I'm a BSD-user with socialist tendencies. I agree with using free software in part because of philosophy, in part because of its technical merits, and partly because it's free. But I still think RMS is a looney. Free software isn't always the best solution.
Amen, Brother Stallman! You are the way and the light!
If this is one of Richard "my way is the true way" Stallman's better interviews, I'd hate to see the bad ones. Are most Linux users like this? Is this how you want to be perceived? Do Linux users actually follow the philosophy that once you use proprietary software, you're somehow 'enslaved' to the company that made it? Somehow I'm prevented from throwing the software away and using something else? The guy can't figure out that people want software that works well, and that its freeness is just a perk.
Even to me, someone who supports and uses free software, RMS comes off as a loon. This is not someone I personally would want to represent the Free Software/open source movement. I can see it now - I try to tell my boss I'm using GNU tools for a certain task, and having him say "GNU? Isn't that the stuff made by that Stallman freak?" I can't see why he would entice anyone to use linux or gnu software. He's condescending, has an ego from hell, and has the social skills of a gnat.
The man should have stayed a programmer instead of turning into a philosopher. His programming was great, his philosophy sucks. If the man just stayed in his house all day and programmed, he'd do far more than he does now. Right now, I think he just does more damage than good.
Those are just my thoughts. Maybe I'm just one of the unwashed masses that "don't care about freedom."
RMS is excercising his free speech by correcting and not answering reporters. However, he's also acting like a childish dork, and that's the point. The man is a crackpot.
I said KIND of like. It's the closest thing I could think of. I just think it was kind of abusing people who bothered to voice their support, offered money, etc. -lx
not nearly as much work as a superconductor
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Making so many people genuinely worried about the site, people offering donations of money for legal defense, voicing their concern and trying to round up support for people who had apparently been victimized - that's pretty fucking funny.
Here's a funny April Fools joke - why don't I just run around claiming that I'm dying of a terminal disease, wait for people to send all their condolences and offers of support, and then, several days later on April 1st, tell them I was kidding? If it was just a one day thing, shutting down the site for April Fools, it would have been ok, but the entire week beforehand? This has been nothing but a collective 'crying of wolf' among the nerd community.
After all this, I think said community is going to be a little more reluctant to offer their support to any site who actually does have litigation launched against them.
That one didn't seem like a joke - it's on an official compaq site, and has a little shockwave thingy...I guess it could be, though. From someone inside Compaq. Lot of work to go through for april fools.:) -lx
But it needs to have a little laser that comes out of it's snout. And it has to call me "The Doctor".
Seriously though - it seems like a neat idea. I wonder what people that are against the keeping of animals would think about it?
-lx
News sites shouldn't celebrate April fools day
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I hope all this UF stuff isn't a coordinated joke - it's kind of the equivalent of someone telling you they're dying from cancer for a few days, fishing for sympathy, and then telling you they were just kidding. If this is a joke, UF has exhausted a good part of their support from its fans. If this were a joke, it would abuse all UFies' trust and concern.
I REALLY have to disagree with you that BSD is harder to install than RedHat. Installing OpenBSD was the simplest install experience I've ever had, even simpler than BeOS. You just say what you want, where you want it, and where you want to get it from, and you're off! What could be easier than that? Just because something is done in command-line mode does not mean it is difficult, and just because something is graphical does not mean it is easy.
I do agree that difficulty is not a good thing, however. Simplicity is essntial to efficient computing. Which is why I use BeOS. It's the most logical and intuitive gui I've used so far, and it's simple as well as powerful and elegant. And it has a posix shell:). I still use BSD, and I prefer it to the 'easier to use' linux distros, but it's not always my favorite thing to use, nor always the best tool for the job. The danger, of course is that people sacrifice power for simplicity, which is also very bad. It's kind of like giving up freedom for security and having neither...in some way that I haven't quite figured out yet.:)
Well, I still have to disagree that lack of resistance does not constitute consent. I've had experiences where I had relations with someone I didn't really want to, but was pressured and guilt-tripped into it. I fully consider it my fault for not stopping the activities before they went too far, but I didn't - and I don't blame the other party, because, although initially reluctant, I didn't tell them to stop. As far as they knew, I was consenting.
I didn't enjoy the experience, I felt bad about it afterwards, and probably ruined a friendship because of it, but it was most definitely not rape, and that's what we're talking about. It would have been nice if they had specifically asked, but I had every chance to stop what was going on. It's simply a bad decision, and that's something one has to deal with.
What it comes down to is self-esteem. You have to have enough of it to be able to respect yourself and say no. Otherwise, you'll end up doing things you regret.
