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A comment on Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing. Parent comment

Re:Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing by its_so_on on Saturday April 07, 2012 @09:26AM (#3810792)
could you estimate for me how much it would cost ycombinator-backed companies if the Free software they used did not feel the need (promoted by zealots like him) to be free? How many of these companies could not exist at all?

Look at your stack. How much of the software in it are you paying for, and how much is RMS's zealotry paying for? Did you contribute anything yourself to that stack? I think you should send RMS a paycheck and some hemp, to keep doing what he's doing.

pedantic point. a lot of open source isn't Free in RMS's terms, but he does promote the whole open source movement as a whole, despite being to the left of some of it.

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Re:Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing by olalonde on Saturday April 07, 2012 @01:26PM (#3811432)
> a lot of open source isn't Free in RMS's terms, but he does promote the whole open source movement as a whole

You are wrong.

"I do not advocate open source [...]" - Richard Stallman

See: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/09/15/rms_why_open_source_...

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Re:Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing by its_so_on on Saturday April 07, 2012 @07:39PM (#3812480)
sorry, reading what I wrote I can see I didn't phrase my pedantic point correctly - I included it for just such a comment as yours!

What I meant to say is that he doesn't endorse non-Free OSS. But he does end up "promoting" it however (not purposefully), DESPITE being stricter/more to the left than it.

I guess rather than promote I should have said help or aid. If he didn't do what he did the open source movement wouldn't be as strong. He's insane and too left, but his being there helps the whole floss movement, even the parts he disagrees with on principle.

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Re:Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing by olalonde on Saturday April 07, 2012 @08:41PM (#3812615)
I see what you mean. He does promote open source although it might not be his intention.
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Re:Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing by tedunangst on Saturday April 07, 2012 @10:45AM (#3810991)
You're asking a hypothetical that can't be answered, but it's based on the (very faulty, imo) premise that a world without Stallman would not have any free software. Open source was (and would be) alive and well without him.
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Re:Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing by pessimizer on Saturday April 07, 2012 @11:19AM (#3811086)
>Open source was (and would be) alive and well without him.

You're making a assertion with no evidence or argument, and using it as a premise to dismiss a rhetorical question.

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