15 lines
4.1 KiB
Markdown
15 lines
4.1 KiB
Markdown
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# Richard Stallman
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The great doctor Richard Matthew Stallman (RMS, born 1953 in New York) is one of the biggest figures in software history, inventor of [free software](free_software.md), founder of the [GNU project](gnu.md), [free software foundation](fsf.md), a great [hacker](hacking.md) and the author of a famous text editor [emacs](emacs.md).
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Stallman's life along with free software's history is documented by a free-licensed book named *Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software* on which he collaborated. You can get it for free e.g. at [Project Gutenberg](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5768). You should read this!
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As [anarchists](anarchism.md) we of course despise the idea of worshiping people, creating heroes and cults of personalities, but the enormous historical significance of Stallman has to be stressed as a plain and simple fact. Even though in our days his name is overshadowed in the mainstream by rich businessman and creators of commercially successful technology and even though we ourselves disagree with Stallman on some points, in the future history may well see Stallman as perhaps the greatest man of the software era, and rightfully so. Stallman isn't a mere creator of a commercially successful software product, he is literally as important as the great philosophers of ancient Greece -- he brilliantly foresaw the course of history and quickly defined ethics needed for the new era of mass available programmable computers, and not only that, he also basically alone established this ethics as a standard IN SPITE of all the world's corporations fighting back. He is also extremely unique in not pursuing self interest, in TRULY living his own philosophy, dedicating his whole life to his cause and refusing to give in even partially. All of this is at much higher level than simply becoming successful and famous within the contemporary capitalist system, his life effort is pure, true and timeless, unlike things achieved by pieces of shit such as [Steve Jobs](steve_jobs.md).
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Regarding [software](software.md) Stallman has for his whole life strongly and tirelessly promoted free software and [copyleft](copyleft.md) and has himself only used such software; he has always practiced what he preched and led the best example of how to live without [proprietary](proprietary.md) software. This is amazing. Nevertheless he isn't too concerned about [bloat](bloat.md) (judging by the GNU software and his own creation, [emacs](emacs.md)) and he also doesn't care that much about [free culture](free_culture.md) (some of his written works prohibit modification and his GNU project allows proprietary non-functional data). Sadly he has also shown signs of being a [type A fail](fail_ab.md) personality by writing about some kind of newspeak "*gender neutral language*" and by seeming to be caught in a [fight culture](fight_culture.md) (e.g. by supporting copyleft). Nevertheless he definitely can't be accused of populism as he basically tells what he considers to be the truth no matter what, and he is very consistent in this. Some of his unpopular opinions brought him a lot of trouble, e.g. the wrath of SJWs in 2019 for his criticism of the [pedo](pedophile.md) witch hunt.
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He is a weird guy, having been recorded on video eating dirt from his feet before giving a lecture. In the book *Free as in Freedom* he admits he might be autistic. Nevertheless he's pretty smart, has magna cum laude degree in physics from Harvard, 10+ honorary doctorates, fluently speaks English, Spanish and French and has many times proven his superior programming skills (even though he later stopped programming to fully work on promoting the FSF).
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Stallman has a beautifully minimalist website http://www.stallman.org where he actively comments on current news and issues. He also made the famous free software song (well, only the lyrics, the melody is taken from a Bulgarian folk song Sadi Moma).
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In 2019 Stallman was [cancelled](cancel_culture.md) by [SJW](sjw.md) fascists for merely commenting rationally on the topic of child sexuality following the Epstein scandal. He resigned from the position of president of the FSF but continues to support it.
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