Re: [vox] Stallman on Slashdot

[Rod Roark <rod@sunMAPSsetsystems.com>]

Well sure, RMS gets to decide how he'll spend his time and
under what conditions.

And the rest of us get to decide what we think of him.  :-)

My view: I respect Stallman's contributions, but I'm gonna 
call it Linux.  It's easier to say than GNU/Linux, it's the 
commonly accepted label, and so it lets me finish a 
sentence without distracting from whatever point I want to 
make.

Also I think RMS's request that LUGs change their names in
return for his presence is offensive.  Sure he has the right
to ask, but it's still tacky.

-- Rod
   http://www.sunsetsystems.com/

On Tuesday 21 May 2002 10:03 am, Rick Moen wrote:
> Quoting Eric Engelhard (eric_cl@pacbell.net):
> > Not coercive, but presumptuous as hell.
>
> It's presumptuous to say "If you do foo, I'll come speak.  If you don't,
> I won't"?  I must say, I don't understand.
>
> Are you under the impression that the man is a public utility?  If not,
> why is it "presumptuous" for him to set conditions for what he's willing
> to do with his free time?
>
> > Instead he demands that SIGs concede on the issue and alter their
> > identity prior to his arrival.
>
> Words like "demands" in this context are a bit emotionally unbalanced,
> or at least severely lacking in the perspective one associates with a
> sane outlook:  Putting a gun to your forehead would make it a demand.
> Saying "I won't come speak unless you do foo" cannot be reasonably
> termed a demand.
>
> > I don't believe it is as pure as that. I think it is far more likely
> > that Stallman receives more speaking requests than he can field.
>
> If so, what makes this "pure"?  More to the point, what possible
> relevance does "purity" have to the foregoing discussion?  Even more to
> the point, what the hell are you doing second-hand-guessing the man's
> motives?  That's not only tacky, but also irrelevant to the subject
> under discussion.
>
> > Is he under the illusion that this is helping GNU?
>
> Is there some special reason why you feel a need to change the subject?
>
> The point is:  Even if he said he'd only troop all the way to hell and
> gone over to Texas to speak to SIGLINUX only if they changed their name
> to the League of Red-Headed, Left-Handed, Esperanto Teachers, that is
> neither "coercive" nor "presumptuous".  Neither you, Joe Barr, SIGLINUX,
> or anyone else besides Mr. Stallman have much business expressing
> opinions on conditions he imposes for travelling to speak to groups,
> unless and until you either hire him or are declared his mommy.

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