman's side of the story. Besides which, you're dodging my point.
    - tptacek 7y ago
      Stallman is free to provide his side of the story. Miguel de Icaza doesn't need Stallman's permission to provide his own story, nor does anyone need anyone's permission to point out that de Icaza told that story.
      - topmonk 7y ago
        Stallman isn't obligated to swoop in and give his side to the story everytime someone says something nasty about him. That's a ridiculous standard especially for someone as famous and controversial as he. Yea, I agree you don't need anyones permission to post this kind of stuff, it is free speech, afterall. I just object to you justifying it as somehow being moral, just because it's relevant information to someone who might interact with him in the future. This is a public forum, and posting this kind of stuff here is being an asshole. That's my only point.
        tptacek 7y ago
        It's literally a thread about people potentially lending guest bedrooms to Stallman, and a comment from someone who did that.

geofft 7y ago

Hm. When I was 17, I cut things off very poorly with a girl I was interested in. (My real name is associated with this HN account.) I suppose for fairness we should count only being over age 18, so, I once hit my best friend with a car because I was picking them up from the airport, they were loading luggage, and I took my foot off the brake without realizing it was in reverse instead of park. (They were not injured.) Do you regularly associate with people for whom having Stallman-level worst behaviors is common? Also, it's generally common to apologize after doing something bad, to acknowledge that the behavior was mistaken, as a step to forgiveness. I did not apologize to the girl (it seems more harmful than not at this point to reconnect) but I did apologize to the friend immediately. Did Stallman apologize to de Icaza for his behavior?