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>Do you think he is such a phenomenal genius that keeping him is worth ten good people quitting or not joining in the first place? A hundred? A thousand? Unles

>Do you think he is such a phenomenal genius that keeping him is worth ten good people quitting or not joining in the first place? A hundred? A thousand? Unless the people at the FSF calling for his ousting are privately acknowledging that this is only because of the 'bottom line' (I don't think that's the case), then it becomes necessary to judge the actual reasoning of those hundred/thousands of people's decision to avoid RMS. Put simply, when is it okay to just implement a blind appeal to popularity?

hnbad 6y ago
When I say "worth it", I'm not simply talking about finances. He's a drain on the organization's reputation. People don't join the FSF because of the great working hours and phenomenal pay, they mostly join it for ideological reasons. We're not talking about retiring a beloved mascot because people don't like it anymore, we're talking about removing an individual holding a position of power who's actively keeping people away by being a sex pest.
- rscoots 6y ago
  But agnostic to this specific situation, you would acknowledge that there could be a situation in which the people kept away are morally confused to the point in which it's actually better to do without them from a moral (and long-term business) perspective. "Having a CEO in favor of Data Privacy/Product Safety/Responsible Bank Lending will lead to thousands of potential employees avoiding our company!" I'm sure you'll disagree with the particulars on the FSF case, but I'm just saying popularity is not the slam-dunk you're implying.
  - hnbad 6y ago
    You're being intentionally reductive by pivoting to "popularity" when we're talking about someone who has a history of sexual misconduct, highly inappropriate behavior and outright abuse. Women don't avoid RMS because they think he's a bit of a prick. Women avoid RMS because he's making them feel unsafe. And this comes on top of him being a massive prick to people in general. Also not actively alienating people who work for the FSF is literally part of the job description. He's unqualified to lead a development team let alone the entire organization.
    - rscoots 6y ago
      Then why invoke the "hundreds or thousands" point at all? Seems irrelevant and sort of crass given the gravity of the other qualms you have.

hnbad 6y ago

When I say "worth it", I'm not simply talking about finances. He's a drain on the organization's reputation. People don't join the FSF because of the great working hours and phenomenal pay, they mostly join it for ideological reasons. We're not talking about retiring a beloved mascot because people don't like it anymore, we're talking about removing an individual holding a position of power who's actively keeping people away by being a sex pest.

rscoots 6y ago
But agnostic to this specific situation, you would acknowledge that there could be a situation in which the people kept away are morally confused to the point in which it's actually better to do without them from a moral (and long-term business) perspective. "Having a CEO in favor of Data Privacy/Product Safety/Responsible Bank Lending will lead to thousands of potential employees avoiding our company!" I'm sure you'll disagree with the particulars on the FSF case, but I'm just saying popularity is not the slam-dunk you're implying.
- hnbad 6y ago
  You're being intentionally reductive by pivoting to "popularity" when we're talking about someone who has a history of sexual misconduct, highly inappropriate behavior and outright abuse. Women don't avoid RMS because they think he's a bit of a prick. Women avoid RMS because he's making them feel unsafe. And this comes on top of him being a massive prick to people in general. Also not actively alienating people who work for the FSF is literally part of the job description. He's unqualified to lead a development team let alone the entire organization.
  - rscoots 6y ago
    Then why invoke the "hundreds or thousands" point at all? Seems irrelevant and sort of crass given the gravity of the other qualms you have.