I agree that asking is not such a big deal, in fact, I'm for it, and i'm DEFINITELY against using force to have sex with someone, but I just don't think it should be a requirement to obtain verbal consent. I realize you didn't suggest it specifically be law, that was Lord Kinbote.
Point is, that rape should be a little more narrowly defined. I consider rape to be when someone is physically forced into sex. It's not when someone has sex and doesn't want to. Although neither are good things, they are so vastly different, I don't think they should be lumped together.
I disagree with you completely here. I don't want that law because I don't want someone telling me how to conduct my sex life. Because I personally like the chemistry of two people coming together with intentions understood but unspoken. I object to sex being made legally required to be diplomatic. What's next, one must sign a consent form before engaging in sexual activity? There are too many laws as it is, without laws to regulate such a natural and personal act. I think I have asked all of my partners for consent before having sex for the first time, but the idea of the government enforcing that personal decision makes me furious.
You're also making an assumption that really irritates me - "Sex is the man's responsibility." It isn't. it's just as much the woman's responsibility, and if someone is making sexual advances to you and you don't want them to, it is your responsibility to say no. That works both ways, for both sexes. Why is it somehow the man's responsibility to ask for consent? Why shouldn't the woman ask? I might just as easily hop out of bed in the morning and accuse a woman of raping me.
Women aren't the pitiful, defenseless creatures you assume, and men are not the brutish, evil ones. Let's have a little equality here.
Yes, there have also been "Gnome vs. KDE" stories , but those aren't posted anymore(because they are hotbutton topics, out of which come no resolution). I can't see any link this has to the net at all, frankly. One slimeball, somewhere, has, according to someone else, somewhere, a misconception about the internet, and about rape. That was about a paragraph of the whole story, and we're not even told the story to the finish! Was the situation resolved? What was the man's story? I don't doubt that these events occurred, but it's simply playing on people's emotions to post such a one-sided story. And, as you can see, all it produced was bickering about rape, and very little about the internet, the supposed link it had.
I think this fairly ridiculous, and I would not live anywhere where this was made law. I am not going to ask someone, in a tender and romantic moment, 'is it ok to have sex now?' I find it horrific that people want to make laws telling me how I can and can't have sex, as long as the people involved are consenting, and consent is a pretty obvious thing. If the person does not specifically tell you to stop, and makes no effort to stop you, then it is consensual. What exactly is the point of asking for consent prior? So that if one of the parties decides afterwards that they didn't like it, they can't say it was rape? In any case, it's still one person's word against another.
What kind of moron receives an attachment without warning, opens it, and then runs the macros? If you're going to do that, you deserve all that you get. -lx
It seems to me that a full-blown discussion of rape, and someone's venting about a stupid investigator is not something that falls under the category of 'news for nerds'. It's not news, and it has nothing to do with nerds. The only thing slightly nerdy about the article is that the word 'internet' is mentioned in it.
I suggest that rape, along with euthanasia, abortion, drug legalization, pedophilia, and other annoying hotbutton subjects have no place in this kind of forum.
yeah, except this time there's actually a producer laid out(maker of austin powers:P I was kind of hoping for Michael Nesmith, who had been mentioned for the job earlier), the script under production, and a major company making it(caravan, I believe). The things that have changed since the original musings about a movie are that several Sci-fi comedy movies have actually been able to make it big, convincing major production companies that they can make money, whereas before, it hadn't been done. -lx
Matt Groening has always done social commentary - on a smaller scale with the simpsons, but much more overtly in his "Life in Hell" strip. And suicide is a solution to all life's problems, by definition. Duh.;) Anything Groening wants to shove down my throat is ok with me.
I agree. All I've got is a pager, which is rarely used. If I had a cellphone, I don't think I would accept incoming calls, i would use it when I wanted to call someone else, just for convenience. Psychologically, I just find it wierd to always be carrying around devices which let people find and potentially bother you. I would probably feel much more strongly about it if I had a family. However, the next best thing is to have the technologies and just ignore them. Only thing that bothers me is when jobs require you to always wear your pager or always answer your cell phone. I hope I never have to deal with that.
I disagree with it being foolish to wear a watch: some of us have a horrible sense of time(like me), and it's good to be able to get back from lunch on time without having to ask what time it is.
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I'm a BSD-user with socialist tendencies. I agree with using free software in part because of philosophy, in part because of its technical merits, and partly because it's free. But I still think RMS is a looney. Free software isn't always the best solution.
-lx
Amen, Brother Stallman! You are the way and the light!
