[Gllug] Talk by Richard Stallman in London, 12 Feb

[Alex Hudson]

On Sat, 2002-01-26 at 22:40, Richard Cottrill wrote:
> Take one zealot (which RMS most certainly is), add a rambling talk, add a
> permissive audience, shake well with a curious and outgoing personality
> (which RMS also seems to have) and you will soon end up with something that
> sounds a lot like: 'you should copy any software you have without paying for
> it'.

"You should be free to copy any software you have without paying for it"
sounds a lot like that too. And probably closer to the point he was
making.

> I think the real reason that RMS put off so many people that evening was
> because he was addressing a room full of computer professionals while he did
> not behave in a professional manner.

It sounds like the room was full of short-sighted people then. RMS is
not a computer professional, and I don't think has ever been (not in the
way IT professionals in London are professionals). Maybe he would make
more of an impact wearing a suit with a snappy Impress presentation. 

The nature of who RMS is says as much as a lot of the stuff he talks
about. He's not a professional, he's not interested in selling free
software as the latest business model, and let's not forget that at
these meetings people turn up to see _him_; not the other way around. If
you're unable to understand someone else's point of view because of the
way they dress, I think that's a pretty poor show. That he does not
conform to the audience's etiquette is to be expected: the cultural
difference between the speaker and audience in this case is substantial,
and it would be exactly the same if he was a writer from Africa, or a
farmer from Peru. People come to see people talk to gain insight into
where they are coming from; it's not up to the person giving the talk to
make it as conformist to their audience as possible.
 
Cheers,

Alex.

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