6 ms·

Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina

92 points by Rauchg 14y ago

myth_drannon 14y ago
Well he is not the first celebrity to get robbed in B.A. Bush daughter was visiting the city, the whole neighbourhood was crawling with CIA agents and her purse was still stolen...
- mrleinad 14y ago
  Maybe I'm downvoted for this, but I feel a lot worse for RMS than for Bush's daughter..
- kylebrown 14y ago
  The spanish article mentions that the photographer's camera was also stolen.
- deleted 14y ago
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- molmalo 14y ago
  The thing is that the UBA (University of Buenos Aires) is public, so anyone can enter their buildings. That, and the fact of having a distracted crowd, makes it a tempting target to a pickpocket. It doesn't have to be a student. It could be anyone passing, entering, grabbing something, and leaving the place before anyone notices something strange.
discore 14y ago
I can't resist wondering if RMS has brought up the licensing of his medication with his doctor, who looked at him quizzically.
- asitseems 14y ago
  ahahah good one!
asitseems 14y ago
if he had a chromebook he wouldn't be crying in the stairs. childish
- nakkiel 14y ago
  Seriously, how old are you? I've seen, read, done, ... a lot of stupid things but you beat all my expectations.
Turing_Machine 14y ago
Had his bag stolen -- glad that he's okay! Normally, though, we wouldn't call this "robbery" in English. Strictly speaking, robbery is used for a theft where force (or threat of force) is involved.
- creativityhurts 14y ago
  He was robbed by someone attending his talk, not mugged on the street at gun point so I don't think that "glad he's okay" is appropriate here, especially since "okay" in this case means that he's in a foreign country without passport, money and medicine. Such a shame.
  - Turing_Machine 14y ago
    He wasn't "robbed" at all. He was a victim of theft. If he'd actuallyh been robbed (as the headline stated) concern for his physical well-being would be entirely appropriate. That's what I meant by my comment.
    - creativityhurts 14y ago
      Oh, I see. Mea culpa then.
- Rauchg 14y ago
  Turing thanks for letting me know - I adapted the title after I verified he was technically mugged.
  - javert 14y ago
    I don't think it was a "mugging," either, which AFAIK is a form of robbery that happens in the street.
- javert 14y ago
  Thanks. I sort of almost majored in English in college (besides being a native English speaker) and didn't even realize the distinction there (i.e. "robbery" implies force).
MehdiEG 14y ago
That sucks. I would have hoped that the university / event organisers would have provided any help possible to at least get his paperwork back in order though. The article makes it sound like he was pretty much left on his own devices after the theft.
- mrleinad 14y ago
  Yep, he was. Although I find it difficult to think that RMS would find himself helpless and with no one around that would care for him, I do believe that the University/Event organizers couldn't care less for what happened.
  - andrewcooke 14y ago
    what? any evidence (of lack of care from organisers)?
  - pandres 14y ago
    He comes pretty often to latin-america and he has friends and the foundation helping him at all times. One is still to get pissed of at the amount of time and work wasted because of this.
- crazy2k_ 14y ago
  When I left the place, he was talking to the Faculty's security staff, and he was accompanied by people from a foundation (the one which usually organizes his events here) at all times. They said he slept well and was calm today.
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rastingerzoh 14y ago
if he trusted in the cloud he wouldn't be crying in the stairs... ahahah
- mathieuh 14y ago
  You made an account just to post this? This must be the most downvoted comment I've ever seen.
rdavl 14y ago
Hope he had backups...
makmanalp 14y ago
Damn, this is not nice. Maybe HN can pitch in to get him a new laptop? I'd donate a few bucks. Edit: What the heck? What's wrong with what I suggested?
- chimeracoder 14y ago
  It might be hard to find a Lemote Yeelong (at least the particular model he uses, which lets him use a free BIOS). Here's one, though I'm not sure if it's the correct version: http://www.lemote.com/en/products/Notebook/2010/0310/112.html http://www.lemote.com/en/products/Notebook/2010/0310/112.htm...
  - makmanalp 14y ago
    From his usesthis interview: "I do hope to switch soon to a newer model of Yeelong with a 10-inch display." Also I found it on Amazon, with Prime: http://www.amazon.com/Screen-Lemote-Yeeloong-8101_B-Netbook/dp/B005XH10NQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339266888&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Screen-Lemote-Yeeloong-8101_B-Netbook/... $450. If one of the known / trusted HN elders decides to pool the money, this seems doable.
