Years ago people spread this in social control media. Some people still spread this in YouTube. It's actually a prank against Dr. Stallman, so they're relaying misinformation to demonise an innocent man.

Summary: In a manic rush to crucify the father of Free software (who had started the GNU/Linux operating system almost 40 years ago) thousands of delirious people signed an utterly ludicrous petition (full of distortions and lies) -- a petition managed by an employee of IBM. Now, years later, some of them want their names to vanish.

THIS was probably bound to happen. Some people "grow up" later in life than others.

From my inbox this week (I'll not name the person):

Hi there!

I'm not sure if you're still an editor with Tech Rights (If you aren't, can I please be pointed in the right direction? Many thanks in advance!) anyhow, if you are still an editor, is there any way for my name to be removed from this signed list? I am plenty aware of where it came from, but I would still like to have it removed on your end if that's at all possible due to privacy issues.

Thank you so much!

I responded as follows: "The list is a public list of names of people who had themselves signed a public and open letter. They moreover had a chance to withdraw their name from it. Privacy is freedom from snooping, not a freedom from consequences for public actions."

"Think before you sign things."My uneducated guess is, some people struggle at job-seeking because of an impulsive decision to sign something which calls Richard Stallman "ableist" for believing a woman should have access to abortion. Earlier this year IBM's Red Bait fired a manager from Fedora (Ben Cotton). Upon checking, he had also signed that stupid petition.

Think before you sign things. Check what you're signing. It may take less time to check than to revoke a signature (it's not always possible). It's easier to think for a moment than to join some online mob, based on hearsay in Twitter or other social control media (misinformation hubs, which can and sometimes do redirect outrage). ⬆