Who do you trust? IBM or RMS?

Summary: People who work for (or receive funding from) Nazi-associated IBM are still trying to turn the work/legacy of Richard Stallman (RMS) into dust/ashes

REMOVE RMS

Kick him in the S Monopolies we bless By manufacturing a mess

"GPL cremated for fun"Cancel the leader Our sponsors are much bigger Our legitimacy so meager Our boss did a "hail Hitler"

Join our petition Microsoft hosting the mission We need more attrition Anecdotal tales for friction

FSF begone Until then our job ain't done GPL cremated for fun It's the sharing we strive to shun ⬆

"The raising of voices in conversation does not have a context independent or culturally universal emotional valence. For some it is normal and expected. For some it borders on a taboo. Taking the complaint about RMS raising his voice at face value: it borders on antisemitism. [...] This doesn't mean that RMS or anyone has free reign to be a constant holy terror, always screaming and yelling, but that is not what I ever saw RMS do and is not what any of the complainers have said he does. Raised voices among friends and allies typify some cultural backgrounds—including mine, ironically enough. It can, when in those cultural contexts, a bit creepy if someone does not communicate this way. One asks: what is that quiet person hiding from us? Interruption is a similarly culturally variable communication style. In some cultures I mix in, it is expected and is often a sign of engagement with what one is saying - silence comes off as rude / checked out. In other cultures, the opposite—interruption—is not allowed. In a multi-cultural world, we should all be tolerant and flexible in our communication styles. (RMS, meanwhile, is being made to do the limbo by people who think they get to define the One True Civil Converstation [sic] Style. Flexibility in style is a two-way street, chums.) None of this means that people making complaints have invalid feelings that should be ignored. Of course not. But it does mean that the particular demands against RMS, and the relentless character assassination, need to stop. Lastly, neither Deb nor any of us is qualified to assess whether or not a single person, RMS in this case, “drives people away from the movement” on balance. That's an incredibly arrogant assertion that centers one own cultural expectations and projects them onto an entire planet of people. Can we end the pointless debate of such assertions once and for all?"

--Thomas Lord (former FSF staff)