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75 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
75 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
---
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layout: signed
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title: An open letter in support of Richard M. Stallman
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description: An open letter in support of Richard Matthew Stallman being reinstated by the Free Software Foundation
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image: /assets/social-media-preview.png
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locale: en_US
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twitter:
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card: summary_large_image
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---
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2021-03-23
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Richard M. Stallman, frequently known as RMS,
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has been a driving force in the free software
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movement for decades, with contributions including
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the GNU operating system and Emacs.
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Recently, there have been vile online attacks
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looking to remove him from the FSF board of directors
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for expressing his personal opinions. We have watched
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this happen before in an organized fashion with other
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prominent free software activists and programmers.
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We will not stand idly this time, when an icon
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of this community is attacked.
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FSF is an autonomous body that is capable of treating
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its members in a fair, unbiased fashion, and should not
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give in to external social pressures. We urge the
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FSF to consider the arguments against RMS objectively
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and to truly understand the meaning of his words and actions.
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Historically, RMS has been expressing his views in ways
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that upset many people. He is usually more focused on the
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philosophical underpinnings, and pursuing the objective
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truth and linguistic purism, while underemphasising people's
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feelings on matters he's commenting on. This makes his arguments
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vulnerable to misunderstanding and misrepresentation, something
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which we feel is happening in the open letter calling for his removal.
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His words need to be interpreted in this context and
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taking into account that more often than not,
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he is not looking to put things diplomatically.
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Regardless, Stallman's opinions on the matters
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he is being persecuted over are not relevant to
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his ability to lead a community such as the FSF.
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Furthermore, he is entitled to his opinions just
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as much as anyone else. Members and supporters do not
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have to agree with his opinions, but should respect
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his right to freedom of thought and speech.
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**To the FSF:**
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Removing RMS will hurt FSF's image and will deal
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a significant blow to the momentum of the free software movement.
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We urge you to consider your actions carefully,
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as what you will decide will have a serious impact
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on the future of the software industry.
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**To the ambush mob who is ganging up on Richard Stallman over
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reasonable arguments in debate and various opinions and beliefs
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voiced over decades as a public figure:**
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You have no part in choosing the leadership of any communities.
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Especially not via another mob attack which does not remotely
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resemble a fairly conducted debate as exemplified
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by better people such as Richard Stallman.
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To sign, please [submit a pull
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request](https://github.com/rms-support-letter/rms-support-letter.github.io/pulls).
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To sign without using Github, you can:
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- Send a signed patch to [signrms@prog.cf](mailto:signrms@prog.cf)
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- Or to [~tyil/rms-support@lists.sr.ht](mailto:~tyil/rms-support@lists.sr.ht).
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- Or add your signature here: [https://codeberg.org/rms-support-letter/rms-support-letter/issues/1](https://codeberg.org/rms-support-letter/rms-support-letter/issues/1)
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