If this is one of Richard "my way is the true way" Stallman's better interviews, I'd hate to see the bad ones. Are most Linux users like this? Is this how you want to be perceived? Do Linux users actually follow the philosophy that once you use proprietary software, you're somehow 'enslaved' to the company that made it? Somehow I'm prevented from throwing the software away and using something else? The guy can't figure out that people want software that works well, and that its freeness is just a perk.
Even to me, someone who supports and uses free software, RMS comes off as a loon. This is not someone I personally would want to represent the Free Software/open source movement. I can see it now - I try to tell my boss I'm using GNU tools for a certain task, and having him say "GNU? Isn't that the stuff made by that Stallman freak?" I can't see why he would entice anyone to use linux or gnu software. He's condescending, has an ego from hell, and has the social skills of a gnat.
The man should have stayed a programmer instead of turning into a philosopher. His programming was great, his philosophy sucks. If the man just stayed in his house all day and programmed, he'd do far more than he does now. Right now, I think he just does more damage than good.
Those are just my thoughts. Maybe I'm just one of the unwashed masses that "don't care about freedom."
Sigh.
-lx
RMS is excercising his free speech by correcting and not answering reporters. However, he's also acting like a childish dork, and that's the point. The man is a crackpot.
-lx
you pronounce it "guh-new", like the animal.
-lx
I said KIND of like. It's the closest thing I could think of. I just think it was kind of abusing people who bothered to voice their support, offered money, etc.
-lx
oops :) missed that part.
-lx
Thought yall might want to know.
-lx
Ditto. Maybe it was just funny when I was younger, or maybe people are just getting less funny themselves.
-lx
Making so many people genuinely worried about the site, people offering donations of money for legal defense, voicing their concern and trying to round up support for people who had apparently been victimized - that's pretty fucking funny.
Here's a funny April Fools joke - why don't I just run around claiming that I'm dying of a terminal disease, wait for people to send all their condolences and offers of support, and then, several days later on April 1st, tell them I was kidding? If it was just a one day thing, shutting down the site for April Fools, it would have been ok, but the entire week beforehand? This has been nothing but a collective 'crying of wolf' among the nerd community.
After all this, I think said community is going to be a little more reluctant to offer their support to any site who actually does have litigation launched against them.
-lx
And we should believe you because why?
You're not even logged in.
-lx
That one didn't seem like a joke - it's on an official compaq site, and has a little shockwave thingy...I guess it could be, though. From someone inside Compaq. Lot of work to go through for april fools. :)
-lx
But it needs to have a little laser that comes out of it's snout. And it has to call me "The Doctor".
Seriously though - it seems like a neat idea. I wonder what people that are against the keeping of animals would think about it?
-lx
I hope all this UF stuff isn't a coordinated joke - it's kind of the equivalent of someone telling you they're dying from cancer for a few days, fishing for sympathy, and then telling you they were just kidding. If this is a joke, UF has exhausted a good part of their support from its fans. If this were a joke, it would abuse all UFies' trust and concern.
-lx
I REALLY have to disagree with you that BSD is harder to install than RedHat. Installing OpenBSD was the simplest install experience I've ever had, even simpler than BeOS. You just say what you want, where you want it, and where you want to get it from, and you're off! What could be easier than that? Just because something is done in command-line mode does not mean it is difficult, and just because something is graphical does not mean it is easy.
:). I still use BSD, and I prefer it to the 'easier to use' linux distros, but it's not always my favorite thing to use, nor always the best tool for the job. The danger, of course is that people sacrifice power for simplicity, which is also very bad. It's kind of like giving up freedom for security and having neither...in some way that I haven't quite figured out yet. :)
I do agree that difficulty is not a good thing, however. Simplicity is essntial to efficient computing. Which is why I use BeOS. It's the most logical and intuitive gui I've used so far, and it's simple as well as powerful and elegant. And it has a posix shell
cheers,
-lx
Well, I still have to disagree that lack of resistance does not constitute consent. I've had experiences where I had relations with someone I didn't really want to, but was pressured and guilt-tripped into it. I fully consider it my fault for not stopping the activities before they went too far, but I didn't - and I don't blame the other party, because, although initially reluctant, I didn't tell them to stop. As far as they knew, I was consenting.
I didn't enjoy the experience, I felt bad about it afterwards, and probably ruined a friendship because of it, but it was most definitely not rape, and that's what we're talking about. It would have been nice if they had specifically asked, but I had every chance to stop what was going on. It's simply a bad decision, and that's something one has to deal with.
What it comes down to is self-esteem. You have to have enough of it to be able to respect yourself and say no. Otherwise, you'll end up doing things you regret.
