Re: [LI] Message from RMS.

[Raj Mathur <raju@xxxxxxx>]

Uh, I don't really see the connection between Ragoo's post and your
diatribe against GPL and RMS.

I'd understand your stand on hypocracy if RMS has been commissioned by
MS to write some proprietary software for them.  As it was, it was
money which had nothing to do with software (or RMS' selling out of
the GPL), and anyone would be well within their rights to accept money
for their ``contributitons'' to the growth of the computer industry.

Please don't twist facts around or give only half the facts to make
your arguments sound more convincing.  No one screams about anything
when you make money.  What /is/ appalling is the hypocrisy on the
other side of the fence, things like Sun's Community Public License,
where people pay lip service to be perceived as contributing to the
Free Software paradigm which retaining as much of their proprietary
control over the software as they can.

Which reminds, where can I downlaod the source of that BBS package you 
wrote from? ;)

BTW, just because people re- and mis-interpret a religion doesn't mean 
that the originator of the religion was talking through his hat.
Enough crimes have been committed in the name of just about any major
religion you care to name, but no one comes out and says that (e.g.)
Christ or the Buddha was talking throrugh their hats.  Do not pass the 
sins of the followers onto the leaders.

Regards,

-- Raju

>>>>> "Atul" == Atul Chitnis <achitnis@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes:

    Atul> 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).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Atul> Atul

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