Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation has resigned and he's also left his position in CSAIL at MIT.
Why is this significant? Stallman and the FSF were responsible for the creation of the GNU Project, widely used GNU licenses like the GPL, the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) and more that were used in the creation of Linux.
Posted on the FSF website last night was this notice:
On September 16, 2019, Richard M. Stallman, founder and president of the Free Software Foundation, resigned as president and from its board of directors. The board will be conducting a search for a new president, beginning immediately. Further details of the search will be published on fsf.org.
Stallman also noted on stallman.org how he's stepped away from MIT as well, with the below statement:
I am resigning effective immediately from my position in CSAIL at MIT. I am doing this due to pressure on MIT and me over a series of misunderstandings and mischaracterizations.
The question is—why? Well, an article on Vice picked up on comments Stallman made around convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Unsurprisingly, this caused quite a lot of outrage inside and outside the Linux community.
Not long after Neil McGovern, the GNOME Executive Director, made a blog post about it where they said they asked the FSF to cancel their membership. McGovern also noted that other people who they "greatly respect are doing the same" and that GNOME would sever their "historical ties between GNOME, GNU and the FSF" if Stallman did not step down.
McGovern of GNOME wasn't the only one to speak out about it, as the Software Freedom Conservancy also put out a post calling for Stallman to step down and no doubt there's others I'm not aware of.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Quoting: chancho_zombieQuoting: spayder26but declaring his opinion against laws against consented paedophilia, which is somewhat much more controversial.
pretty disturbing and disgusting.
Well, consented sex with 17 year old is perfectly legal here (Germany)...
*edit* ... if it's without money exchange, that is.
Last edited by Eike on 17 September 2019 at 9:52 am UTC
Quoting: EikeDoes anybody find it appropriate to do such talk about possible severe crimes without any knowledge of what actually has happened?I don't think so. The situation appears more and more clearly as sexual slavery of teenager. Saying that an underaged girl taken far from home was totally able to consent and that it should'nt be illegal for a 70-years old academics to have sex for money with a 17-old girl is off limit.
P.S: I don't think the comment shall have been opened on this one, we'll see
Quoting: amataiP.S: I don't think the comment shall have been opened on this one, we'll see
Yeah, thought so, too.
Quoting: EikeProstitution of a 17 years old is not legal in Germany (nor anywhere in Europe for what mater)Quoting: chancho_zombieQuoting: spayder26but declaring his opinion against laws against consented paedophilia, which is somewhat much more controversial.
pretty disturbing and disgusting.
Well, consented sex with 17 year old is perfectly legal here (Germany)...
Even without the prostitution part, consented sex will not work either in most tribunal because of age and social position difference.
P.S: Sorry for the double post
Quoting: GuestWell, for example, Stephen Hawkins used to make hilariously stupid political public comments from time to time. At the beginning, there were even people trying to interpret the deep meaning of the Master's words.
Then, mostly nobody cared. I still read his Brief History of Time with pleasure and as far as i know nobody refuses to work with Cambridge or on black hole evaporation.
Some correspondence between Einstein and Freud can also make you laugh or raise your hair, depending on your temperament.
Times change.
Quoting: EikeQuoting: amataiP.S: I don't think the comment shall have been opened on this one, we'll see
Yeah, thought so, too.
Thus far it seems rather civilized for such a topic.
Quoting: PatolaAnother victim of cancel culture...
I'm getting the impression that this is another troll-meme-right-wing term. Being intentionally obtuse, having a nice-looking shallow facade, hiding behind it the worst sides of humanity. Sorry if I'm entirely wrong and this is truly a neutral, unloaded, clear, unpoliticized term.
Quoting: amataiProstitution of a 17 years old is not legal in Germany (nor anywhere in Europe for what mater)
Yes, I've added this into the post later. (The stuff cited didn't talk about money, though.)
Quoting: amataiEven without the prostitution part, consented sex will not work either in most tribunal because of age and social position difference.
If you're not the other one's teacher or something like this, there won't be a problem.
Famed Computer Scientist Richard Stallman Described Epstein Victims As 'Entirely Willing'
What Stallman actually wrote:
Quoting: StallmanWe can imagine many scenarios, but the most plausible scenario is that she presented herself to him as entirely willing.
Assuming she was being coerced by Epstein, he would have had every reason to tell her to conceal that from most of his associates.
Last edited by Nanobang on 17 September 2019 at 10:11 am UTC
Interestingly, he has very recently changed his mind on damage caused by paedophilia: https://stallman.org/archives/2019-jul-oct.html#14_September_2019_(Sex_between_an_adult_and_a_child_is_wrong). And just as he was becoming a less controversial figure, Vice blew up in his face.
Quoting: amataiP.S: I don't think the comment shall have been opened on this one, we'll seeWe shall see how it goes, so far people have been okay.
As always, if people do repeatedly go overboard and make the community a bad place, the comments can be closed at any time.
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