5 ms·

It seems that he's become less practical and more radical over time, though. When asked, he doesn't program very much any more, devoting his time instead to cha

by dget 15y ago

It seems that he's become less practical and more radical over time, though. When asked, he doesn't program very much any more, devoting his time instead to championing free software in an idea that some (such as Alexey) would argue isn't practical.

emilsedgh 15y ago
Actually, rms 'won' his initial battle, which was having a free operating system. Now there are thousands of people helping free softwares to improve. He would be just another programmer if he keeps coding. What im trying to say is, if he doesnt code anymore, its probably because he doesnt think that would be a necessary contribution anymore. Or maybe he is simply tired of coding :)
- prodigal_erik 15y ago
  He did have chronic hand pain for a while: http://oreilly.com/openbook/freedom/ch09.html#15416 http://oreilly.com/openbook/freedom/ch09.html#15416
  - sitkack 15y ago
    Emacs had nothing to do with it.
- flomo 15y ago
  > He would be just another programmer if he keeps coding. Wouldn't that be better than being just a gadfly? At least that's my impression; RMS will appear on some group or maillist, drop a bomb, tell everyone they're doing it wrong, and then disappear while the flamewar blazes, accomplishing nothing constructive in the process. And, in this community, everyone's status is based primarily on their programming, including Richard Stallman's.
  - nkassis 15y ago
    His status has been earned. RMS did incredible programming work in the 70s,80s that I think entitles him to make comments (even if they are wrong).
    - iuguy 15y ago
      > RMS did incredible programming work in the 70s,80s No he didn't! He wrote a text editor, a compiler and a library. It's not like he's the only person ever to do that. He also had a lot of help from others. He isn't the sole author of EMACS, GCC or glibc.
      - imd 15y ago
        You're only counting his Unix stuff. He's credited on the chine nual[0], he wrote bit-twiddling hacks, he published an AI paper with Sussman, etc. His WP page mentions a bunch of stuff. [0]: http://www.flickr.com/photos/two_pi_r/264672507/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/two_pi_r/264672507/
        nkassis 15y ago
        Yep and He also was a one man reverse engineering army during the lisp machine war. His programming skills are really good. His personality is another thing.
  - kragen 15y ago
    > Wouldn't that be better than being just a gadfly? Perhaps you should ask Socrates.

by dget 15y ago

emilsedgh 15y ago

Actually, rms 'won' his initial battle, which was having a free operating system. Now there are thousands of people helping free softwares to improve. He would be just another programmer if he keeps coding. What im trying to say is, if he doesnt code anymore, its probably because he doesnt think that would be a necessary contribution anymore. Or maybe he is simply tired of coding :)

prodigal_erik 15y ago
He did have chronic hand pain for a while: http://oreilly.com/openbook/freedom/ch09.html#15416 http://oreilly.com/openbook/freedom/ch09.html#15416
- sitkack 15y ago
  Emacs had nothing to do with it.
flomo 15y ago
> He would be just another programmer if he keeps coding. Wouldn't that be better than being just a gadfly? At least that's my impression; RMS will appear on some group or maillist, drop a bomb, tell everyone they're doing it wrong, and then disappear while the flamewar blazes, accomplishing nothing constructive in the process. And, in this community, everyone's status is based primarily on their programming, including Richard Stallman's.
- nkassis 15y ago
  His status has been earned. RMS did incredible programming work in the 70s,80s that I think entitles him to make comments (even if they are wrong).
  - iuguy 15y ago
    > RMS did incredible programming work in the 70s,80s No he didn't! He wrote a text editor, a compiler and a library. It's not like he's the only person ever to do that. He also had a lot of help from others. He isn't the sole author of EMACS, GCC or glibc.
    - imd 15y ago
      You're only counting his Unix stuff. He's credited on the chine nual[0], he wrote bit-twiddling hacks, he published an AI paper with Sussman, etc. His WP page mentions a bunch of stuff. [0]: http://www.flickr.com/photos/two_pi_r/264672507/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/two_pi_r/264672507/
      - nkassis 15y ago
        Yep and He also was a one man reverse engineering army during the lisp machine war. His programming skills are really good. His personality is another thing.
- kragen 15y ago
  > Wouldn't that be better than being just a gadfly? Perhaps you should ask Socrates.