4 ms·

It's Stallman's own title, but a much more accurate title would be "RMS Opinions" I think it's interesting for that reason though, because it doesn't say as mu

It's Stallman's own title, but a much more accurate title would be "RMS Opinions" I think it's interesting for that reason though, because it doesn't say as much about his actual lifestyle as it does what he thinks about other people. For instance: > As a matter of principle, I refuse to own a tie. Tells us more about an opinion he's made about other people. If he wanted to be more descriptive of his lifestyle, he could have said that he was aesthetically minimalist (or minimalist with accessories in general). Instead ties become a value judgement, and he sees tie-wearers as "victims" at best. In fact, though many would describe him as minimalist in lifestyle if they had to sum it up in a sentence, he doesn't use the term. This piece is really exclusively opinions. > When I wait for my baggage in an airport, I always do one of these two. And I notice the people around me, feeling anxious and getting nothing done. What a waste. His reasoning in general here seems arbitrary and condescending. If I didn't know who we were reading about beforehand I'd gander they were prone to being capricious. I wonder if we should tell him that trains run non-free software, just like phones. In general the biggest takeaway I got from this is that he seems to have a very negative view of almost all other people.

kingi 13y ago
does RMS actually use a checking account?
- misframer 13y ago
  That would be interesting to know. I'm pretty sure he only uses cash for transactions since it's easier to stay anonymous. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets compensated with briefcases filled with bills...
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
gohrt 13y ago
"I refuse to own a tie" is a fact, not an opinion. Much of the following discussion is an opinion. He's not a "minimalist", he is a freedom activist. He believes ties impinge on freedom. The passenger does not run the train software. The train owner can choose what kind of software they want to use. RMS's trains (of which he has none) do not run non-free software. RMS has thought deeply through these issues for decades, you aren't going to discredit him with 5 minutes of snark. > he seems to have a very negative view of almost all other people. And yet he dedicates his life to improving theirs, even though he could easily accumulate a few million dollars and retire. I'll take enemies like him over friends to make an effort to personally attack strangers for having a principled lifestlye, any day.
- derleth 13y ago
  > RMS has thought deeply through these issues for decades, you aren't going to discredit him with 5 minutes of snark. But he has weird personal hygiene. Certainly that invalidates one or two of his moral/philosophical points! /s
  - supergauntlet 13y ago
    Based on the comments I've seen so far I'm surprised nobody has linked the YouTube video of him eating something out of his foot.
    - Nyubis 13y ago
      For the curious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I25UeVXrEHQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I25UeVXrEHQ
- rk0567 13y ago
  Agree! I just finished reading his "speaker visit pack" - https://secure.mysociety.org/admin/lists/pipermail/developers-public/2011-October/007647.html https://secure.mysociety.org/admin/lists/pipermail/developer... what an ideal nerd :)
- valleyer 13y ago
  > RMS has thought deeply through these issues for decades, you aren't going to discredit him with 5 minutes of snark. OTOH, religion has been pondered well longer than RMS has been alive. RMS is not going to discredit the Church with 20 years of heresy.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
yason 13y ago
I think it's interesting for that reason though, because it doesn't say as much about his actual lifestyle as it does what he thinks about other people. But that's part of what makes his lifestyle his. I don't think you can have a lifestyle, much less live a life, without considering what you think about other people yourself. It's quite important, actually, because what you see in other people is a reflection of yourself. So, in effect, it tells us more about Stallman himself and Stallman's lifestyle than if he had just iterated some of his aesthetic preferences.
skore 13y ago
> > As a matter of principle, I refuse to own a tie. > Tells us more about an opinion he's made about other people. This being HN, jokes have to be pointed out. So to you - This is a joke: "The first time I visited Croatia, that country had a major PR campaign based on being the origin of the tie. ("Cravate" and "Croat" are related words.) You can imagine my distaste for this — therefore, I referred to that country as "Tieland" for a while." Come on. It's funny, lighten up.
belorn 13y ago
I quite disagree that the tie comment is guarantied to be about other people rather then personal opinion. Someone once told me that they disliked tattoos because they didn't like the idea of getting branded like people in Auschwitz or cattle on the field. Question one: Is that an opinion about tattoos, or about other people who wear tattoos? Should those people be offended? Question two: What was intended by the person who said it?
rpgmaker 13y ago
We all know that person that takes his counter-culture shtick too seriously. Hell, maybe many of us were that person at some point. I know I did although I never reached RMS-level. The difference is that regarding RMS this is consequence of his substantial and well warranted philosophy on free software and freedom in general and he has his life's work to prove it. In short, he is not doing out of self-righteousness or to be perceived "cool".

