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RMS Replies to "The Stallman Factor"

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the ongoing-entertainment dept.

Ryan Amos writes "RMS has replied to the article "The Stallman Factor," as posted on Slashdot about a week ago. In specific, his replies deal with the University of Texas SIGLinux naming fiasco and Bitkeeper. As always with RMS, an interesting read."

5 of 867 comments (clear)

  1. Stallman is right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    He may be a pain in the ass, but he is right.

  2. Re:RMS... by distributed.karma · · Score: 0, Troll

    RMS is an OSShole. The black hole that sucks all OSS and declares $it GNU/$it.

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    If you moderate this, then your children will be next.

  3. Whoa! Linux isn't GPL!!! by CProgrammer98 · · Score: 1, Troll
    According to Stallman..

    The Linux sources themselves have an even more serious problem with non-free software: they actually contain some. Quite a few device drivers contain series of numbers that represent firmware programs to be installed in the device. These programs are not free software. A few numbers to be deposited into device registers are one thing; a substantial program in binary is another. The presence of these binary-only programs in "source" files of Linux creates a secondary problem: it calls into question whether Linux binaries can legally be redistributed at all. The GPL requires "complete corresponding source code," and a sequence of integers is not the source code. By the same token, adding such a binary to the Linux sources violates the GPL.

    So, you've been warned! Go remove all those illegal copies you have!!!

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    And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour Isaiah 3:5
  4. Re:He can't be serious by EvilAlien · · Score: 1, Troll
    Personally, I don't use DOS/Windows to access Internet all the time. Rather than "MS-Internet", I'd prefer it is we called it MS/GNU/BSD/SysV/MacOS/AmigaOS/QNX/Linux/Internet.

    Would that be acceptable?

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    perl -e 'print $i=pack(c5, (41*2), sqrt(7056), (unpack(c,H)-2), oct(115), 10)'
  5. Re:Personally... by karmawarrior · · Score: 1, Troll
    Yeah, if the part that the Linux kernel fills is so insignificant, then why the hell didn't Stallman finish up Hurd and get a complete "GNU System" out on the street?
    It's not insignificant, it's a small part of the whole. I wouldn't drive without tires on a car, and I wouldn't necessarily believe that the team who can design a good engine, body shell, and comfy seats, is also going to be good at building tires. Or are you driving around in a Firestone Expedition?
    If it's free (as in speech), then I should be able to call it Boingix if I want.
    You can. Nobody's stopping you. RMS is asking you, as a courtesy, to call it GNU/Linux. He's also not doing favours, such as linking to and speaking for, organisations that slap him in the face by refusing to recognise GNU's involvement in the Linux-based OS.

    I think he has a right to be annoyed. I think Joel Barr is out of line. He is, of course, entitled to say whatever brain dead crap comes into his head, but equally the rest of us are entitled to consider his output incompetent, unfair, tripe. He proved his worth when he laid into, and lied about, MPlayer, and the anti-Stallman rant has done nothing but confirm the view most of us formed after that debacle.

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    KMSMA (WWBD?)