8 ms·

RMS Lifestyle

18 points by JoachimS 2y ago

eimrine 2y ago
I am absolutely agree with everything he noted. A tie, symbols on shirts, even cell phone owning. I am following this lifestyle except of being too shy of spying - but who is me and who is RMS.
okokwhatever 2y ago
I find Stallman like a joke lately. Personal opinion.
- qarl 2y ago
  Like many visionaries, he started sniffing his own farts.
  - qarl 2y ago
    Well, if you disagree, I suggest to take a read: https://www.wired.com/story/richard-stallman-and-the-fall-of-the-clueless-nerd/ https://www.wired.com/story/richard-stallman-and-the-fall-of...
benterix 2y ago
The tie section is interesting. When you think of it, RMS might be right about certain scenarios, especially in companies that have dress code. But many men wear ties just to look more elegant, and there might be other reasons.
- eimrine 2y ago
  Just a dick-shaped aesthetics exactly same as in wedding ring.
  - badpun 2y ago
    What?
    - Dalewyn 2y ago
      It never occured to me until I'd read parent comment, but in hindsight it's Glorious(tm): * A tie is a long, big(ish), pointy thing that hangs and flaps around in front of you. * A wedding ring is something you stick a long, pointy appendage through. Now I wonder if parent commenter just pulled this out of his ass or if this was always intentional...
      - amenhotep 2y ago
        It's hard to find any phallic symbolism in the cravat, so sartorial genealogy seems a point against the idea. But one might wonder what impulse led it to grow so much longer and floppier.
      - 082349872349872 2y ago
        I had the impression the casual suit tie evolved out of the stock tie*; if so it was even changed over time from a practical, stubby, thing to a decorative, much longer, thing. * https://www.smartpakequine.com/learn-products/how-to-tie-a-stock-tie https://www.smartpakequine.com/learn-products/how-to-tie-a-s... Lagniappe: Is it just coincidence that the proper sentences are « Je vais au Canada. » and « Je vais en France. » ? Do francophones habitually go onto grammatically masculine countries and into grammatically feminine ones?
      - eimrine 2y ago
        > A wedding ring is something you stick a long, pointy appendage through. No you have not got it yet. The long pointy thing in a wedding ring is the finger.
KingMob 2y ago
Wow. He dislikes a lot of music, but only hip-hop gets singled out as "c...rap". Hmmmm. > Religion offers no moral short-cut. It is up to us to figure out what is right and what is wrong. Hard at work on this one, I hope. > As a matter of principle, I refuse to own a tie. > ... 6 more paragraphs about ties ... Clearly an important principle.
- vintagedave 2y ago
  It's a principle shared by quite a few people, and about twenty to thirty years ago was quite culturally important. Wikipedia has a really interesting section on anti-tie sentiment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necktie#Anti-necktie_sentiment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necktie#Anti-necktie_sentiment The world has moved on so fast we have forgotten how recently this was a genuine issue where this stance was something people felt was relevant to them. For RMS, it will likely be related to the counterculture, anti-business or anti-capitalism stance. For a long time, a suit _and tie_ was the uniform of going to work, until well into the eighties or later in many places. (The British didn't even stop wearing bowler hats to the office until the sixties!) In the late nineties, wearing casual clothes to work in the office was seen as one of the perks of freedom the growing programmer culture had (this is back in the days when Google was 'don't be evil' and everyone was excited about tech.) I'm starting to feel old because while I was still in school at the time, I remember people dressing what today would be quite formally in the office, and it being a really big deal that tech companies had different standards. It was the kind of thing people on Slashdot (remember that?) celebrated about tech. So - the symbolism of a tie, or being anti-tie, seems very in line with his old-school counterculture hacker ethos.
  - Daviey 2y ago
    In Parliament a Top Hat was required (until 1998) if an MP wished to raise a specific type of point of order. As nobody had one, they had a shared one they would throw around: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nbGxk7cLqY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nbGxk7cLqY Wigs were abandoned by British barristers and judges in civil cases only 2007. Last year, was the first time I went to a job interview not wearing a tie (but still shirt and jacket).
wkat4242 2y ago
I disagree with him on many things. But I do agree on the T-shirts. I like mine without any prints or branding, especially the stupid university prints. And I hate ties and formal attire as well, I refuse to wear it and I wouldn't work for a company that requires it.
- nixwiz 2y ago
  I was surprised to learn several years ago that there are still companies that require this. Check out this job posting, in Seattle of all places. https://www.smartrecruiters.com/expeditors/743999981793070 https://www.smartrecruiters.com/expeditors/743999981793070 I spoke to them in the past, that last bullet point definitely means suit and tie. I immediately noped out when they told me that. When I lived in Seattle and commuted on the bus to downtown, you could tell the few on the bus who worked there simply by how they were dressed.
  - workingdog 2y ago
    We're business casual. It helps weed out the chronically independent.
    - wkat4242 2y ago
      What does that mean? Chronically independent? I always wear chinos and a T-shirt :P I don't even own any shirts that fit. And I wouldn't do my job any better with one (in fact probably a lot worse because I'd be resentful and very uncomfortable).
      - deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
PoignardAzur 2y ago
> When I worked at MIT, I was shocked that MIT graduates, who due to their ability and skill could have almost dictated employment terms, instead felt compelled to wear ties to job interviews, even with companies that (they knew) had the sense not to ask them to wear ties on the job. Is this still a thing? I've went to dozens of job interviews these last few years, including for Google and for banks and other serious institutions, and I never wore a tie at any of them, nor was it ever suggested that I should (not even by people who had a financial incentive to get me the job) nor did the interviewer ever wear one.
sumanthvepa 2y ago
I don't know. I miss my old days on wall St. sometimes. I work remotely from home and most days I'm in t-shirt, shorts and slippers. It's nice suit up sometimes. The only opportunity I get these days is weddings.
- 082349872349872 2y ago
  Maybe you could moonlight as a maître-d? (There's a sartorial theory that the front-of-the-house in restaurants wears clothes approximating what the clientele was wearing a generation ago. When we get to the point where the front of the house is in hoodies and jeans, what do we guess the diners will be wearing?)
ocdtrekkie 2y ago
Stallman's odd eccentricities got a lot less adorable in light of https://drewdevault.com/2023/11/25/2023-11-26-RMS-on-sex.html https://drewdevault.com/2023/11/25/2023-11-26-RMS-on-sex.htm... and I think any discussion of his lifestyle should probably mention he is practically unable to pass on an opportunity to defend pedophiles.
krapp 2y ago
You know it's a slow day on HN when people just start posting random pages from RMS' website. FWIW he has a Mastodon account (https://mastodon.xyz/@rms https://mastodon.xyz/@rms), mentioned on his site under "social media[0]." [0] https://stallman.org/cgi-bin/showpage.cgi?path=/stallman-computing.html&term=mastodon&type=norm&case=0 https://stallman.org/cgi-bin/showpage.cgi?path=/stallman-com...
markx2 2y ago
"Heavy metal" sounds too harsh to me; anyway, the name is deceptive: the metal in a bronze gamelan set is far heavier. " Amusing on a few levels.
mmh0000 2y ago
The only thing needed to be known about "RMS" is his affinity for toe jam[1]. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhj8sh1uiDY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhj8sh1uiDY

