I respect Stallman's contributions to computers, I respect a lot of his ideas, I respect his not uncommonly quite eloquent writing, I've enjoyed his talks. The

I respect Stallman's contributions to computers, I respect a lot of his ideas, I respect his not uncommonly quite eloquent writing, I've enjoyed his talks. The world is objectively a better place having had his involvement. However, the world has changed many times since Stallmanism entered the zeitgeist. It may simply be time to retire and let the younger generations carry the torch going forward. Some people in the comments saying he doesn't follow mainstream society as if that somehow makes what he had to say defensible, but that just highlights that the world has changed and he hadn't. He may well have changed his opinion, but that's just symptomatic of a larger issue. Personally, I only want to hear about software and tangential topics of ethics like privacy from Stallman. It's unfortunate that it played out this way, but perhaps it's simply over and it's time for some fresh perspective and to get back to the major area of concern with FOSS. As-is, FOSS is developing a public image problem as being something old farts who hold questionable views are into. To make statements like that whilst championing privacy is not a good look. At what point do we admit that his continued involvement is damaging the activism and credibility of others and the FOSS movement as a whole? He's had his time, and it's been a lot longer than most folks managed. The movement should focus on substance and not egos. I would go as far as to argue that there's not really any going back now. This will seemingly always be resurfaced, and it will always cause a PR disaster for not just Stallman, but anybody and any project associated with him. I wish him the best of health, happiness and peace if he does decide it's time to retire from the public eye rather than be cancelled and have this as what he's remembered for, which would be a huge shame.