We need media/reporter/newspaper support

[shenlebantongying]

There are so many evil people spreading misinformation and hiding half of the story. Opportunities are sneaking in to steal the outcome of free software movement. They want to destroy FSF for their own good.

We know RMS might have some personality problem. However, as a diverse community, we should not censor someone completely. A lot of his work is the foundation of the whole movement.

RMS go or not, free software movement would be damaged. General public would think this movement was founded by some absurd man. His writings about the spirit of freedom will be forgotten. Also, the action of "cancel someone" may also seed a hidden bomb on the free software community in the long run.

---

If you google Richard Stallman now, a lot of horrible news on RMS will show up, including that rms-open-letter which contains a creepy appendix.

For example: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/03/free-software-advocates-seek-removal-of-richard-stallman-and-entire-fsf-board/

Organizations from rms-open-letter can spread the words through their official channel, but we cannot do that. It's a big disadvantage.

We have almost the same number of people signed now (and more stars than them). We should let the outside world know the good side of RMS, FSF and more broadly the free software movement.

If anyone can help us to spread the positive words over media to general public, please help.

---

Examples of medias supporting us:

• Pursuing Justice and Freedom
• A Factual Timeline of Attempts to Pressure the FSF Into Submission
• An Open letter in support of Richard M. Stallman" Reaches 2000 Signatories

Examples of medias that are neural

• This Week in Programming: Free Software Can’t Exist without Richard Stallman?
• https://lwn.net/Articles/850307/
• https://news.itsfoss.com/stallman-return-revolt/ (This one digged deep enough that he even know the open letter was written by two GNOME foundation's staffs)
• https://itwire.com/open-source/suse-joins-open-source-bodies-calling-for-stallman-to-go.html (Digging deep to Debian's mailing list)

Examples of medias that doesn't ignore our existence

• https://news.itsfoss.com/stallman-return-revolt/
• https://wptavern.com/free-software-community-condemns-richard-stallmans-reinstatement-to-fsf-board-of-directors
• https://itwire.com/open-source/pro-stallman-group-issues-open-letter,-wants-him-to-stay-on-fsf-board.html

Examples of independent medias

• Video → Mob Mentality Threatens The Free Software Movement
• Video → My Thoughts on The Richard Stallman Situation.
• Fight against idiocy; support RMS

[6r1d]

I'm honestly weirded out organizations like EFF and Mozilla are against Richard publicly. Maybe I am missing some part of the argument, but right now it looks like large enough organizations with financial ties hurting a person who had helped everyone with his projects. I doubt there are many Wi-Fi routers compiled without GCC or Linux machines using only Clang/LLVM.

[nukeop]

"Organizations" don't sign letters, people do.

Note that most of these organizations signed by email, which is completely unverifiable as to whether it's their official stance, or whether they really did it, because those emails were never published and there are no PGP signatures. At best, the letter was signed by some people within those organizations who claim to represent every member, but that's obviously false since some members of these organizations signed out letter.

[majkinetor]

Flagged on HN:

• https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26568144
• https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26565107

The other one too:

• https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26558348

[romanrm]

@nukeop did you send a link to the letter website to RMS himself? Was there a reply, if any? And to the FSF? Thanks

[shenlebantongying]

@romanrm You may want to check this https://www.fsf.org/news/preliminary-board-statement-on-fsf-governance

[shenlebantongying]

SUSE and RedHat just made official statements :(

https://twitter.com/RedHat/status/1375190874011865088 https://twitter.com/SUSE/status/1375080950024011779

[6r1d]

SUSE and RedHat just made official statements :(

And at least RedHat's one is absurd. Just listen to Bryan Lunduke's comments: Red Hat attacks Stallman

[sertraline]

Just sharing an interesting read (@cmpunches): https://web.archive.org/web/20210326090023/https://github.com/rms-open-letter/rms-open-letter.github.io/issues/2250

The issue has been deleted from their repo. Original issue: https://github.com/rms-open-letter/rms-open-letter.github.io/issues/2250

[gorshunovr]

Petition: Journalists to stop the persecution of Stallman and apologize publicly

Could it be added to README?

[DOORAK]

"Microsoft-Connected (and Funded) Sites Still Distort What Happened and What Richard Stallman Actually Said" http://techrights.org/2021/03/23/still-libeling-rms/

[AnimusPEXUS]

[podvornyakva]

SUSE and RedHat just made official statements

Still nothing on those sites? What a shame. Is there a competent web developer to solve that issue?

[6r1d]

Thank you very much, @AnimusPEXUS

[shenlebantongying]

Open is Cancelled : https://medium.com/@beewithablog/open-is-cancelled-da7dd6f2aaaf

[6r1d]

I don't understand the big idea behind "ethical licensing". They give you source if you promise to be kind? Or an executable? Will they add means to retract software from the user?

The underlying theory is flawed and shallow

Hell no, sharing is caring

It’s time to build a new movement, one fit for an era of rising fascism and climate justice

I'm really, really concerned about this sentence

[podvornyakva]

climax justice.. hmm.. sounds useful. =))

[sertraline]

JUSTICE, not FREEDOM, is what I want from software.