    - billpatrianakos 14y ago
      If you actually do this you'll either have to get it elsewhere or not tell him it came from Amazon. Stallman recently wrote about how we should stop supporting Amazon. I seriously wonder if he'd accept if he knew where it came from.
    - mattst88 14y ago
      The man who runs Freedom Included, Inc. (the seller of the laptop through Amazon) works at the Free Software Foundation with RMS. I don't think RMS will have trouble getting a new laptop.
    - stfu 14y ago
      I would donate to anything Stallman related anytime. But I am not quite sure if this would be in his intention. Are there any public infos about his personal/financial situation?
mrleinad 14y ago
Considering RMS a careful person, he probably had backups for all the important information. However, for a person like him, that laptop is probably much more important: he needs to get a specific laptop that respects his freedom, as that one did, so he's probably going to be a bit behind on his e-mails until he gets a proper replacement.
- rastingerzoh 14y ago
  the joys of cloud computing. oh wait...
  - creativityhurts 14y ago
    "Most of the time I do not have an Internet connection. Once or twice or maybe three times a day I connect and transfer mail in and out. Before sending mail, I always review and revise the outgoing messages. That gives me a chance to catch mistakes and faux pas." http://richard.stallman.usesthis.com/ http://richard.stallman.usesthis.com/ Oh well. The interview is from 2010 though.
- creativityhurts 14y ago
  Here's his interview on The Setup where he describes his laptop and the software he uses http://richard.stallman.usesthis.com/ http://richard.stallman.usesthis.com/
brentvatne 14y ago
Something similar happened to Tom Preston Werner of Github when he was in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Conference organizers have a responsibility to emphasize the high incidence of theft and assist them however possible - most people coming from developed countries do not have experience with this type of danger. This seems like a situation that could have been avoided if someone was keeping an eye on Rms' bag.
- rastingerzoh 14y ago
  rms, he himself, should have kept an eye on the bag, not somebody else...
  - nakkiel 14y ago
    I don't understand the downvotes. Care to explain?
    - mds 14y ago
      It appears 'rastingerzoh created an account just to troll this thread.
    - RockyMcNuts 14y ago
      It's a technical talk, not a subway car. He's a guest. It's not realistic, or hospitable, to expect him to watch his belongings while he's interacting with his audience. Plus it's a new account that's trolling.
      - javert 14y ago
        It's his responsibiity to make sure someone is watching it for him or to watch it himself, though. In the ideal case, someone would offer to watch it for him, but I'm guessing that didn't happen here. That said, I do like the idea (suggested elsewhere) of pooling some money to get him a new one right away.
    - Rauchg 14y ago
      Like I wrote, he enjoys the ritual of interacting with the audience after the talk. I think most people at this point stop looking at their stuff for a minute.
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thejerz 14y ago
Most of us have cloud backups like Mozy or Carbonite, or keep our documents in the cloud with tools like Google Docs, iCloud, or Zoho. To us, losing a laptop is an inconvenience... but not a cause for canceling future engagements. But RMS is different. He's ethically opposed to the "cloud," calling it a "trap." That is his prerogative. But you can't cry when you lose your data!!
- rcthompson 14y ago
  You can back up and restore your data securely over the internet using only free software on both ends, if you really want to. And if anyone knows how to do so, I'm sure RMS does. Perhaps he even has a full backup of all his important data from the stolen laptop. However, no backup, be it cloud-based or not, can get you back your stolen passport, money, or medicine. So I think you may be a bit out of line implying that RMS is crying merely over something that he could have saved if only he had been willing to compromise his deeply-held beliefs. (Even the laptop itself may have been quite difficult to obtain, since if I recall correctly, RMS uses a specific laptop that has a completely free software stack, including firmware and such.)
- ebiester 14y ago
  I think the larger problem, for him, is procuring another laptop that is 101% Free. I'd be surprised if he didn't have backups somewhere online, but a system he controls.
- ctz 14y ago
  Could you explain how to pass through immigration using a passport stored in the cloud?
  - uvdiv 14y ago
    Well why not? A serious question: what's the advantage of physical identity cards over digitally-signed documents + two-factor?
- nakkiel 14y ago
