2 ms·

The crux of the situation was that RMS started GNU because he realized that not having access to the printer's source code put whoever had access to it in a pos

The crux of the situation was that RMS started GNU because he realized that not having access to the printer's source code put whoever had access to it in a position of power over his use of the printer and the implications that has when extended to other aspects where software is concerned and will be concerned with as computer use increases. This was not mentioned at all in the blog post.

shadowgovt 5y ago
He doesn't mention the power dynamic in the story (https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/201cthe-printer-story201d-redux-a-testimonial-about-the-injustice-of-proprietary-firmware https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/201cthe-printer-story201...). You can infer it mattered, but you can also infer he was pissed he couldn't make the machine do what he wanted. These are both valid interpretations if the same story... Which is the "crux" is up to the teller.
- badsectoracula 5y ago
  The entire point of Free Software is about users being in control of their programs, so of course it is about the power dynamic. But of course even if it was about him pissed - and he was pissed, which is something he did mention - it was because he was denied that control. There isn't really any other interpretation than that. Also the story you linked at is not RMS' story, but a different and more recent story which is also about a printer that sounds similar to RMS'. The RMS story is linked in the page you gave, though it is a transcript and kinda big. Here is the relevant bits: > And then I heard that somebody at Carnegie Mellon University had a copy of that software. So I was visiting there later, so I went to his office and I said, "Hi, I'm from MIT. Could I have a copy of the printer source code?" And he said "No, I promised not to give you a copy." [Laughter] I was stunned. I was so -- I was angry, and I had no idea how I could do justice to it. All I could think of was to turn around on my heel and walk out of his room. Maybe I slammed the door. [Laughter] And I thought about it later on, because I realized that I was seeing not just an isolated jerk, but a social phenomenon that was important and affected a lot of people. Emphasis on the last bit: "And I thought about it later on, because I realized that I was seeing not just an isolated jerk, but a social phenomenon that was important and affected a lot of people." And after all he made the Free Software Foundation, not Working Printers Foundation.
  - shadowgovt 5y ago
    That's a good story about being pissed you can't make the software do what you want.
    - badsectoracula 5y ago
      That's not what the story is about though.

shadowgovt 5y ago

He doesn't mention the power dynamic in the story (https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/201cthe-printer-story201d-redux-a-testimonial-about-the-injustice-of-proprietary-firmware https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/201cthe-printer-story201...). You can infer it mattered, but you can also infer he was pissed he couldn't make the machine do what he wanted. These are both valid interpretations if the same story... Which is the "crux" is up to the teller.

badsectoracula 5y ago
The entire point of Free Software is about users being in control of their programs, so of course it is about the power dynamic. But of course even if it was about him pissed - and he was pissed, which is something he did mention - it was because he was denied that control. There isn't really any other interpretation than that. Also the story you linked at is not RMS' story, but a different and more recent story which is also about a printer that sounds similar to RMS'. The RMS story is linked in the page you gave, though it is a transcript and kinda big. Here is the relevant bits: > And then I heard that somebody at Carnegie Mellon University had a copy of that software. So I was visiting there later, so I went to his office and I said, "Hi, I'm from MIT. Could I have a copy of the printer source code?" And he said "No, I promised not to give you a copy." [Laughter] I was stunned. I was so -- I was angry, and I had no idea how I could do justice to it. All I could think of was to turn around on my heel and walk out of his room. Maybe I slammed the door. [Laughter] And I thought about it later on, because I realized that I was seeing not just an isolated jerk, but a social phenomenon that was important and affected a lot of people. Emphasis on the last bit: "And I thought about it later on, because I realized that I was seeing not just an isolated jerk, but a social phenomenon that was important and affected a lot of people." And after all he made the Free Software Foundation, not Working Printers Foundation.
- shadowgovt 5y ago
  That's a good story about being pissed you can't make the software do what you want.
  - badsectoracula 5y ago
    That's not what the story is about though.