Michael Downey 🚩

3 years ago •

Michael Downey 🚩
3 years ago •

The ray of hope at the end of this week is that I believe the free and #OpenSource software movements are more unified than ever before that intolerance, abuse, and disrepect from our leaders will no longer be allowed. That's a great thing and a good first step toward visions like #DigitalAutonomy. https://techautonomy.org/

#FreeSoftware #FLOSS #FOSS

Daniel

3 years ago •

Yes now they all obey to the new masters, usually after a tyrant there is another one....

Hypolite Petovan

3 years ago •

Who’s “they”? Who are the “new masters”? Who the “tyrant”?

Daniel

3 years ago •

As for these people the tyrant was RMS and the new masters are all the ones behind OSI...

https://rms-open-letter.github.io/

Hypolite Petovan

3 years ago •

You don't understand the stakes of this open letter, and it's fine, but I don't think you should show your ignorance publicly like this.

Daniel

3 years ago •

Well it seem you do, please now elaborate; you do not risk anything like me.

Hypolite Petovan

3 years ago •

The gist of it is simple: no matter what RMS said or did or didn't, the unilateral decision from the FSF board to reinstate him as a member of the board is symbolically wrong. Either there were enough grounds to justify the initial resignation and it was wrong to now ignore them, or there wasn't enough and they shouldn't have accepted the resignation in the first place. In both cases it casts the FSF board in a bad light and they should all resign after such a blunder.

That's it.

Daniel

3 years ago •

Well this is an interpretation, I found arguable the way he was forced to resign and I found absurd that he decided to return. Without entering in the morality of the FSF act, there should be a written record where they justify this determination, so we can be aware about their change at 180°.

It is just absurd as much as saying an "ray of hope". Everything is so absurd that I think it was been everything intentional: with also, just for a pure coincidence, a well written letter already prepared for this special occasion.

Now it happens that OSI silenced also ESR; when it is time to silence someone that is not anymore in the graces of the sponsors at OSI are always very diligent.

Once you put gameover the fathers of this culture is much more easier rewriting and modifying its DNA. There will be always diligent volunteers ready to praise some big OSI sponsor.

It is now clear that as those people don't trust RMS and ESR for their reasons and don't trust them for mine.

Hypolite Petovan

3 years ago •

Let's go to the end of your reasoning. There was no coincidence, therefore the people at OSI knew that the FSF wanted to reinstate RMS on their board. They knew this fact in advance to the official announcement, and instead of telling literally anyone else, they... wrote a one page petition?

That's it? That's your scoop?

It is interesting that your brought ESR because his toxicity to any community he would be part of is even less debatable than RMS's. I'm glad you're able to overlook his rampant misogyny, homophobia and racism but it says more about you than the OSI.

And if by "rewriting and modifying its DNA" you mean "getting rid of the people who were once technically relevant, but now are a liability with regards to the openness of the community", I don't see a problem with that.

If you keep believing that somehow the OSI is huh, masterminding petitions on their sponsor's orders, you'll miss on humanizing literally anyone who signed it out of free will.

Neither RMS nor ESR are necessary nor sufficient to free software as a whole, they might have... show more

Daniel

3 years ago •

I would not disagree with you, but the timing and the careless about how everything had been done just make me souspicious.

And I am glad you emphatized serious and problematoc issues like toxicity, misoginy, homophoby etc. Because those are untolarable issues that affect many of the OSI sponsors but I haven't seen any specific reaction from OSI so far.

But I suppose them are savvy enough to discern the good ones by the evil ones. I am not so savvy but I am personally against any form of media pillorying, especially when are many against one. Integrity comes with a price and I feel that some of the undersigned aren't in the position to demand anything for the sake of integrity.

Anyway I appreciated any of the words you wrote and the time you dedicated to me. I am just frustrated about the whole situation, what is happened with RMS (twice) for me it is just the tip of the iceberg, but underneath there is a mixture of idiosyncracies, hipocry and ambiguity; and I find it very disgusting.

Hypolite Petovan

3 years ago •

The timing wasn't dictated by anyone but the FSF. This petition was easy to write and set up, and the carelessness is again entirely up to the FSF. Even if OSI was that corrupted by its sponsors, which is possible, both the decision to first accept RMS's resignation, the decision to now reinstate him and the decision to sign this petition by 2700 individuals have absolutely nothing to do with them directly. The OSI and its potential negative influence from its sponsors is completely irrelevant in this discussion.

Daniel

3 years ago •

Well... Volunteers are always lovely... but what about the sponsors? https://opensource.org/sponsors

Hypolite Petovan

3 years ago •

You keep thinking it somehow is about the OSI when it simply is not. The open letter is about RMS and the current FSF Board of Directors, nothing more. You're making a mountain out of molehill.

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