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Where are the RMSs of the world?Where are the RMSs of the world?Posted Sep 30, 2013 15:27 UTC (Mon) by njwhite (subscriber, #51848)In reply to: Where are the RMSs of the world? by jebba Parent article: 30 years of GNU
I would agree with this. I'd also add Benjamin Mako Hill. They're both fantastic at explaining what software freedom means and is for, in a way that inspires action.
Eben Moglen, while he doesn't at all qualify as a newer generation, is a similarly great speaker.
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Being an RMS Posted Oct 5, 2013 15:10 UTC (Sat) by coriordan (guest, #7544) [Link]
But will Appelbaum or Mako Hill take this skill and dedicate their lives to creating a movement?
The problem is, it takes more than charismatic speeches to be an RMS.
These people can entertain, but will they do the thankless work of asking people to change their values?
(I've never heard either of their presentations, so these are general questions rather than being specifically about those two guys.)
Being an RMS Posted Oct 5, 2013 16:52 UTC (Sat) by jebba (✭ supporter ✭, #4439) [Link]
Applebaum is the key developer of tor. That shows a lot more moxy/dedication than just being entertaining. Here's his his LCA presentation. Highly recommended (note this was in December of 2012, so it is before the avalanche):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMN2360LM_U
I don't know much about Mako Hill other than seeing his name a lot over a long number of years.
Being an RMS Posted Oct 5, 2013 17:08 UTC (Sat) by coriordan (guest, #7544) [Link]
Thanks for the link.
I didn't mean to belittle anyone by calling them entertaining. Good public speaking is a real skill, and very necessary for a leader (it shouldn't be, but it is). Developing Tor is great. But RMS managed to (learn to) give good speeches, and lead the GNU software project, and then also created a movement. I don't know exactly what causes that latter part to happen, but that's the part I don't see yet in the rest of our community.
Lessig kinda made a movement, with Creative Commons. Unfortunately, he never set a goal of giving everyone rights or telling people to demand rights. He told copyright holders that they can grant rights if they wish.
I could make a long list of people who have made a success of important projects, and who work selflessly, etc. but if RMS retired tomorrow, I don't see who could step into his role - or even a significant sub-part of his role.
Being an RMS Posted Oct 5, 2013 17:36 UTC (Sat) by jebba (✭ supporter ✭, #4439) [Link]
"The weekend culminated with an address by GNU founder Richard Stallman, in which he announced that privacy and security--especially against government surveillance--is now one of the GNU's project's primary purposes. Free software is one of the most important tools we have to protect ourselves against surveillance, and the address reflected an ongoing mobilization in the community to meet these challenges." [1]
Tor is reportedly one of the few truly surveillance resistant programs in the world. Imagine the daily grief Applebaum goes through just to write his free code (heavily watched, harassed, detained at borders, property seized, threats, threats to friends/family, etc.). He certainly has his fans. If it turns into a movement like RMS wants, Applebaum will likely play a large role--the movement doesn't need "one leader" either.
If freedom from surveillance doesn't become a movement...well, that would be a sad panda time for all.
[1] https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/global-celebration-fo...
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