5 ms·

Margarita Lacabe: My Relationship with Richard

18 points by crazypython 5y ago

geocrasher 5y ago
I don't think he means to be a creep. He is someone who just has practically no social awareness. A lot of computer scientists are in the spectrum and share these traits, but in Richard they go many steps beyond. I see where she's coming from, and it's true that some people are so aloof (whether they are on the spectrum or not) that they don't even realize they are being offensive. She's in a better position to comment on RMS than I am as I've never met the man first hand. I know somebody who's had to work with him on several occasions, and lets just say the impression was not a nice one. OTOH, this reads a lot like "Hey now, Richard is a nice man who just doesn't know how awful he seems to others." which sounds a lot like an excuse rather than a reason.
Arnt 5y ago
Browsing stallmansupport.org a little, I didn't find anyone who says anything like "I testify that Stallman is persuasive, a good listener and sensitive to people's concerns, good at expressing things in ways that make sense to a wide variety of listeners: in short, good at campaigning and a good candidate for a campaigning job". It all seems to be support that has nothing to do with the qualities a campaign organisation needs in its officials.
- toll10 5y ago
  Campaigning for what? Sweet talk Google into using the AGPL? There are more than enough politicians right now in the OSI and hundreds of other "open" source foundations that provide comfortable salaries for smooth directors. There is no need for the FSF to turn into that. We need someone who says that Ubuntu contains spyware.
  - Arnt 5y ago
    If that's what we need, then that someone ought to be someone who can say so in different ways to suit different audiences, who can rephrase the message to suit the background of different listeners. Who can listen, learn who he's talking to, and then choose a suitable presentation.
- d_tr 5y ago
  The website's main goal is made clear in the opening paragraph. There is valid criticism and there is witch hunting. Sadly, many people chose to engage in the latter. Strong phrase, but I honestly cannot see it as something else.
  - Arnt 5y ago
    Yes... in a way, that witch hunting will help Stallman get a job he's bad at by drowning out the criticism that he's bad at the job, and so he will again be ina position to help push the GPL into the margins. (Which may be where it should be, but personally speaking I'd rather see the FSF win or lose by its merits, rather than by hobbling itself with a president like Stallman.) https://resources.whitesourcesoftware.com/blog-whitesource/open-source-licenses-trends-and-predictions https://resources.whitesourcesoftware.com/blog-whitesource/o... says the GPL is now at ~10%, continuing its downward slide.

18 points by crazypython 5y ago

I don't think he means to be a creep. He is someone who just has practically no social awareness. A lot of computer scientists are in the spectrum and share these traits, but in Richard they go many steps beyond. I see where she's coming from, and it's true that some people are so aloof (whether they are on the spectrum or not) that they don't even realize they are being offensive. She's in a better position to comment on RMS than I am as I've never met the man first hand. I know somebody who's had to work with him on several occasions, and lets just say the impression was not a nice one. OTOH, this reads a lot like "Hey now, Richard is a nice man who just doesn't know how awful he seems to others." which sounds a lot like an excuse rather than a reason.

Arnt 5y ago

Browsing stallmansupport.org a little, I didn't find anyone who says anything like "I testify that Stallman is persuasive, a good listener and sensitive to people's concerns, good at expressing things in ways that make sense to a wide variety of listeners: in short, good at campaigning and a good candidate for a campaigning job". It all seems to be support that has nothing to do with the qualities a campaign organisation needs in its officials.

toll10 5y ago
Campaigning for what? Sweet talk Google into using the AGPL? There are more than enough politicians right now in the OSI and hundreds of other "open" source foundations that provide comfortable salaries for smooth directors. There is no need for the FSF to turn into that. We need someone who says that Ubuntu contains spyware.
- Arnt 5y ago
  If that's what we need, then that someone ought to be someone who can say so in different ways to suit different audiences, who can rephrase the message to suit the background of different listeners. Who can listen, learn who he's talking to, and then choose a suitable presentation.
d_tr 5y ago
The website's main goal is made clear in the opening paragraph. There is valid criticism and there is witch hunting. Sadly, many people chose to engage in the latter. Strong phrase, but I honestly cannot see it as something else.
- Arnt 5y ago
  Yes... in a way, that witch hunting will help Stallman get a job he's bad at by drowning out the criticism that he's bad at the job, and so he will again be ina position to help push the GPL into the margins. (Which may be where it should be, but personally speaking I'd rather see the FSF win or lose by its merits, rather than by hobbling itself with a president like Stallman.) https://resources.whitesourcesoftware.com/blog-whitesource/open-source-licenses-trends-and-predictions https://resources.whitesourcesoftware.com/blog-whitesource/o... says the GPL is now at ~10%, continuing its downward slide.