  I host sensitive data and perform backups on my company's servers. We're renting a rack and handle the hardware ourself. All happily running on FOSS. I don't think RMS has anything wrong with that. Medicine has no backup, but you can buy some more. A passport has no backup. Fortunately, embassies can issue emergency passports, but Visas are lost. If anything, I'm sure he was not sad for his laptop.
dbbolton 14y ago
I understand that Stallman is an important figure in the software community, but this really doesn't qualify as news in my opinion. To be fair, the server went down so I can't access the article, but unless he had something really important in that bag, like the only copy of a new C compiler written from scratch, this article is just a minor inconvenience in the life of a celebrity.
- babarock 14y ago
  Knowing HN, it will inevitably trigger discussions about the organization of conferences. For better or worse. The article is not about rms, but about the venue where the celebrity got robbed.
- nakkiel 14y ago
  He had his passport. I believe he is currently traveling through South America to give FOSS talks in many universities. I believe part of the issue is that because of this very details, it puts an end to his trip which has been rough and marked by health issues. What I don't understand is why the post's author dares mentioning how RMS reacted. A bit of decency is always a nice thing to have, not to mention due respect.
  - kzrdude 14y ago
    Decency? We're adults, we respect him like other humans and we can handle the real story. At least we should have the decency to.
    - nakkiel 14y ago
      You're right on your last point however the way he initially reacted didn't add anything to the story. It was the nervous reaction of a man who realized the trip he had spent days organizing was being called off because of one individual. Having personally met RMS and knowing other persons that have the same type of condition, I would say that those people need some respect in the way they handle emotions and other social artifacts. Simply throwing a verb doesn't give enough depth for a correct understanding. In that regard, it's disrespectful.
rdl 14y ago
I wonder if he'll add some basic security precautions (a locking area for his stuff while speaking) to his fairly detailed rider.
far-I 14y ago
I wonder if he had a "free software" sticker on his bag. Maybe the thief thought the bag was free also.
its_so_on 14y ago
Sorry to hear what happened. It's interesting that he was at a conference, presumably speaking about what he always speaks about. This means his bag and things were to advance his mission, which is kind of to advance a 'commons'. it nicely illustrate's RMS's philosophy (gpl). Even though he was speaking to advance the public good, a private enterprizer took his bag, removing it from the commons he worked so hard to advance. RMS's philosophy, code, and bags require the protection of law.
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pgrote 14y ago
The passport replacement is relatively easy, right? The bigger concern is the medicine. How does that work with prescription medicine outside the US? The laptop is rather unique, so if someone pawned it you would think it could be hunted down.
- nakkiel 14y ago
  My experience in countries that are less "developed" is that you'll get any kind of medicine you may need if you're ready to pay the price for it. I'm sure he'll be fine. Passport are simple to replace but Visas simply aren't replaced at all. He could get new Visas under no delay, unfortunately I don't think he has the right connections for that kind of "fast lane" service.
MindTwister 14y ago
On android the page is unreadable (at least in Dolphin) because of the undismissable menu.
weslly 14y ago
That's sad, even though I don't like a lot of things he say I hope he can recover it soon.
asitseems 14y ago
rms: "I use a Lemote machine which has a free initialization program and a free operating system. " lol
eta_carinae 14y ago
> Despite his controversial views on a variety of topics, his evangelism work all over the world is a true inspiration for countless people I disagree, I think his evangelism is dangerous and offensive. He goes around telling programmers that they should give their code for free and he belittles anyone who doesn't follow his advice.
- floomp 14y ago
  How is that dangerous or offensive? You don't have to agree with his hardfast approach on all Free Software, all the time, but I think software freedom in general is incredibly important to society and I'm glad we have someone like RMS who believes so strongly in it. Being uncompromising can be both a vice and a virtue.
- tikhonj 14y ago
