Give Students User Freedom

Re:Give Students User Freedom by steviedotboston on Wednesday February 03, 2021 @11:32AM (#26015319)

Yeah, this is a big problem with the ideology that the FSF pushes. They make it out to be that "freedom" (how they define it, that is) is the only criteria on which to make technical decisions. In the real world that doesn't work, and there are a number of other factors to consider.

For example, would it be a better choice for a school to choose to use a free software tool over something proprietary even though the proprietary one has better accessibility support for disabled students? RMS would probably say "yes" because he doesn't care about people, but anyone with a half-working moral compass is able to realize that accessibility is more important that being able to modify the source code in this situation.

I think the FSF would have a much better time rehabilitating their image after the RMS/Epstein shitshow by pivoting away from their uncompromising position (which lets be honest, was just RMS bullying people into parroting) towards one that encourages people to consider software freedom one very important aspect on which to make decisions, but not the only one.

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Re:Give Students User Freedom by freedomben on Wednesday February 03, 2021 @11:45AM (#26015509)

You lost your credibility in my eyes with this:

> RMS would probably say "yes" because he doesn't care about people

That's a ridiculously uncharitable thing to say, especially about a person who has spent their life advocating for people's rights. Just because you don't agree with the philosophy, doesn't mean that those who do are uncaring, immoral, or anything like that.

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Re:Give Students User Freedom by steviedotboston on Wednesday February 03, 2021 @05:52PM (#26020299)

RMS's personal behavior over the past 35+ years has clearly demonstrated he does not care about other people's feelings. He is rude and insulting, and when this is pointed out to him he becomes defensive and digs himself in deeper.

Look at the whole Epstein mess he got himself into. He said something that was obviously offensive and when people criticized him for his he didn't apologize, he just insisted that he was right and what he said couldn't possibly be offensive.

This isn't anything new. Look at his response from 1993 to a colleague who announce the birth of a new baby. http://www.art.net/studios/hackers/hopkins/Don/text/rms-vs-d...

I think its fair to say his capacity for empathy is severely lacking and that has a profound impact on the ideology the FSF advocates for.

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Re:Give Students User Freedom by simiones on Wednesday February 03, 2021 @11:53AM (#26015623)

RMS has spent his life advocating for a very particular right - the right to free software. I'm not sure he cares about other rights, like disabled people's rights to access technology, when they are in conflict with his preferred core right.

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Re:Give Students User Freedom by freedomben on Wednesday February 03, 2021 @11:55AM (#26015665)

> I'm not sure he cares about other rights, like disabled people's rights to access technology, when they are in conflict with his preferred core right.

What makes you think that? Do you have any evidence to support that or is just a gut feeling or something?

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Re:Give Students User Freedom by crazypython on Wednesday February 03, 2021 @11:57AM (#26015696)

> What makes you think that? Do you have any evidence to support that or is just a gut feeling or something?

https://www.stallman.org/ shows his activism against all kinds of human rights violations

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Re:Give Students User Freedom by steviedotboston on Wednesday February 03, 2021 @05:53PM (#26020307)

I wouldn't call posting links on his shitty homepage to Guardian articles at 4am "activism"

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Re:Give Students User Freedom by Zak on Wednesday February 03, 2021 @12:02PM (#26015789)

I think it's probably more fair to say that RMS considers the long-term issue of software freedom more important than the short-term issue of a particular piece of non-free software being more usable or accessible right now. One can hold such a position without having a broken moral compass, and one can disagree with it, as I do without believing those who hold it are of bad character.

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