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0 pointskbenson8y ago0 comments

Stallman has the unfortunate habit of being proven right over time. It's unfortunate because I, like you, don't necessarily share his same fervor for freedom as he defines it, and actually used to more than I do now approaching middle age. That said, my point of view does occasionally cause me pain as reality intrudes. I suspect eventually most his views will be seen in a much more favorable light as they are able to be compared with more and more situations proving his points.

Here's some interesting reading, a search of HN comments about stallman being right.[1] You might not agree with every instance (and not every instance is indicative of the point), but seeing the submissions the comments are generally on does tell an interesting story.

1: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=stallman%20right&sort=byPopula...

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nailer8y ago· 2 in thread

You've misinterpreted my comment. I'm not saying I am right or Stallman is wrong, I am saying he believes that others who have different values do not understand freedom, whereas they simply rate freedom as a secondary value. Much like node does 'robustness' according to Cantrill's presentation.

Also a HN search for 'Stallman is right' isn't much of a reference, any more than an HN search for 'Stallman is wrong' would be.

kbensonOP8y ago

> I am saying he believes that others who have different values do not understand freedom

I understand. I'm saying that his views regarding just that have continually received more and more evidence. I think it's entirely possible that many of us truly don't understand freedom, and are letting convenience alter our perceptions to some degree, such that we've made our faustian bargains and are now rationalizing them to ourselves. I'm not entirely convinced of this, but I think there's a trend worth looking at, and some self reflection is warranted.

> Also a HN search for 'Stallman is right' isn't much of a reference, any more than an HN search for 'Stallman is wrong' would be.

The point, which I apparently didn't get across well, is that the phrase is often pulled out at times where his views come sharply into focus, and used in HN comments on submissions that sell that point, and the article submission titles hammer that point home if you are familiar with the subject matter. For example, here are some of the article submission titles on the first two pages of that search, which only reaches about 8 months back:

- It appears my Google account is slated for deletion

- Demon-Haunted World

- Apple Removes Apps from China Store That Help Internet Users Evade Censorship

- Microsoft Blocks Windows 7/8 Updates on AMD Ryzen and Intel Kaby Lake Systems

- Oracle finally targets Java non-payers six years after plucking Sun

- Tesla bans customers from using autonomous cars to earn money ride-sharing

- Apple Has Removed Dash from the App Store

- HP Allegedly Time Bombs Unofficial Ink Cartridges from Working in Its Printers

The point was never to say "look how often people say Stallman was right" as a form of appealing to authority, but as a handy anchor to find events which might be relevant to this discussion.

Edit: Whoops, was meant to be "apparently didn't get across well"

nailer8y ago

That's true, and people who understand and value freedom and understand how bad those things are still don't have freedom as the same priority as, say, usability: there's less use of free platforms in 2017 than there was in 2006.

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