  Except he doesn't actually care if you charge for your code. All he cares about are the rights of the consumer. Now, supporting these rights does make it somewhat more difficult to charge for your software, but it clearly isn't impossible: there are companies built around free software. Moreover, if everyone provided free software, it would actually be easier to charge money for it because you wouldn't have to compete with proprietary software and drm.
  - TazeTSchnitzel 14y ago
    Exactly. Look at Canonical. They give away Ubuntu completely free, yet they make money out of selling cloud services and support.
    - masklinn 14y ago
      Even then, RMS has no problem people selling and buying software, he only cares that, once a user has acquired the software product, he can alter it (that's the "free as in freedom" part, as opposed to "free as in beer" which RMS — as far as I know — doesn't really care for). Now building a business with these constraint is not — as far as I know — a solved business model in the general case, but saying that RMS wants developers to "give their product for free" is a complete and absolute misrepresentation of his position.
eta_carinae 14y ago
> The report goes on to convey the truly heartbreaking image of a hopeless RMS sitting at the university staircase, crying. Words fail me.
billpatrianakos 14y ago
Reading about Stallman's reaction to this makes me wonder about his mental stability. "Punching himself in the head"? And cursing? Now, cursing I can understand but the picture painted in the story makes it look like Stallman was throwing a tantrum, screaming obscenities, punching himself in the head and then crying. We all knew he was an eccentric fellow but when you're punching yourself in the head, in public no less, you have to wonder what else is going on there. Losing a bag with such important items in it would put anyone in a pretty upset state. Putting aside who we're talking about I think a reaction like that definitely deviates from the norm to the point of maybe crossing the line from eccentricity to instability.
- stinkytaco 14y ago
  Running the risk of being an armchair psychologist, I think it's pretty well established that RMS likely falls somewhere on the autism spectrum, or at least has some sort of behavioral condition that leads to behavior like this, as well as his documented social quirks. Which is to say that I think he's probably mentally stable, but a bit strange by everyday standards.
  - billpatrianakos 14y ago
    But punching himself in the head? I knew Stallman was weird as we all did and that yeah, he's probably got some disorder but when he's punching himself in the head publicly you can't help but wonder if maybe we should reevaluate our faith in his ideas. Having a mental disorder does not automatically invalidate anything he's ever promoted or done but for me personally, I'd ask myself whether the next idea he promotes is coming from a place of logic or if it's his condition talking. People don't seem to really question him as it is and if there really is something more going on with him maybe that should happen more? Because people are so sensitive when talking about Stallman I have to make a disclaimer: I didn't say he's stupid or wrong or crazy. I'm just wondering how stable the guy is and his public reaction to what happened gives me just cause. I'd wonder the same thing no matter who it was.
    - swa14 14y ago
EGreg 14y ago
With so much traveling, all around the world, and dealing with thousands of people, something's bound to happen. I hope RMS has an enrypted backup of his data on his home server. It isn't that hard to do, even if you care deeply about privacy and freedom. As for the rest of the stuff ... I really hope that the organizers can obtain the medicine for him in short order. It's the least they can do. The stolen passport does slow him down, but he should contact the nearest embassy or consulate and they can help him: http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/emergencies/lostpassport/lostpassport_1197.html http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/emergencies/lostpassport... The stolen laptop sadly is unlikely to be recovered. The conference organizers should buy one for him. Does RMS actually have any money saved up, or just the bare essentials? A public figure like that should make quite a decent amount of money from speaking engagements.
- pandres 14y ago
  Most medicines have already been obtained for him. He has friends and the foundation helping him in Argentina, the main thing is the laptop.
bdcravens 14y ago
I gnu I had a great quip about his property and identity being open sourced, but can't quite put it together.
iamgilesbowkett 14y ago
really sorry to hear this. if somebody puts together some kind of fundraising thing to help him out, I'll gladly kick in.
devicenull 14y ago
That has to be perhaps the worst site ever. Without javascript enabled, the entire article is covered up by a CSS overlay telling me I need to enable javascript.. all while the actual content I want to read is behind it.

