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"Then what will you do, if you don't want to tell Big Brother where you are going?" RMS is right on again, as always. The problem is that the younger generatio
by michaelvkpdx 12y ago
"Then what will you do, if you don't want to tell Big Brother where you are going?"
RMS is right on again, as always. The problem is that the younger generation wants Big Brother to know everything, and that is sad and scary. One need look no further than the comments on this thread for proof.
We are not teaching our children the value of humanity, and the way that privacy creates a sense of self. "Self" is now what you make it on Twitter/Facebook/SocialNetDuJour. Sharing everything in a way that government/Facebook/Google can monitor ("Big Brother") is like breathing to the youth who've had iPhones since before puberty.
So many younger programmers think RMS is absurd. They don't even have context to understand where he comes from. RMS has been foretelling the future since the days of the GNU wars. He's an ideologue, yes, but one whose points have always been valid.
Even the term "Big Brother". It's from George Orwell's book "1984". I wonder how many younger programmers would know that.
- vezzy-fnord 12y agoI haven't really noticed any trend on "younger programmers" believing RMS is absurd. On HN, yes. But then again HN is heavily slanted towards startup culture, which typically clashes with the ideals of RMS in a lot of places. On the contrary, younger programmers benefit from and frequently use the results of RMS' activism and labor. The term "free software" did get diverted and slandered by the OSI, but other than that free software is bigger than ever. The last three sentences of yours are a plain troll.
- Igglyboo 12y ago>Even the term "Big Brother". It's from George Orwell's book "1984". I wonder how many younger programmers would know that. Probably most of them. 1984 is required reading in many highschools in america.