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Re: [LI] Message from RMS.



On Fri, 3 Dec 1999, Arun Sharma wrote:

> RMS and the GNU project have a very explicit agenda to be uncooperative
> with closed source commercial entities with the goal of completely replacing
> them with GPL'ed software (Note: this is not the same as free software). 

I hate to use this term here, but the approach by RMS and his followers is
starkly communistic - not in the Marxian way, but in the "use the idealogy
of communism to control and achieve one's goal" way used by Russia and
East Germany.

Invoking the holy name of GPL everytime someone makes/talks money is a
sure-fire way of killing the concept altogether. There are realities that
are at work here, and GPL isn't playing the game by the rules.

To top that, the "hippo-crazy" [sic] angle is strong, too. Even RMS had no
hassles with accepting money for his work (ironically part-sponsored by
Microsoft), yet brutally mauls anyone who remotely stands a chance of
making a bit of money with his work. And he drives people who lack a cause
of their own into a frenzy, which results in posts of the type we get
subjected to every 3 months or so (dependent on the phase of the moon and
other things, I guess).

I see no sense at all in this approach. The whole idea behind OpenSource
is the liberal-minded attitude that goes with it. GPL and RMS's
strife-riddled, politically motivated "comments" on how the industry
should evolve (in his own way of thinking) is turning away far too many
people for comfort.

RMS seems to be hellbent on making Linux the bad boy, while at the same
time desperately trying to latch onto the evergrowing popularity of Linux.
What stops him from *finally* getting Hurd into a usable shape so that he
can have his own "free" kernel?

While it is true that Linux distros are built around GPL'd software, I
should also point out that many of the people who wrote the software and
GPL'd it were unaware of the politics associated with GPL, and how their
work would be used to fight a bloody civil ware against their own people.

A classic example of the damage being done is Ragoo's post - a mindless
parroting of ideology without caring two hoots about the disruption and
confusion being caused, or who gets hurt. "To make an omelette, you have
to break eggs" seems to be the accepted approach - one that implies an
uncaring attitude as well as an agenda.

RMS's stand *used* to be (this may have changed) that software should be
free, services should be charged. Noble in concept, but how does that
relate to Ragoo's comments on people paying Rs.60 for food at a ILUG meet?
It is this kind of mindless application of one's "religion" to something
completely unrelated that completely disrupts an otherwise highly
co-operative community such as Linux India. The same applies to arguments
defending an openly political post talking about "GNU/Linux" by saying it
was technical in nature.

I do not normally post something like this, and I know that someone is
already filling the tanks of his flamethrower in preperation of roasting
my butt, but I am *SICK* of such uncaring, disruptive and frankly mindless
posts as friend Ragoo chose to unleash on the poor unsuspecting Linux
newbies in Linux India. Who needs the Blue Screen FUD Brigade when we can
destroy ourselves this way, all on our own?

Atul

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Atul Chitnis       | achitnis@xxxxxxxxxxx (PGP:6011BCB8)
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