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Oh, lots of ESR fanboys here today! Can someone of you please explain exactly what it is that makes ESR a great hacker/programmer?
by cpach 7y ago
Oh, lots of ESR fanboys here today! Can someone of you please explain exactly what it is that makes ESR a great hacker/programmer?
- ForHackernews 7y agoNothing, imho. He maintained the jargon file and some irrelevant old unix utilities for a while. His primary achievement was non-technical: taking the radical philosophy of free software and neutering it be acceptable to corporations. He also wrote a book[0] with a catchy title that many people referenced and few people read. I think ESR is a dabbler and popularizer who has built his personal brand around being a Man-in-Tech rather than a person who actually produces significant technical contributions. RMS or Torvalds he ain't. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cathedral_and_the_Bazaar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cathedral_and_the_Bazaar
- cpach 7y agoIMO you summed it up very well there.