Date: Thu, 13 May 1999 22:57:58 +1000 From: Stephen McKay <syssgm@detir.qld.gov.au> To: freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Cc: Stephen McKay <syssgm@detir.qld.gov.au> Subject: Re: Richard Stallman came to town Message-ID: <199905131257.WAA13394@nymph.detir.qld.gov.au> In-Reply-To: <4.2.0.37.19990512112347.00c48300@localhost> from Brett Glass at "Wed, 12 May 1999 11:28:50 -0600" References: <4.2.0.37.19990512112347.00c48300@localhost>
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On Wednesday, 12th May 1999, Brett Glass wrote: >Sorry, but it sounds as if you've bought Stallman's line of propaganda >rather than what he really thinks. These come out better in a one-on-one >conversation. He really does bear malice toward anyone who seeks to >profit from intellectual property, and often states his intent to destroy >that with which he does not agree. He has merely honed his public message >to produce the desired effect on an audience, like a corrupt preacher >who preaches charity and chastity but then embezzles from the collection >plate and has illicit affairs. I can only report my first-hand observations. As a number of people have written, some of his personal habits are disconcerting, almost bizarre. But that did not stop me listening to what he said. What he said was very close to the software version of "Love thy neighbour", and if he secretly harbours a desire to destroy anyone, that did not come through in the slightest. He distinguished his position from everyone in a quite pedantic way, and argued against them, but never simply bad mouthed them. In some sense it doesn't matter if he has secret destructive urges as I won't be acting on things he didn't say, and the things he did say can be evaluated on their merits. I am glad that I've had this opportunity to hear his words directly without editorial tinkering or the addition of another person's spin. Another reason I'm not that concerned is that I can't see GNU destroying proprietary software. At best we will be able to maintain a useful bubble of free software (GPL and non-GPL) against a sea of non-free software. The "maniacal" leader of half of a small bit of something might cause a little trouble, but he will not be the main problem for many people. To those who fear Stallman like communism, you should relax! Communism makes bad economic sense, but unrestrained capitalism is fatal as well. I'm happy to see someone trying their hardest to keep our version of capitalism from becoming total capitalism. And I'm even happier knowing he'll never succeed in killing it entirely. Remember that it's the dictatorship in conjunction with the bad economics of communism that caused the suffering. A democracy in charge of mostly-capitialism is the best social system that I know of, but total capitalism is incompatible with democracy. Stallman is encouraging people to act based on non-monetary motivations. It's good to have some of that. And finally, thanks to those who liked my report! I tried to preserve the flavour of meeting such a controversial figure. But I don't think you need be concerned about a repeat performance, unless perhaps I am visited by Jordan, or the Pope, or maybe the Queen. Stephen. PS I'm sorry I started another GPL vs BSD flame war. Forgive me... To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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