I guess that sentence says it all.

[nukeop]

This redefines "justice' to mean "aligning with my political ideology". Stallman was dozens of steps ahead of such people even 40 years ago.

[sertraline]

This redefines "justice' to mean "aligning with my political ideology". Stallman was dozens of steps ahead of such people even 40 years ago.

Indeed, what people like those want is to create a modern cast system not based on what you do, but based on what you are (a man, a woman, a nationality, race, a worldview you hold, a group you belong to). Which is why they want to seize already populated movement rather than creating their own. Talking about "dismantling power structures" while walking along with companies and corporations, and encouraging oppression against wrongthink. Talking about security above freedom. Their hypocrisy is well hidden as they keep talking in abstract concepts and small morality based accusations which are vague and hard to grasp, with no concept of "innocent until proven guilty".

Software doesn't matter to them, neither does freedom, neither does "open". Any means of power for multiplying division among people, however, do.

[AnimusPEXUS]

we all know, what deserve those, who trade their freedom for justice

[kchanqvq]

This redefines "justice' to mean "aligning with my political ideology". Stallman was dozens of steps ahead of such people even 40 years ago.

Indeed, what people like those want is to create a modern cast system not based on what you do, but based on what you are (a man, a woman, a nationality, race, a worldview you hold, a group you belong to). Which is why they want to seize already populated movement rather than creating their own. Talking about "dismantling power structures" while walking along with companies and corporations, and encouraging oppression against wrongthink. Talking about security above freedom. Their hypocrisy is well hidden as they keep talking in abstract concepts and small morality based accusations which are vague and hard to grasp, with no concept of "innocent until proven guilty".

Software doesn't matter to them, neither does freedom, neither does "open". Any means of power for multiplying division among people, however, do.

It scares me how much this resembles Cultural Revolution.

[franpoli]

Linux Action News and their special guest Neil McGovern released yesterday an episode mentioning the two letters. No debate here, you'll guess the outcome.

Linux Action News is not oriented GNU - free softwares. It is sponsored by Digital Ocean. Gnome si sponsored by Google, Amazon RedHat and Ditgital Ocean among others, just to give you an idea about the affiliations here.

[cmpunches]

Neil MCGovern: Gnome Foundation and Debian Molly de Blanc: Gnome Foundation and Debian Elana Hashman: Debian -- who also played a critical role in facilitating the smear campaign.

[cmpunches]

Linux Action News and their special guest Neil McGovern released yesterday an episode mentioning the two letters. No debate here, you'll guess the outcome.

Linux Action News is not oriented GNU - free softwares. It is sponsored by Digital Ocean. Gnome si sponsored by Google, Amazon RedHat and Ditgital Ocean among others, just to give you an idea about the affiliations here.

That certainly explains some things too. This needs promotion. They won't make direct statements, they're working proxies.

[franpoli]

FSFE has also launched a smear campaign. This organization, which claims to be independent, does not want the FSF to be so. Ironically, FSFE owes its independence to Google for the most of it.

[Aspie96]

It'd be nice if ESR published an article about it.

Or if we had the signature of Distro Tube...

[romanrm]

Please upvote this if you have a Slashdot account: https://slashdot.org/submission/13536574/libreboot-others-form-a-campaign-to-defend-richard-stallman Or sign up and upvote if you hadn't. :)

[pastk]

There is a pro-RMS article in russian on https://www.cnews.ru/news/top/2021-03-24_razvernuta_bespretsedentnaya However they misrepresented his statements on Epstein case, like he was defending Epstein, doh.... I sent them a detailed email, I hope they'll fix it.

[romanrm]

Someone made a website: https://stallmansupport.org/ Share and repost!

[6r1d]

Share and repost!

I will, thank you.

[6r1d]

like he was defending Epstein, doh....

Uh-oh, a new vector for misinterpretation.

I sent them a detailed email, I hope they'll fix it.

Thank you.

[6r1d]

@Aspie96 , can you try to contact him. He reviewed the situation already and did a good job, but it'd be nice.

https://www.distrotube.com/contact/

[Aspie96]

I am not his follower.

I think it'd be better if someone who follows every of his video writes him.

[Aspie96]

This is an Italian article: https://www.repubblica.it/tecnologia/2021/04/02/news/il_mondo_del_software_libero_si_divide_sulle_accuse_a_richiard_stallman-294786792/

[Aspie96]

FSF India statement https://fsf.org.in/news/board-statement-2021/

[6r1d]

FSF India statement

All this talk about "improving governance processes", though... Hopefully it doesn't improve for the interests of the corporate overlords.

[Aspie96]

But it does have space for improvement IMHO.

Either way it's good that FSF India defends RMS.

[Aspie96]

https://www.reddit.com/r/CensorBackupMachine/comments/mqrolz/rgnu_allows_statement_from_fsf_europe_but_deletes/

r/gnu is biased

[6r1d]

r/gnu is biased

They sure are, they remove all the support letter stuff, they removed my own post, showing that the support letter exists. https://www.reddit.com/r/gnu/comments/mdbe09/a_support_letter_for_richard_stallman/

[Aspie96]

The bias is even more obvious here because they did allow the other statement