Bonum Certa Men Certa

Inside the Free Software Foundation (FSF) - Part III: Imagining an FSF Award Going to Anti-Stallman People

Free Speech and Free software



Summary: The next FSF award may be given to Richard Stallman himself; but it might also be given to a person largely responsible for 'ousting' Stallman, which would be catastrophic

IN PART ONE, part two and the introduction along with recent posts from Alex [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] we can see that there's definitely what some can describe as a "coup" -- typically a political term. It is an armed and sometimes violent takeover, rarely unarmed or amicable (there's a recent example in Bolivia).



"...we can see that there's definitely what some can describe as a "coup" -- typically a political term."Alex is apparently (now or very recently) being accused of "inciting violence" or something along those lines -- an implicit charge that tends to be made by gross exaggerations (as apparently happened at the OSI some days ago as well). We're well familiar with such tactics. Remember that some joke from Linus Torvalds (about the physical size of Greg K-H) was spun as physical threat. Nothing could be further from the truth and we saw the European Patent Office (EPO) making similar accusations against the workers' union.

But let's leave all that aside and instead focus on today's part and its key message. It's about a committee that shall soon decide if Stallman can receive an award from the FSF now that he's formally eligible.

"Remember that some joke from Linus Torvalds (about the physical size of Greg K-H) was spun as physical threat."This brings us back to LibrePlanet, which we mentioned yesterday (how it had attempted to control Stallman's speech, based on numerous sources of ours). "I was told the program had been chosen to avoid being divisive with respect to Stallman," we once heard. "Then the program was published, and people who presided over statements demanding the FSF to expel Stallman or celebrating his resignation are there, but someone who stood for Stallman isn't."

This is a bigger deal than it may sound.

"As a reminder, Bradley Kuhn whilst on the board pushed for Stallman to resign or be ousted."Stallman, we're told, "who got alone more nominations than all other nominees together for the FSF Award for the Advancement of Free Software, has not been passed on to the award committee, because he was a board member for part of the year, but Bradley Kuhn, who remained a board member for a larger part of the year, was passed on to the committee and might/could well get the award if the board doesn't take a stand to make things right. What an ugly and unfair mess!"

As a reminder, Bradley Kuhn whilst on the board pushed for Stallman to resign or be ousted. It was on his firm's Web site. Yes, we call it "firm" because that's what it is. And we learned from reliable sources that Kuhn was the author. It was a strongly-worded statement against Stallman.

If the FSF gives an award to an anti-Stallman person, what further damage can be caused to the FSF? Like they're rewarding someone for ousting their very founder!

Recent Techrights' Posts

SLAPP Censorship - Part 136 Out of 200: Lawyers That Get Paid to Mess About
They were already outnumbered and understaffed
 
The Cyber Show on the Slop Bubble
new article about the implosion of the slop bubble
Links 01/08/2026: New York Times Trying to Inflate the Slop Pyramid Scheme (at Cost to Its Own Reputation) and "Iran Appears to Be Blasting Amazon Data Centers Off the Map"
Links for the day
Positive Political Momentum
Daniel Pocock is taken seriously by many people who contact us privately
Google "AI" is Plagiarism, the Case of Richard Stallman (RMS)
Why would anyone choose LLM slop over the originals, curated and fact-checked by domain experts?
Explaining That Software Patents Are Neither Legal Nor Desirable
Many of our readers work in the legal sector
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 31, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, July 31, 2026
Gemini Links 01/08/2026: Retirement, Bike Trips, Quake Stuff, Usenet Reborn
Links for the day
Links 31/07/2026: Microsoft Now Says Slop is Bad (LinkedIn Cracks Down on It), LinkedIn Narrows Down Size (No Expansion)
Links for the day
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: From Alicante to Munich: Another Smooth Ride
Campinos is intent on transforming what was originally envisaged as a temporary public office into his own permanent personal feather-bed
Daniel Pocock and the Important Observation About Threats of Cult-Like Behaviours (No Rationality, No Reason, Just "Mob Rule")
It's a threat to Europe's sovereignty
The "PIP Parade" of IBM's Lousy Management, Which Said "Blockchain" Was the Future
In a healthy company such a CEO would be punished for utterly wrong visions and predictions. Not at IBM...
SLAPP Censorship - Part 135 Out of 200: Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) That Does Not Disclose Financial Activities Before August
It certainly looks like they keep losing the remaining women that still exist in the firm
Links 31/07/2026: "Climate Cover-Up Continues" and Pesticides "Cook the Planet"
Links for the day
Datacentre 'Boom' Sceptics Aren't Luddites, They Recognise a Threat to Human Survival (Not Limited to Climate Change)
Archaeologists very well know that no species will survive forever
Microsoft's Claims Are Based on a Big Lie
the bubble is coming to its hard limits
Don't Lose Sight of the Impact of "End of 10" (Vista 10)
GNU/Linux has taken off fast
Microsoft's Debt Continues to Steadily Increase, Not Counting Hundreds of Billions in Secret/Hidden Debt
The mass layoffs will carry on, maybe labelled LITE
IBM is Circling Down the Drain, the 'Growth' Comes From Beancounting Tricks and Salary Cuts
IBM was down 2.17% yesterday
Microsoft's "Headcount" Distracts From How Big a Cull It Had This Month
It also speaks of numbers "[a]s of June 30" though the "buyouts" were effective July 1 and since then well over 10,000 workers have vanished
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 30, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, July 30, 2026
Gemini Links 31/07/2026: Music, Journaling, and Longing
Links for the day
More Fake News From (and for) IBM, Nobody Ever Held Accountable for Fraud
Companies that turn a blind eye to their own corruption end up recruiting more corrupt people and sacking those who object to the corruption
Links 30/07/2026: Smol Document Server and More PalmOS-ing
Links for the day
Links 30/07/2026: Microsoft Refuting Its Own Slop Hype and "Amazon Is Gutting Its Hey Hi (AI) Division" (GAFAM Bubble)
Links for the day
Today The Register MS Published "AI" Spam and Fake Article by "Senior Technical Marketing Engineer"
unethical practices
Cult inquiry parliament leak fallout
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Techrights Will Always Protect Sources
Our #1 priority is sources
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Legal Concerns and Suspicions of Irregularities
complaints submitted to OLAF
The Era of Silence
So stay silent, remain hidden
GAFAM and IBM Dying in Massive Debt, Hence the Mass Layoffs (Increasingly Silent Layoffs That the Media Fails to Mention)
the integrity of this economy is only as good as its leaders or those who govern the market
TheLayoff.com Deletes Comment That Called IBM's Previous CEO, Ginni Rometty, "Gin 'n Tonic"
It is hard to believe the comment was deleted for being a duplicate (in another thread)
The Mainstream Media Continues to Overlook or Intentionally Ignore Hundreds of Billions in Hidden/Secret Microsoft Debt
the issue is that Microsoft's crisis is a lot greater and broader than this
SLAPP Censorship - Part 134 Out of 200: What "Majority Rules" Tell Us About the Litigant
we press on with this series
Overshoot Day Sites That Contribute to the Problem
Some of these are not even accessible (at all) without JavaScript
Microsoft May Have Gotten Rid of 8% of Its Workforce This Month
It's hard to know what's really going on because there's no transparency due to NDAs
Links 30/07/2026: "Age of Irrationality", Google Losing Money, and "House of Ellison is on the Brink"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/07/2026: Homeworlds Notes and Manuscript Submitted
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 29, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 29, 2026