4 ms·
Here's an anecdote: In 2014, as part of my job as fsf's web developer (a new position at the time), I suggested moving gnu.org's version control from a private
by davexunit 4y ago
Here's an anecdote:
In 2014, as part of my job as fsf's web developer (a new position at the time), I suggested moving gnu.org's version control from a private cvs repo (that requires passing a test to get access to) to a public git repo as a step towards attracting new contributors. The argument was simple: Not many new volunteers are coming in to work on gnu.org and very few know cvs any more. Making it operate more like a regular free software project that can receive patches from anyone and using the most popular version control system would lower the barrier to entry and improve transparency. It was viewed as a reasonable goal by the people I worked with at the fsf, but gnu has its own governance and the idea was met with strong resistance from all of the longtime gnu.org contributors, including rms. I even received an unpleasant off-list email (not from rms) because I was viewed as an outsider that doesn't know anything. So, that was the end of that little idea.
There is a glimmer of hope for gnu's future in subprojects such as guix, which is doing technically interesting work and has created a healthy community that welcomes newcomers. Can that positive energy take hold and spread to the rest of the project? We'll see.
- macintux 4y agoI still remember in 1996 searching for GNU online only to discover they weren’t running on their own domain, instead something buried on (IIRC) mit.edu. I also couldn’t find any gcc binaries for Solaris online, had to steal a copy from my school’s IT administrator to help get a startup up and running. They definitely have serious challenges with inertia.
- teddyh 4y agoProbably prep.ai.mit.edu. MIT does that kind of thing; It’s like tsx-11.mit.edu, the famous US Linux FTP mirror, which was, IIRC, originally Theodore Ts'o personal workstation at MIT.
- KennyBlanken 4y agoA former boss still tells people about the time he emailed an address at gnu.org to inform them that a mirror was broken, and made the mistake of using "linux", and got a page-long rant from Stallman himself about how it was "gnu/linux" ...and nobody fixed the FTP site.
- davexunit 4y agoI appreciate what rms did technically and philosophically back in the 70s and 80s, but he is just the worst public relations person ever.
- cies 4y ago> he is just the worst public relations person ever he campaigned a lot in the 80s/90s too, creating a lot of exposure for his ideas. i think we just have different expectations nowadays...
- kube-system 4y agoI had the chance to speak with him in person once and he did a similar thing to me. I found that if you use a word he doesn't like, he'll just focus on that and ignore the content of your sentence.
- DharmaPolice 4y ago>I found that if you use a word he doesn't like, he'll just focus on that and ignore the content of your sentence This makes it sound like RMS was ahead of the curve since this is the standard operating procedure for a lot of people these days.