92 points by Rauchg 14y ago

Well he is not the first celebrity to get robbed in B.A. Bush daughter was visiting the city, the whole neighbourhood was crawling with CIA agents and her purse was still stolen...

mrleinad 14y ago
Maybe I'm downvoted for this, but I feel a lot worse for RMS than for Bush's daughter..
kylebrown 14y ago
The spanish article mentions that the photographer's camera was also stolen.
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molmalo 14y ago
The thing is that the UBA (University of Buenos Aires) is public, so anyone can enter their buildings. That, and the fact of having a distracted crowd, makes it a tempting target to a pickpocket. It doesn't have to be a student. It could be anyone passing, entering, grabbing something, and leaving the place before anyone notices something strange.

discore 14y ago

I can't resist wondering if RMS has brought up the licensing of his medication with his doctor, who looked at him quizzically.

asitseems 14y ago
ahahah good one!

asitseems 14y ago

if he had a chromebook he wouldn't be crying in the stairs. childish

nakkiel 14y ago
Seriously, how old are you? I've seen, read, done, ... a lot of stupid things but you beat all my expectations.

Turing_Machine 14y ago

Had his bag stolen -- glad that he's okay! Normally, though, we wouldn't call this "robbery" in English. Strictly speaking, robbery is used for a theft where force (or threat of force) is involved.

creativityhurts 14y ago
He was robbed by someone attending his talk, not mugged on the street at gun point so I don't think that "glad he's okay" is appropriate here, especially since "okay" in this case means that he's in a foreign country without passport, money and medicine. Such a shame.
- Turing_Machine 14y ago
  He wasn't "robbed" at all. He was a victim of theft. If he'd actuallyh been robbed (as the headline stated) concern for his physical well-being would be entirely appropriate. That's what I meant by my comment.
  - creativityhurts 14y ago
    Oh, I see. Mea culpa then.
Rauchg 14y ago
Turing thanks for letting me know - I adapted the title after I verified he was technically mugged.
- javert 14y ago
  I don't think it was a "mugging," either, which AFAIK is a form of robbery that happens in the street.
javert 14y ago
Thanks. I sort of almost majored in English in college (besides being a native English speaker) and didn't even realize the distinction there (i.e. "robbery" implies force).

MehdiEG 14y ago

That sucks. I would have hoped that the university / event organisers would have provided any help possible to at least get his paperwork back in order though. The article makes it sound like he was pretty much left on his own devices after the theft.

mrleinad 14y ago
Yep, he was. Although I find it difficult to think that RMS would find himself helpless and with no one around that would care for him, I do believe that the University/Event organizers couldn't care less for what happened.
- andrewcooke 14y ago
  what? any evidence (of lack of care from organisers)?
- pandres 14y ago
  He comes pretty often to latin-america and he has friends and the foundation helping him at all times. One is still to get pissed of at the amount of time and work wasted because of this.
crazy2k_ 14y ago
When I left the place, he was talking to the Faculty's security staff, and he was accompanied by people from a foundation (the one which usually organizes his events here) at all times. They said he slept well and was calm today.

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rastingerzoh 14y ago

if he trusted in the cloud he wouldn't be crying in the stairs... ahahah

mathieuh 14y ago
You made an account just to post this? This must be the most downvoted comment I've ever seen.

rdavl 14y ago

Hope he had backups...

makmanalp 14y ago

Damn, this is not nice. Maybe HN can pitch in to get him a new laptop? I'd donate a few bucks. Edit: What the heck? What's wrong with what I suggested?

