Can you name a few of these luminaries to see what we've lost?

Most of what I've heard about Stallman are social attacks from autistic mean girls with zero self awareness.

Quite extreme words to provide no reference supporting them.

I've met and hung out quite a bit with Stallman (as part of a conference organizers group) in the early 2000s and he wasn't the most self aware person when it came to social situations. He is very socially awkward. Everything I've read so far has seemed plausible, although I would also agree that it seems to be blown out of proportion. He is one of the kindest persons I've met, very idealistic, and a captivating personality. It's just super socially awkward being around him. Sometimes straight up uncomfortable.

Do they still use the term socially awkward to describe nerdy people who work in IT? I thought it was quite on point, at least back in the days.

I'm not sure tbh (English being my second language), but I guess I would? I mean, we were all very young and very nerdy and thought it was pretty cool to be having dinner with RMS himself. Still, by our nerdy standards, he stood out as being a bit awkward – perhaps partly due to the language and cultural differences (even though he spoke pretty decent Spanish).

Maybe he is on the spectrum. I probably am, although I have never bothered with a diagnosis.