3 ms·

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

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).
- 082349872349872 2y ago
  > I remember people dressing what today would be quite formally in the office I remember the cubes in Office Space (1999) characterising IniTech as depressing (people dropping by without even needing to knock on the door) and soulless, but maybe today's open plan workers think they look like privacy incarnate? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsLUidiYm0w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsLUidiYm0w
- KingMob 2y ago
  Err, yes, but it's meant to contrast to the previous part, where he has a single sentence about figuring out right from wrong. Given his well-documented harassment of women over the decades, it's sadly ironic that he spends 6+ paragraphs on ties, and much less on more important moral introspection.

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).
082349872349872 2y ago
> I remember people dressing what today would be quite formally in the office I remember the cubes in Office Space (1999) characterising IniTech as depressing (people dropping by without even needing to knock on the door) and soulless, but maybe today's open plan workers think they look like privacy incarnate? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsLUidiYm0w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsLUidiYm0w
KingMob 2y ago
Err, yes, but it's meant to contrast to the previous part, where he has a single sentence about figuring out right from wrong. Given his well-documented harassment of women over the decades, it's sadly ironic that he spends 6+ paragraphs on ties, and much less on more important moral introspection.