chimeracoder 14y ago
It might be hard to find a Lemote Yeelong (at least the particular model he uses, which lets him use a free BIOS). Here's one, though I'm not sure if it's the correct version: http://www.lemote.com/en/products/Notebook/2010/0310/112.html http://www.lemote.com/en/products/Notebook/2010/0310/112.htm...
- makmanalp 14y ago
  From his usesthis interview: "I do hope to switch soon to a newer model of Yeelong with a 10-inch display." Also I found it on Amazon, with Prime: http://www.amazon.com/Screen-Lemote-Yeeloong-8101_B-Netbook/dp/B005XH10NQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339266888&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Screen-Lemote-Yeeloong-8101_B-Netbook/... $450. If one of the known / trusted HN elders decides to pool the money, this seems doable.
  - billpatrianakos 14y ago
    If you actually do this you'll either have to get it elsewhere or not tell him it came from Amazon. Stallman recently wrote about how we should stop supporting Amazon. I seriously wonder if he'd accept if he knew where it came from.
  - mattst88 14y ago
    The man who runs Freedom Included, Inc. (the seller of the laptop through Amazon) works at the Free Software Foundation with RMS. I don't think RMS will have trouble getting a new laptop.
  - stfu 14y ago
    I would donate to anything Stallman related anytime. But I am not quite sure if this would be in his intention. Are there any public infos about his personal/financial situation?

mrleinad 14y ago

Considering RMS a careful person, he probably had backups for all the important information. However, for a person like him, that laptop is probably much more important: he needs to get a specific laptop that respects his freedom, as that one did, so he's probably going to be a bit behind on his e-mails until he gets a proper replacement.

rastingerzoh 14y ago
the joys of cloud computing. oh wait...
- creativityhurts 14y ago
  "Most of the time I do not have an Internet connection. Once or twice or maybe three times a day I connect and transfer mail in and out. Before sending mail, I always review and revise the outgoing messages. That gives me a chance to catch mistakes and faux pas." http://richard.stallman.usesthis.com/ http://richard.stallman.usesthis.com/ Oh well. The interview is from 2010 though.
creativityhurts 14y ago
Here's his interview on The Setup where he describes his laptop and the software he uses http://richard.stallman.usesthis.com/ http://richard.stallman.usesthis.com/

brentvatne 14y ago

Something similar happened to Tom Preston Werner of Github when he was in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Conference organizers have a responsibility to emphasize the high incidence of theft and assist them however possible - most people coming from developed countries do not have experience with this type of danger. This seems like a situation that could have been avoided if someone was keeping an eye on Rms' bag.

rastingerzoh 14y ago
rms, he himself, should have kept an eye on the bag, not somebody else...
- nakkiel 14y ago
  I don't understand the downvotes. Care to explain?
  - mds 14y ago
    It appears 'rastingerzoh created an account just to troll this thread.
  - RockyMcNuts 14y ago
    It's a technical talk, not a subway car. He's a guest. It's not realistic, or hospitable, to expect him to watch his belongings while he's interacting with his audience. Plus it's a new account that's trolling.
    - javert 14y ago
      It's his responsibiity to make sure someone is watching it for him or to watch it himself, though. In the ideal case, someone would offer to watch it for him, but I'm guessing that didn't happen here. That said, I do like the idea (suggested elsewhere) of pooling some money to get him a new one right away.
  - Rauchg 14y ago
    Like I wrote, he enjoys the ritual of interacting with the audience after the talk. I think most people at this point stop looking at their stuff for a minute.

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thejerz 14y ago

Most of us have cloud backups like Mozy or Carbonite, or keep our documents in the cloud with tools like Google Docs, iCloud, or Zoho. To us, losing a laptop is an inconvenience... but not a cause for canceling future engagements. But RMS is different. He's ethically opposed to the "cloud," calling it a "trap." That is his prerogative. But you can't cry when you lose your data!!