I agree that asking is not such a big deal, in fact, I'm for it, and i'm DEFINITELY against using force to have sex with someone, but I just don't think it should be a requirement to obtain verbal consent. I realize you didn't suggest it specifically be law, that was Lord Kinbote.
Point is, that rape should be a little more narrowly defined. I consider rape to be when someone is physically forced into sex. It's not when someone has sex and doesn't want to. Although neither are good things, they are so vastly different, I don't think they should be lumped together.
-lx
I disagree with you completely here. I don't want that law because I don't want someone telling me how to conduct my sex life. Because I personally like the chemistry of two people coming together with intentions understood but unspoken. I object to sex being made legally required to be diplomatic. What's next, one must sign a consent form before engaging in sexual activity? There are too many laws as it is, without laws to regulate such a natural and personal act. I think I have asked all of my partners for consent before having sex for the first time, but the idea of the government enforcing that personal decision makes me furious.
You're also making an assumption that really irritates me - "Sex is the man's responsibility." It isn't. it's just as much the woman's responsibility, and if someone is making sexual advances to you and you don't want them to, it is your responsibility to say no. That works both ways, for both sexes. Why is it somehow the man's responsibility to ask for consent? Why shouldn't the woman ask? I might just as easily hop out of bed in the morning and accuse a woman of raping me.
Women aren't the pitiful, defenseless creatures you assume, and men are not the brutish, evil ones. Let's have a little equality here.
-lx
Yes, there have also been "Gnome vs. KDE" stories , but those aren't posted anymore(because they are hotbutton topics, out of which come no resolution). I can't see any link this has to the net at all, frankly. One slimeball, somewhere, has, according to someone else, somewhere, a misconception about the internet, and about rape. That was about a paragraph of the whole story, and we're not even told the story to the finish! Was the situation resolved? What was the man's story? I don't doubt that these events occurred, but it's simply playing on people's emotions to post such a one-sided story. And, as you can see, all it produced was bickering about rape, and very little about the internet, the supposed link it had.
-lx
I think this fairly ridiculous, and I would not live anywhere where this was made law. I am not going to ask someone, in a tender and romantic moment, 'is it ok to have sex now?' I find it horrific that people want to make laws telling me how I can and can't have sex, as long as the people involved are consenting, and consent is a pretty obvious thing. If the person does not specifically tell you to stop, and makes no effort to stop you, then it is consensual. What exactly is the point of asking for consent prior? So that if one of the parties decides afterwards that they didn't like it, they can't say it was rape? In any case, it's still one person's word against another.
-lx
What kind of moron receives an attachment without warning, opens it, and then runs the macros? If you're going to do that, you deserve all that you get.
-lx
It seems to me that a full-blown discussion of rape, and someone's venting about a stupid investigator is not something that falls under the category of 'news for nerds'. It's not news, and it has nothing to do with nerds. The only thing slightly nerdy about the article is that the word 'internet' is mentioned in it.
I suggest that rape, along with euthanasia, abortion, drug legalization, pedophilia, and other annoying hotbutton subjects have no place in this kind of forum.
Just my opinion
-lx
yeah, except this time there's actually a producer laid out(maker of austin powers :P I was kind of hoping for Michael Nesmith, who had been mentioned for the job earlier), the script under production, and a major company making it(caravan, I believe). The things that have changed since the original musings about a movie are that several Sci-fi comedy movies have actually been able to make it big, convincing major production companies that they can make money, whereas before, it hadn't been done.
-lx
Heh, right on...hope you get your homepage back up...:)
-lx
Matt Groening has always done social commentary - on a smaller scale with the simpsons, but much more overtly in his "Life in Hell" strip. And suicide is a solution to all life's problems, by definition. Duh. ;) Anything Groening wants to shove down my throat is ok with me.
-lx
UCC rules! I get it in my mail everyday so I can tell what the equivalent of US $0.02 is in yen...;)
-lx
I agree. All I've got is a pager, which is rarely used. If I had a cellphone, I don't think I would accept incoming calls, i would use it when I wanted to call someone else, just for convenience. Psychologically, I just find it wierd to always be carrying around devices which let people find and potentially bother you. I would probably feel much more strongly about it if I had a family. However, the next best thing is to have the technologies and just ignore them. Only thing that bothers me is when jobs require you to always wear your pager or always answer your cell phone. I hope I never have to deal with that.
I disagree with it being foolish to wear a watch: some of us have a horrible sense of time(like me), and it's good to be able to get back from lunch on time without having to ask what time it is.
-lx