Double standards
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| magice Jul 22, 2009 9:50 AM EDT |
Sometimes, I don't really know what people think when they are all-out against Boycott Novell. Many of them, to be sure, pledge alliance with either Linux, GNU, Free Software, or Open Source. And, curiously, they start to fire against the very people speaking for those concepts. Apparently, it is totally acceptable to accuse the founder of the FOSS movement of sexist due to like 10 words in an hour long speech. Heck, even if he spoke loudly against sexism, to a point in which I have never seen anyone actually reach it (like how he denied a role for women in Free Software; no one ever mentions that if you specify a role for women, you are being unconsciously sexist, but he did). It is totally acceptable to post his personal email, then go on and joke about how he should expect no privacy. It is totally acceptable to ridicule him with all kind of name calling and worst title in the world. But it is NOT okay to point out that technology evangelists are spoiling our technology. Trying to point that out means being a troll, being impolite, being rude, being cancer, being anything bad in the world. And the person carrying out such painful role is perfectly evil, deserves the same treatment as Mr. Stallman. Those two, together with anyone with sympathy to them, deserve no respect whatsoever, and is good target for accusing. Oh, it seems I forgot the titles of Socialist and Communist, highest public punishment in the US. My bad. How many people have accused Free Software movement as such, RMS as such, again? How many of them actually understand what the heck those terms mean? Well, in the end of the day, slavery is a good thing. To submit yourself, you money, your computer, your data, your information, (soon) you identity to an all-powerful entities is convenient. Stupidity and ignorance are bliss. Freedom means painful; truth is bitter. Money is all that matters. |
| tuxchick Jul 22, 2009 10:16 AM EDT |
Thanks magic, well said.Quoting:But it is NOT okay to point out that technology evangelists are spoiling our technology. Indeed, it seems that way. Ignoring RMS' decades of service and achievements, and blowing up a few words from his well-worn comedy routine, which parodies religion, into a full-blown attack on his character is such an obvious tactic to try to discredit him I'm surprised that anyone would fall for it. As for Roy, yeah, he leaves himself wide open. It's a lot easier to attack him as a loony than to make the various legal documents and other papers he has posted that document MS' dirty deeds go away. |
| Libervis Jul 22, 2009 10:57 AM EDT |
I agree with you actually, with some exceptions. First, BN went overboard. There is sure lots of interesting material and interesting evidence, but there seems to be just as much conjecture and paranoia which would balance out the good stuff. The starting assumption, that MS is evil and everything they do is ultimately harmful, seems like one they aren't interested in re-examining any further, ever. For example, the common objection to some of the things MS does that actually in some way contribute Linux is that MS are doing that solely for their own self interest. Well, duh, what do you expect? Everything anyone does they ultimately do out of their own self interest.. It's supposed to be read as a negative point, but it's in fact completely moot. One should cheer on the fact that MS has it in their interest to do something positive for Linux. It means Linux is just that important! But the attitude at BN seems so bent on negativity that one can already know what their reaction to such news is going to be before you even go to the site. You know they're gonna make it into a yet another vile attempt by "M$" to subvert the mythical "community". Secondly, freedom is important, but too many Free Software supporters are at best attacking a red herring or a straw men while thinking they're fighting against slavery and oppression. Corporations aren't the all-powerful entities. If they were there wouldn't be a multitude of them. All-powerful means a single monopoly with the power to control all others... Meanwhile their views come down to "my way or high way" rather than true freedom. The best a FOSS supporter can do for freedom is to increase the awareness of choice every individual has, not to attack the user as soon as he makes the purportedly "wrong" choice. |
| gus3 Jul 22, 2009 11:33 AM EDT |
The problem with RMS is that he shrouds his Free Software evangelism in terms and concepts which appear designed to offend his audience, even those who support his promotion of Free Software. Rule #1 of public presentations: know your audience. Not only does he not know his audience, he refuses to take the time to learn. He's been told before that he stepped on people's toes, even those of his hosts who were gracious enough to invite him and provide his room and board during his stay. Last year, he made a point of denigrating the Catholicism of his hosts in South America. http://www.linux.com/archive/feature/118726 I suppose he can get a mark for at least waiting until he was out of the country to publish his swipe at them. His long-standing, overt hostility toward others' faiths, in gatherings convened for other purposes, does nothing to promote Free Software. If anything, it interferes with the efforts of others who are trying to work towards the same goal. |
| bigg Jul 22, 2009 12:13 PM EDT |
Quoting:Sometimes, I don't really know what people think when they are all-out against Boycott Novell. Quoting:curiously, they start to fire against the very people speaking for those concepts. My opposition to BN is the war against FOSS. Look at some of the pure garbage written about gnome, for instance. If you attack legitimate FOSS projects, you're an enemy, no different from Microsoft. I don't care in any way, shape, or form about Microsoft. If he posts lies in the future about Microsoft, I don't care. He crossed a line with some of his postings about FOSS projects. What he has done does not qualify as criticism. I and many others criticize all the time, that's different. |
| bigg Jul 22, 2009 12:14 PM EDT |
Quoting:Apparently, it is totally acceptable to accuse the founder of the FOSS movement of sexist due to like 10 words in an hour long speech. Please keep the conversation on BN. Don't try to link this to criticism of RMS. |
| tracyanne Jul 22, 2009 4:53 PM EDT |
Roy may have all these wonderful documents, unfortunately he has destroyed any credibility he could have. The flow on effect is that those documents get ignored, and possibly their credibility is also destroyed, because of the antics that destroyed Roy's credibility. |
| dinotrac Jul 24, 2009 1:27 PM EDT |
TA has hit the nail partly ... Roy has lost a lot of credibility, but also his utility. There is such a thing as signal to noise, and when that ratio gets too low, the usefulness of the signal collapses. |
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