rcthompson 14y ago
You can back up and restore your data securely over the internet using only free software on both ends, if you really want to. And if anyone knows how to do so, I'm sure RMS does. Perhaps he even has a full backup of all his important data from the stolen laptop. However, no backup, be it cloud-based or not, can get you back your stolen passport, money, or medicine. So I think you may be a bit out of line implying that RMS is crying merely over something that he could have saved if only he had been willing to compromise his deeply-held beliefs. (Even the laptop itself may have been quite difficult to obtain, since if I recall correctly, RMS uses a specific laptop that has a completely free software stack, including firmware and such.)
ebiester 14y ago
I think the larger problem, for him, is procuring another laptop that is 101% Free. I'd be surprised if he didn't have backups somewhere online, but a system he controls.
ctz 14y ago
Could you explain how to pass through immigration using a passport stored in the cloud?
- uvdiv 14y ago
  Well why not? A serious question: what's the advantage of physical identity cards over digitally-signed documents + two-factor?
nakkiel 14y ago
I host sensitive data and perform backups on my company's servers. We're renting a rack and handle the hardware ourself. All happily running on FOSS. I don't think RMS has anything wrong with that. Medicine has no backup, but you can buy some more. A passport has no backup. Fortunately, embassies can issue emergency passports, but Visas are lost. If anything, I'm sure he was not sad for his laptop.

dbbolton 14y ago

I understand that Stallman is an important figure in the software community, but this really doesn't qualify as news in my opinion. To be fair, the server went down so I can't access the article, but unless he had something really important in that bag, like the only copy of a new C compiler written from scratch, this article is just a minor inconvenience in the life of a celebrity.

babarock 14y ago
Knowing HN, it will inevitably trigger discussions about the organization of conferences. For better or worse. The article is not about rms, but about the venue where the celebrity got robbed.
nakkiel 14y ago
He had his passport. I believe he is currently traveling through South America to give FOSS talks in many universities. I believe part of the issue is that because of this very details, it puts an end to his trip which has been rough and marked by health issues. What I don't understand is why the post's author dares mentioning how RMS reacted. A bit of decency is always a nice thing to have, not to mention due respect.
- kzrdude 14y ago
  Decency? We're adults, we respect him like other humans and we can handle the real story. At least we should have the decency to.
  - nakkiel 14y ago
    You're right on your last point however the way he initially reacted didn't add anything to the story. It was the nervous reaction of a man who realized the trip he had spent days organizing was being called off because of one individual. Having personally met RMS and knowing other persons that have the same type of condition, I would say that those people need some respect in the way they handle emotions and other social artifacts. Simply throwing a verb doesn't give enough depth for a correct understanding. In that regard, it's disrespectful.

rdl 14y ago

I wonder if he'll add some basic security precautions (a locking area for his stuff while speaking) to his fairly detailed rider.

far-I 14y ago

I wonder if he had a "free software" sticker on his bag. Maybe the thief thought the bag was free also.

its_so_on 14y ago

Sorry to hear what happened. It's interesting that he was at a conference, presumably speaking about what he always speaks about. This means his bag and things were to advance his mission, which is kind of to advance a 'commons'. it nicely illustrate's RMS's philosophy (gpl). Even though he was speaking to advance the public good, a private enterprizer took his bag, removing it from the commons he worked so hard to advance. RMS's philosophy, code, and bags require the protection of law.

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pgrote 14y ago

The passport replacement is relatively easy, right? The bigger concern is the medicine. How does that work with prescription medicine outside the US? The laptop is rather unique, so if someone pawned it you would think it could be hunted down.

nakkiel 14y ago
My experience in countries that are less "developed" is that you'll get any kind of medicine you may need if you're ready to pay the price for it. I'm sure he'll be fine. Passport are simple to replace but Visas simply aren't replaced at all. He could get new Visas under no delay, unfortunately I don't think he has the right connections for that kind of "fast lane" service.

MindTwister 14y ago

On android the page is unreadable (at least in Dolphin) because of the undismissable menu.

weslly 14y ago

That's sad, even though I don't like a lot of things he say I hope he can recover it soon.

asitseems 14y ago

rms: "I use a Lemote machine which has a free initialization program and a free operating system. " lol

eta_carinae 14y ago

> Despite his controversial views on a variety of topics, his evangelism work all over the world is a true inspiration for countless people I disagree, I think his evangelism is dangerous and offensive. He goes around telling programmers that they should give their code for free and he belittles anyone who doesn't follow his advice.

