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The RMS Tour Rider

Posted by samzenpus on from the no-question-unanswered dept.

larry bagina writes "It's no secret that rock stars have riders — provisions on their contractual appearances that require a bowl of brown-free M&Ms or specify the exact brand of bottled water, cocaine purity, etc. Well, Richard Stallman has his own quirky list of provisions." Some of the best stuff is at the end, including: "I do not eat breakfast. Please do not ask me any questions about what I will do [for] breakfast. Please just do not bring it up," and "One situation where I do not need help, let alone supervision, is in crossing streets. I grew up in the middle of the world's biggest city, full of cars, and I have crossed streets without assistance even in the chaotic traffic of Bangalore and Delhi. Please just leave me alone when I cross streets."

5 of 373 comments (clear)

  1. Just seems like a well thought out list by Dr_Barnowl · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It reads like a list of his negative experiences. Especially the bit about parrots.

    I found myself identifying with a lot of it - I'm obviously just better socially adjusted than he is when I put up with these things.

    It's a lot less ridiculous than some of the riders of celebrities - it actually represents his preferences, mostly his preference to be treated like an independent adult, rather than stupid things that crop up on some peoples riders like a bowl M&Ms with all the green ones picked out.

    1. Re:Just seems like a well thought out list by merrickm · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The Van Halen M&Ms thing wasn't stupid. It was right in the middle of a bunch of important safety stuff that was particularly important due to the huge crowds Van Halen was drawing. If no M&Ms, they knew the venue hadn't carefully gone through the safety stuff.

    2. Re:Just seems like a well thought out list by cs668 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I worked at a company that shipped hardware, as a part of the contract the customer agreed not to open that hardware. Inside every shipped system there was a rubber chicken, if anyone ever called the support line and asked about the rubber chicken you knew they opened the box.

  2. This kinda pissed me off by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I saw a lot of RMS haters posting this and making fun of him for being a demanding ass. In particular, a lot of popular Mac people on Twitter were laughing at him for being a prima donna. I just don't get it. His requests are basically:

    1. Don't misrepresent my position by describing me as advocating something I'm not.
    2. I'm not rich, so don't make me pay for stuff out of my own pocket because I can't afford to.
    3. I'd much rather sleep on someone's couch and hang out with locals than be chauffeured around and entertained constantly.

    I don't think any of those are unreasonable at all. And as to the "parrot" part? Dude likes parrots. He goes out of his was to say not to buy one for just for his benefit, but if someone already has one he'd like to talk to it. I can't imagine a personal preference request being more accommodating.

    A lot of people disagree with RMS and that's fine. But there's nothing in his tour rider that deserves derision, and I'm not sure why so many people are having fun at his expense when everything he asked for seemed perfectly reasonable.

    --
    Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
  3. Re:First post? I brought up breakfast once by Dunbal · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Most fatties don't eat breakfast. It's one of the first things nutritionists try to fix. I should know - I used to be a fatty 60 lbs ago. Now I eat breakfast.

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    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.