From DistroWatch.com
John Sulivan, the executive director of the Free software Foundation (FSF), has announced that Richard M. Stallman has resigned his position as president of the FSF. Stallman is best known for his work in creating the free software movement and starting the GNU project, which develops free software that is used by nearly all Linux distributions. Stallman's hard stance on software licensing, along with his controversial views on some social issues and brash communication style, have often made him a divisive figure in the free and open source software communities. This has occasionally led to people petitioning the FSF over the years, asking Stallman to step down.
The most recent controversy around Stallman gained more media attention than usual and resulted in several FSF members threatening to cancel their memberships. Members of the GNOME team announced their intention to cut ties with the FSF and GNU if Stallman did not leave his position. The Free Software Conservancy also placed a similar call for Stallman to step down, stating: "When considered with other reprehensible comments he has published over the years, these incidents form a pattern of behavior that is incompatible with the goals of the free software movement. We call for Stallman to step down from positions of leadership in our movement.". Stallman has also resigned his position at MIT, citing "a series of misunderstandings and mischaracterizations" as the reason for his departure.
I have no idea why. Stallman deserves a good deal more respect than he has gotten. Over the years, I have been sickened by comments I have seen on various mailing lists and forums. Many of them comprise little more than offhand name calling. No question, Richard Stallman's ideas are radical, when taken against the background of a society which is consumer centered and oriented around proprietary commercialism.
The best defense of Stallman is to point to the GNU Manifesto.
https://www.gnu.org/gnu/manifesto.en.html
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