floomp 14y ago
How is that dangerous or offensive? You don't have to agree with his hardfast approach on all Free Software, all the time, but I think software freedom in general is incredibly important to society and I'm glad we have someone like RMS who believes so strongly in it. Being uncompromising can be both a vice and a virtue.
tikhonj 14y ago
Except he doesn't actually care if you charge for your code. All he cares about are the rights of the consumer. Now, supporting these rights does make it somewhat more difficult to charge for your software, but it clearly isn't impossible: there are companies built around free software. Moreover, if everyone provided free software, it would actually be easier to charge money for it because you wouldn't have to compete with proprietary software and drm.
- TazeTSchnitzel 14y ago
  Exactly. Look at Canonical. They give away Ubuntu completely free, yet they make money out of selling cloud services and support.
  - masklinn 14y ago
    Even then, RMS has no problem people selling and buying software, he only cares that, once a user has acquired the software product, he can alter it (that's the "free as in freedom" part, as opposed to "free as in beer" which RMS — as far as I know — doesn't really care for). Now building a business with these constraint is not — as far as I know — a solved business model in the general case, but saying that RMS wants developers to "give their product for free" is a complete and absolute misrepresentation of his position.

eta_carinae 14y ago

> The report goes on to convey the truly heartbreaking image of a hopeless RMS sitting at the university staircase, crying. Words fail me.

billpatrianakos 14y ago

Reading about Stallman's reaction to this makes me wonder about his mental stability. "Punching himself in the head"? And cursing? Now, cursing I can understand but the picture painted in the story makes it look like Stallman was throwing a tantrum, screaming obscenities, punching himself in the head and then crying. We all knew he was an eccentric fellow but when you're punching yourself in the head, in public no less, you have to wonder what else is going on there. Losing a bag with such important items in it would put anyone in a pretty upset state. Putting aside who we're talking about I think a reaction like that definitely deviates from the norm to the point of maybe crossing the line from eccentricity to instability.

stinkytaco 14y ago
Running the risk of being an armchair psychologist, I think it's pretty well established that RMS likely falls somewhere on the autism spectrum, or at least has some sort of behavioral condition that leads to behavior like this, as well as his documented social quirks. Which is to say that I think he's probably mentally stable, but a bit strange by everyday standards.
- billpatrianakos 14y ago
  But punching himself in the head? I knew Stallman was weird as we all did and that yeah, he's probably got some disorder but when he's punching himself in the head publicly you can't help but wonder if maybe we should reevaluate our faith in his ideas. Having a mental disorder does not automatically invalidate anything he's ever promoted or done but for me personally, I'd ask myself whether the next idea he promotes is coming from a place of logic or if it's his condition talking. People don't seem to really question him as it is and if there really is something more going on with him maybe that should happen more? Because people are so sensitive when talking about Stallman I have to make a disclaimer: I didn't say he's stupid or wrong or crazy. I'm just wondering how stable the guy is and his public reaction to what happened gives me just cause. I'd wonder the same thing no matter who it was.
  - swa14 14y ago

EGreg 14y ago

With so much traveling, all around the world, and dealing with thousands of people, something's bound to happen. I hope RMS has an enrypted backup of his data on his home server. It isn't that hard to do, even if you care deeply about privacy and freedom. As for the rest of the stuff ... I really hope that the organizers can obtain the medicine for him in short order. It's the least they can do. The stolen passport does slow him down, but he should contact the nearest embassy or consulate and they can help him: http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/emergencies/lostpassport/lostpassport_1197.html http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/emergencies/lostpassport... The stolen laptop sadly is unlikely to be recovered. The conference organizers should buy one for him. Does RMS actually have any money saved up, or just the bare essentials? A public figure like that should make quite a decent amount of money from speaking engagements.

pandres 14y ago
Most medicines have already been obtained for him. He has friends and the foundation helping him in Argentina, the main thing is the laptop.

bdcravens 14y ago

I gnu I had a great quip about his property and identity being open sourced, but can't quite put it together.

iamgilesbowkett 14y ago

really sorry to hear this. if somebody puts together some kind of fundraising thing to help him out, I'll gladly kick in.

devicenull 14y ago

That has to be perhaps the worst site ever. Without javascript enabled, the entire article is covered up by a CSS overlay telling me I need to enable javascript.. all while the actual content I want to read is behind it.