kingi 13y ago

does RMS actually use a checking account?

misframer 13y ago
That would be interesting to know. I'm pretty sure he only uses cash for transactions since it's easier to stay anonymous. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets compensated with briefcases filled with bills...

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

gohrt 13y ago

"I refuse to own a tie" is a fact, not an opinion. Much of the following discussion is an opinion. He's not a "minimalist", he is a freedom activist. He believes ties impinge on freedom. The passenger does not run the train software. The train owner can choose what kind of software they want to use. RMS's trains (of which he has none) do not run non-free software. RMS has thought deeply through these issues for decades, you aren't going to discredit him with 5 minutes of snark. > he seems to have a very negative view of almost all other people. And yet he dedicates his life to improving theirs, even though he could easily accumulate a few million dollars and retire. I'll take enemies like him over friends to make an effort to personally attack strangers for having a principled lifestlye, any day.

derleth 13y ago
> RMS has thought deeply through these issues for decades, you aren't going to discredit him with 5 minutes of snark. But he has weird personal hygiene. Certainly that invalidates one or two of his moral/philosophical points! /s
- supergauntlet 13y ago
  Based on the comments I've seen so far I'm surprised nobody has linked the YouTube video of him eating something out of his foot.
  - Nyubis 13y ago
    For the curious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I25UeVXrEHQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I25UeVXrEHQ
rk0567 13y ago
Agree! I just finished reading his "speaker visit pack" - https://secure.mysociety.org/admin/lists/pipermail/developers-public/2011-October/007647.html https://secure.mysociety.org/admin/lists/pipermail/developer... what an ideal nerd :)
valleyer 13y ago
> RMS has thought deeply through these issues for decades, you aren't going to discredit him with 5 minutes of snark. OTOH, religion has been pondered well longer than RMS has been alive. RMS is not going to discredit the Church with 20 years of heresy.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]

yason 13y ago

I think it's interesting for that reason though, because it doesn't say as much about his actual lifestyle as it does what he thinks about other people. But that's part of what makes his lifestyle his. I don't think you can have a lifestyle, much less live a life, without considering what you think about other people yourself. It's quite important, actually, because what you see in other people is a reflection of yourself. So, in effect, it tells us more about Stallman himself and Stallman's lifestyle than if he had just iterated some of his aesthetic preferences.

skore 13y ago

> > As a matter of principle, I refuse to own a tie. > Tells us more about an opinion he's made about other people. This being HN, jokes have to be pointed out. So to you - This is a joke: "The first time I visited Croatia, that country had a major PR campaign based on being the origin of the tie. ("Cravate" and "Croat" are related words.) You can imagine my distaste for this — therefore, I referred to that country as "Tieland" for a while." Come on. It's funny, lighten up.

belorn 13y ago

I quite disagree that the tie comment is guarantied to be about other people rather then personal opinion. Someone once told me that they disliked tattoos because they didn't like the idea of getting branded like people in Auschwitz or cattle on the field. Question one: Is that an opinion about tattoos, or about other people who wear tattoos? Should those people be offended? Question two: What was intended by the person who said it?

rpgmaker 13y ago

We all know that person that takes his counter-culture shtick too seriously. Hell, maybe many of us were that person at some point. I know I did although I never reached RMS-level. The difference is that regarding RMS this is consequence of his substantial and well warranted philosophy on free software and freedom in general and he has his life's work to prove it. In short, he is not doing out of self-righteousness or to be perceived "cool".