Thread

1. xlayn · 1789667839 · focus · HN ↗

   Every time "these type of people" are dismissed as lunatics, as extremist and alarmist, time comes back to prove they were right.

   I frankly dismissed the idea of "a group of extremely powerful and rich pedos" under a pizza store... and yes there were none under any pizza store.

   1. zrail · 1789670475 · focus · HN ↗

      From the accounts I've read, RMS is a deeply unpleasant and problematic person.

      Doesn't mean he's wrong.

      1. blagie · 1789671724 · focus · HN ↗

         He's deeply problematic in the same way as someone with autism, Tourette syndrome, echolalia, or OCD are problematic.

         He's not neurotypical.

         Once you deal with it, he stops being problematic.

         And the striking thing is Cassandra syndrome: Virtually everything he has said:

         a) Proves right, decades later

         b) Sounds crazy to most people, at the time

         1. ChickeNES · 1789673120 · focus · HN ↗

            As someone on the spectrum/neurodivergent myself, no, it does not excuse his behavior whatsoever (or the lack of action by MIT).

            Stallman predicting that a technical capability could be abused and then somebody eventually abusing it is not Cassandra syndrome, it's just threat modeling run amuck. It gets old after a while (I should know, I remember classic Slashdot lol). The actual question is whether his proposed cure(s) were worth the cost, and that has very much not been "proven right" (if anything, LLMs/agents are rapidly eroding some of the practical premises his arguments depended on, IMO)

            1. blagie · 1789733108 · focus · HN ↗

               I guess you had to be around for the reactions to it at the time.

               E.g. the reaction to free software in the nineties was communist/anti-capitalist/idealist/unrealistic.

               It was an extreme fringe movement.

               Now, Linux powers every Android phone, most servers, most routers, and is probably more broadly adopted than all other operating systems, combined.

               That it seems normal speaks volumes to his accomplishments.

               1. ChickeNES · 1789761542 · focus · HN ↗

                  I don't think you read my comment?

                  > "I should know, I remember classic Slashdot"

                  It's still a fringe movement even now, at least the turbo fanatic, FSF disciple kind. It was normal companies like Google adopting Linux that drove adoption, not something Stallman did.

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