3 ms·

Did Kottke even read the link about the Van Halen brown M&M thing? Because it wasn't some crazy whim; it had a perfectly reasonable justification. Saying that S

Did Kottke even read the link about the Van Halen brown M&M thing? Because it wasn't some crazy whim; it had a perfectly reasonable justification. Saying that Stallman's parrot thing is "right up there" with the brown M&Ms doesn't make sense, if you're trying to laugh at Stallman.

gokhan 15y ago
Anil Dash, in comments section of Winer's post, makes the same mistake of having an idea withouth having enough knowledge: > ... using that power to cow conference organizers and academics into submission to an arbitrary set of whims, the same as a rock star refusing to eat certain colors of M&Ms ... http://scripting.com/stories/2011/10/31/whyIStandUpForStallman.html#comment-352247635 http://scripting.com/stories/2011/10/31/whyIStandUpForStallm...
- benatkin 15y ago
  There is so much wrong with Anil Dash's long-winded comment. The first thing he gets wrong is expecting Stallman to handle traveling around for his cause just as well as others have done. Wrong. The personality traits from which people find themselves leading a cause are not the same ones which make people great traveling guests. Another big thing he gets wrong is understating GNU's role in Free Software Operating Systems. After reading that I'm convinced that he doesn't understand how important development tools are when creating a new platform. FWIW I don't always say "GNU/Linux". I usually say "Linux". I certainly am not opposed to saying "GNU/Linux", however. I wish more people, Anil included, understood the pivotal role the GNU toolchain provided, but I don't think saying "GNU/Linux" is the best way.
wmf 15y ago
The mythical interpretation of the brown M&Ms as signifying capricious demands made by popular people has overtaken the original meaning, so Kottke et al. should be understood as referring to that myth.
- monochromatic 15y ago
  Probably true. But the actual link that he put on his page refers not to the popular meaning, but to the original one.
nkurz 15y ago
It seems like there are two possiblities: 1) Jason, a bright guy who is very familiar with the internet and characterized by Dave as standing up for those being attacked by the masses, did not read his own link and by chance chose a spectacularly poor but well-known example to ridicule and bully Stallman. 2) "It's cramazing" and "right up there" were not intended to signify ridicule and bullying. My money's on the the second. Of course, one weakness of this dichotomy is that Dave is also bright and internet savvy, and choosing Two would imply that Dave grossly misinterpreted Jason. Also low odds, but I'd guess more likely than One. Maybe we'll have to wait until Jason chimes in to clarify. Or maybe Dave already asked Jason to clarify and is certain of his interpretation? But we can still agree with moral of Dave's post, right?
- benatkin 15y ago
  I think crazy and amazing is used in an endearing sort of way, too. > That's right up there with Van Halen's brown-free bowl of M&Ms and Lady Gaga's Cockney-speaking staff. The second item links here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rider_%28theater%29#Notable_rider_requests http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rider_%28theater%29#Notable_rid... Where there are more people who are pretty good company to be on a list with, like Johnny Cash. If I edited the article to put Richard Stallman on that list, I wonder how long it would last...

gokhan 15y ago

Anil Dash, in comments section of Winer's post, makes the same mistake of having an idea withouth having enough knowledge: > ... using that power to cow conference organizers and academics into submission to an arbitrary set of whims, the same as a rock star refusing to eat certain colors of M&Ms ... http://scripting.com/stories/2011/10/31/whyIStandUpForStallman.html#comment-352247635 http://scripting.com/stories/2011/10/31/whyIStandUpForStallm...

benatkin 15y ago
There is so much wrong with Anil Dash's long-winded comment. The first thing he gets wrong is expecting Stallman to handle traveling around for his cause just as well as others have done. Wrong. The personality traits from which people find themselves leading a cause are not the same ones which make people great traveling guests. Another big thing he gets wrong is understating GNU's role in Free Software Operating Systems. After reading that I'm convinced that he doesn't understand how important development tools are when creating a new platform. FWIW I don't always say "GNU/Linux". I usually say "Linux". I certainly am not opposed to saying "GNU/Linux", however. I wish more people, Anil included, understood the pivotal role the GNU toolchain provided, but I don't think saying "GNU/Linux" is the best way.

wmf 15y ago

The mythical interpretation of the brown M&Ms as signifying capricious demands made by popular people has overtaken the original meaning, so Kottke et al. should be understood as referring to that myth.

monochromatic 15y ago
Probably true. But the actual link that he put on his page refers not to the popular meaning, but to the original one.

nkurz 15y ago

It seems like there are two possiblities: 1) Jason, a bright guy who is very familiar with the internet and characterized by Dave as standing up for those being attacked by the masses, did not read his own link and by chance chose a spectacularly poor but well-known example to ridicule and bully Stallman. 2) "It's cramazing" and "right up there" were not intended to signify ridicule and bullying. My money's on the the second. Of course, one weakness of this dichotomy is that Dave is also bright and internet savvy, and choosing Two would imply that Dave grossly misinterpreted Jason. Also low odds, but I'd guess more likely than One. Maybe we'll have to wait until Jason chimes in to clarify. Or maybe Dave already asked Jason to clarify and is certain of his interpretation? But we can still agree with moral of Dave's post, right?

benatkin 15y ago
I think crazy and amazing is used in an endearing sort of way, too. > That's right up there with Van Halen's brown-free bowl of M&Ms and Lady Gaga's Cockney-speaking staff. The second item links here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rider_%28theater%29#Notable_rider_requests http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rider_%28theater%29#Notable_rid... Where there are more people who are pretty good company to be on a list with, like Johnny Cash. If I edited the article to put Richard Stallman on that list, I wonder how long it would last...