[kwlug-disc] Richard Stallman announcing his return to the FSF's Board of Directors

[CrankyOldBugger]

Well said.

On Wed, 24 Mar 2021 at 12:11, Jason Eckert <jason.eckert at gmail.com> wrote:

> I totally agree (which is why I signed the letter) - here's the content of
> the letter:
>
> Richard M. Stallman, frequently known as RMS, has been a driving force in
> the free software movement for decades, with contributions including the
> GNU operating system and Emacs.
>
> Recently, there have been vile online attacks looking to remove him from
> the FSF board of directors for expressing his personal opinions. We have
> watched this happen before in an organized fashion with other prominent
> free software activists and programmers. We will not stand idly this time,
> when an icon of this community is attacked.
>
> FSF is an autonomous body that is capable of treating its members in a
> fair, unbiased fashion, and should not give in to external social
> pressures. We urge the FSF to consider the arguments against RMS
> objectively and to truly understand the meaning of his words and actions.
>
> Historically, RMS has been expressing his views in ways that upset many
> people. He is usually more focused on the philosophical underpinnings, and
> pursuing the objective truth and linguistic purism, while underemphasising
> people's feelings on matters he's commenting on. This makes his arguments
> vulnerable to misunderstanding and misrepresentation, something which we
> feel is happening in the open letter calling for his removal. His words
> need to be interpreted in this context and taking into account that more
> often than not, he is not looking to put things diplomatically.
>
> Regardless, Stallman's opinions on the matters he is being persecuted over
> are not relevant to his ability to lead a community such as the FSF.
> Furthermore, he is entitled to his opinions just as much as anyone else.
> Members and supporters do not have to agree with his opinions, but should
> respect his right to freedom of thought and speech.
>
> To the FSF:
>
> Removing RMS will hurt FSF's image and will deal a significant blow to the
> momentum of the free software movement. We urge you to consider your
> actions carefully, as what you will decide will have a serious impact on
> the future of the software industry.
>
> To the ambush mob who is ganging up on Richard Stallman over reasonable
> arguments in debate and various opinions and beliefs voiced over decades as
> a public figure:
>
> You have no part in choosing the leadership of any communities. Especially
> not via another mob attack which does not remotely resemble a fairly
> conducted debate as exemplified by better people such as Richard Stallman.
>
> On Wed, Mar 24, 2021 at 12:07 PM CrankyOldBugger <
> crankyoldbugger at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Regrettably, I think that having an opinion in this case is generally
>> frowned upon, unless you were deliberately whining about something...
>>
>> I, for one, appreciate all that RMS has done for us.
>>
>>
>> On Wed, 24 Mar 2021 at 12:03, Jason Eckert <jason.eckert at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> If you'd like to show your support for RMS being reinstated to the FSF
>>> as I have done, you can sign here:
>>> https://github.com/rms-support-letter/rms-support-letter.github.io
>>> I guess you could say it's a form of counter-cancel culture?
>>>
>>> On Tue, Mar 23, 2021 at 9:09 PM Jeff Smith <crankyoldbugger at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> And here we go again:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/03/free-software-advocates-seek-removal-of-richard-stallman-and-entire-fsf-board/
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> <https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/03/free-software-advocates-seek-removal-of-richard-stallman-and-entire-fsf-board/>
>>>> Free software advocates seek removal of Richard Stallman and entire FSF
>>>> board | Ars Technica
>>>> <https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/03/free-software-advocates-seek-removal-of-richard-stallman-and-entire-fsf-board/>
>>>> Richard Stallman's return to the Free Software Foundation's board of
>>>> directors has drawn condemnation from many people in the free software
>>>> community. An open letter signed by hundreds of people ...
>>>> arstechnica.com
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------
>>>> *From:* kwlug-disc <kwlug-disc-bounces at kwlug.org> on behalf of Jason
>>>> Eckert <jason.eckert at gmail.com>
>>>> *Sent:* 22 March 2021 16:34
>>>> *To:* KWLUG discussion <kwlug-disc at kwlug.org>
>>>> *Subject:* [kwlug-disc] Richard Stallman announcing his return to the
>>>> FSF's Board of Directors
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1373904938376466433/pu/vid/1280x720/9h9mG0K-qpfh8XFj.mp4?tag=12
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