18 points by JoachimS 2y ago

I am absolutely agree with everything he noted. A tie, symbols on shirts, even cell phone owning. I am following this lifestyle except of being too shy of spying - but who is me and who is RMS.

okokwhatever 2y ago

I find Stallman like a joke lately. Personal opinion.

qarl 2y ago
Like many visionaries, he started sniffing his own farts.
- qarl 2y ago
  Well, if you disagree, I suggest to take a read: https://www.wired.com/story/richard-stallman-and-the-fall-of-the-clueless-nerd/ https://www.wired.com/story/richard-stallman-and-the-fall-of...

benterix 2y ago

The tie section is interesting. When you think of it, RMS might be right about certain scenarios, especially in companies that have dress code. But many men wear ties just to look more elegant, and there might be other reasons.

eimrine 2y ago
Just a dick-shaped aesthetics exactly same as in wedding ring.
- badpun 2y ago
  What?
  - Dalewyn 2y ago
    It never occured to me until I'd read parent comment, but in hindsight it's Glorious(tm): * A tie is a long, big(ish), pointy thing that hangs and flaps around in front of you. * A wedding ring is something you stick a long, pointy appendage through. Now I wonder if parent commenter just pulled this out of his ass or if this was always intentional...
    - amenhotep 2y ago
      It's hard to find any phallic symbolism in the cravat, so sartorial genealogy seems a point against the idea. But one might wonder what impulse led it to grow so much longer and floppier.
    - 082349872349872 2y ago
      I had the impression the casual suit tie evolved out of the stock tie*; if so it was even changed over time from a practical, stubby, thing to a decorative, much longer, thing. * https://www.smartpakequine.com/learn-products/how-to-tie-a-stock-tie https://www.smartpakequine.com/learn-products/how-to-tie-a-s... Lagniappe: Is it just coincidence that the proper sentences are « Je vais au Canada. » and « Je vais en France. » ? Do francophones habitually go onto grammatically masculine countries and into grammatically feminine ones?
    - eimrine 2y ago
      > A wedding ring is something you stick a long, pointy appendage through. No you have not got it yet. The long pointy thing in a wedding ring is the finger.

