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From: rdh@sun.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: hold on, Tim
Message-ID: <13340@sun.uucp>
Date: Sun, 15-Feb-87 03:42:08 EST
Article-I.D.: sun.13340
Posted: Sun Feb 15 03:42:08 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 15-Feb-87 15:57:23 EST
References: <9110@duke.duke.UUCP> <547@atari.UUCP> <1734@hoptoad.uucp>
Reply-To: rdh@sun.UUCP (Robert Hartman)
Distribution: na
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mountain View
Lines: 32

Tim, the net is not the forum for criticizing anyone's personality.  Please
don't do it again.  No matter how much your encounter with Stallman may have
hurt and disappointed you, the net isn't the place to vent those feelings.
No matter how strongly you may disagree with his approach to freeware, this is
comp.os.minix, not comp.os.gnu.

Anyway, you've probably caught plenty of grief for this already.  In some
ways I tend agree with what you said.  There is a "real world" of competing
approaches, and a less-defensive approach to distributing cheapware is obviously
going to be more workable and positive.  But, while Tannenbaum's approach skirts
the problems of Stallman's, it wouldn't necessarily have done so had Stallman
not pioneered the gnu approach first.

My experience with pioneer types is that they are typically eccentric, often
in unpleasant ways.  I once got thoroughly fried by Gregory Bateson, whom I'd
grown to love deeply from his writings (before I met him).  That hurt immensely.
Pioneers often make bad company, especially when you naively hope to befriend
them on the spot.  But, I still admire and respect them; now I'm careful not to
expect much socially until they recognize my skin as thick enough to be safe.
I suggest you do likewise in future, for your sake and theirs.  Personally, I
find the extra work and patience to be worth it.

I guess I'm asking you to have a little compassion for Stallman's personal
flaws (as you see them), to understand that they really shouldn't detract from
his good intentions or the results of his approach (including subsequent
approaches that seem to work better).  I'm asking you to recognize the
contributions he has made, and to consider how you can be supportive of people
who dare to try new approaches.  A high degre of tolerance may be in order as
they go through the personal highs and lows such pioneering often brings.

Think about it.  Personally, I'd like to see many many cheap gnu applications
to run on my minix system.  -bob.