There's a rule: If Stallman is invited to speak at your conference under NO circumstances should you allow him to stay at your place, nor at the home of anyone

There's a rule: If Stallman is invited to speak at your conference under NO circumstances should you allow him to stay at your place, nor at the home of anyone you care about or even don't outright hate (ask Miguel de Icaza about it some time). Why does that rule exist? Because he has, many times, shown up and refused to leave for weeks. He brings random flings back to your place. He refuses to shower or observe basic hygiene. He's the worst houseguest imaginable. Hell, why did VA Linux send an email all female employees letting them know when Stallman would be visiting so they could work from home or make themselves scarce? For that matter, how many people (especially women) dropped out of MIT, moved to another major, or left the lab because of Stallman? Why does Stallman feel entitled to abuse other people's hospitality? Why does he get to do as he pleases? Why are his feelings and his experiences the only ones that matter? I think this has bearing on the current issues: Stallman has been protected by those around him. He was protected by Minsky early on. This taught him that he could do as he pleased without consequences. He was never forced to learn socially acceptable behavior. You sometimes see the same thing with child stars or pampered celebrities: No one ever tells them "no". They never face real consequences for their actions. Everyone around them makes excuses, either because they look up to them or because they're the gravy train. Things escalate until a) they cross the line so badly they can't weasel out of it or b) some "straw that broke the camel's back" situation arises. In situation "a" the person is often confused and bewildered because they've done as they pleased for a very long time. They don't understand why the current situation should be different. In situation "b" people often focus on the trivialities of the current incident, ignoring everything that came before it. Am I saying Stallman should have been run out on a rail early on? Not at all... but Minsky shouldn't have excused Stallman's behavior. The first time Stallman cornered a woman in an elevator at MIT and blocked her from leaving Minsky should have, at the least, sat him down and said "stop it or you are out". We do a great disservice by sweeping complaints under the rug or excusing "geniuses". Bad behavior doesn't usually magically clear up, it tends to get worse over time as people learn they are the chosen ones and won't be questioned. Does Stallman deserve the hate he's getting as a result of some posts to an email list? I don't know. Should Stallman have been kicked off the FSF board a long time ago? Absolutely.