KingMob 2y ago

Wow. He dislikes a lot of music, but only hip-hop gets singled out as "c...rap". Hmmmm. > Religion offers no moral short-cut. It is up to us to figure out what is right and what is wrong. Hard at work on this one, I hope. > As a matter of principle, I refuse to own a tie. > ... 6 more paragraphs about ties ... Clearly an important principle.

vintagedave 2y ago
It's a principle shared by quite a few people, and about twenty to thirty years ago was quite culturally important. Wikipedia has a really interesting section on anti-tie sentiment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necktie#Anti-necktie_sentiment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necktie#Anti-necktie_sentiment The world has moved on so fast we have forgotten how recently this was a genuine issue where this stance was something people felt was relevant to them. For RMS, it will likely be related to the counterculture, anti-business or anti-capitalism stance. For a long time, a suit _and tie_ was the uniform of going to work, until well into the eighties or later in many places. (The British didn't even stop wearing bowler hats to the office until the sixties!) In the late nineties, wearing casual clothes to work in the office was seen as one of the perks of freedom the growing programmer culture had (this is back in the days when Google was 'don't be evil' and everyone was excited about tech.) I'm starting to feel old because while I was still in school at the time, I remember people dressing what today would be quite formally in the office, and it being a really big deal that tech companies had different standards. It was the kind of thing people on Slashdot (remember that?) celebrated about tech. So - the symbolism of a tie, or being anti-tie, seems very in line with his old-school counterculture hacker ethos.
- Daviey 2y ago
  In Parliament a Top Hat was required (until 1998) if an MP wished to raise a specific type of point of order. As nobody had one, they had a shared one they would throw around: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nbGxk7cLqY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nbGxk7cLqY Wigs were abandoned by British barristers and judges in civil cases only 2007. Last year, was the first time I went to a job interview not wearing a tie (but still shirt and jacket).

wkat4242 2y ago

I disagree with him on many things. But I do agree on the T-shirts. I like mine without any prints or branding, especially the stupid university prints. And I hate ties and formal attire as well, I refuse to wear it and I wouldn't work for a company that requires it.

nixwiz 2y ago
I was surprised to learn several years ago that there are still companies that require this. Check out this job posting, in Seattle of all places. https://www.smartrecruiters.com/expeditors/743999981793070 https://www.smartrecruiters.com/expeditors/743999981793070 I spoke to them in the past, that last bullet point definitely means suit and tie. I immediately noped out when they told me that. When I lived in Seattle and commuted on the bus to downtown, you could tell the few on the bus who worked there simply by how they were dressed.
- workingdog 2y ago
  We're business casual. It helps weed out the chronically independent.
  - wkat4242 2y ago
    What does that mean? Chronically independent? I always wear chinos and a T-shirt :P I don't even own any shirts that fit. And I wouldn't do my job any better with one (in fact probably a lot worse because I'd be resentful and very uncomfortable).
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]

PoignardAzur 2y ago

> When I worked at MIT, I was shocked that MIT graduates, who due to their ability and skill could have almost dictated employment terms, instead felt compelled to wear ties to job interviews, even with companies that (they knew) had the sense not to ask them to wear ties on the job. Is this still a thing? I've went to dozens of job interviews these last few years, including for Google and for banks and other serious institutions, and I never wore a tie at any of them, nor was it ever suggested that I should (not even by people who had a financial incentive to get me the job) nor did the interviewer ever wear one.

sumanthvepa 2y ago

I don't know. I miss my old days on wall St. sometimes. I work remotely from home and most days I'm in t-shirt, shorts and slippers. It's nice suit up sometimes. The only opportunity I get these days is weddings.

082349872349872 2y ago
Maybe you could moonlight as a maître-d? (There's a sartorial theory that the front-of-the-house in restaurants wears clothes approximating what the clientele was wearing a generation ago. When we get to the point where the front of the house is in hoodies and jeans, what do we guess the diners will be wearing?)

ocdtrekkie 2y ago

Stallman's odd eccentricities got a lot less adorable in light of https://drewdevault.com/2023/11/25/2023-11-26-RMS-on-sex.html https://drewdevault.com/2023/11/25/2023-11-26-RMS-on-sex.htm... and I think any discussion of his lifestyle should probably mention he is practically unable to pass on an opportunity to defend pedophiles.

krapp 2y ago

You know it's a slow day on HN when people just start posting random pages from RMS' website. FWIW he has a Mastodon account (https://mastodon.xyz/@rms https://mastodon.xyz/@rms), mentioned on his site under "social media[0]." [0] https://stallman.org/cgi-bin/showpage.cgi?path=/stallman-computing.html&term=mastodon&type=norm&case=0 https://stallman.org/cgi-bin/showpage.cgi?path=/stallman-com...

markx2 2y ago

"Heavy metal" sounds too harsh to me; anyway, the name is deceptive: the metal in a bronze gamelan set is far heavier. " Amusing on a few levels.

mmh0000 2y ago

The only thing needed to be known about "RMS" is his affinity for toe jam[1]. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhj8sh1uiDY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhj8sh1uiDY