The same could be said about most pieces of technology. If emacs disappeared tomorrow the HN server would probably be crushed under the weight of angsty develop

The same could be said about most pieces of technology. If emacs disappeared tomorrow the HN server would probably be crushed under the weight of angsty developers but stuff would still keep happening. It's not like GNU developed the first C compiler or text editor either, Stallman seems to believe the priority should be on developing free alternatives to things that have already been made (i.e the risk taken) by a proprietary company. This is reflected in the FSF "high priority" list: http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/priority-projects/ http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/priority-projects/ If you want a Star Trek future you need to develop all the little pieces of technology that are required incrementally.