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

[Richard Cottrill]

I think you've just hit on the nerve of why the community at large thinks of
nerds as being unable to communicate. In ANY description of communication
the 'audience' (a loaded concept in communications theory) forms a part of
the communication. To NOT pitch to one's audience is to be unable to
communicate effectively. In this case RMS did not communicate effectively.
If he assumes that everyone wants to hear about him and his opinions rather
then about the free software movement then frankly it suggests that not only
does he have a problem communicating; but also that he's a touch
egotistical.

This was not a talk of people going to listen to RMS, this was a group of
people who wanted to hear about free software from the horse's mouth. LUGs
go to hear RMS, business people (and/or government mandarins) go to hear
about free software. Nobody has ever suggested that PHBs are a particularly
open-minded bunch. If you've never heard of RMS before then you need to be
very open minded. If the nature of RMS says a lot (and the person certainly
does) then it screams very loudly and clearly "DO NOT LET THIS MAN INTO YOUR
OFFICE!!!". Where RMS and free software are related (as RMS and others will
clearly point out) it implies that you shouldn't let free software into your
office.

The problem was really when RMS stepped from "You should be free to copy any
software you have without paying for it" to "You should copy any software
you have without paying for it [; it's morally reprehensible to refuse]". I
remind you that it was not one comment; he went on at some length.

It's interesting that you should pick writers as your example: they are
generally terrific communicators (it is their stock in trade after all). It
should be noted that writers are often poor speakers though.

I do not think anything productive will come from this discussion; it
strikes me that you see 'respect for RMS' as being equivalent to 'RMS is
infallible'. I consider infallibility to be a super-human trait; and as a
mere mortal I wouldn't recognise it if I tripped over it.

Richard

> -----Original Message-----
> From: gllug-admin at linux.co.uk [mailto:gllug-admin at linux.co.uk]On Behalf
> Of Alex Hudson
> Sent: Sunday, January 27, 2002 8:31 AM
> To: Greater London LUG
> Subject: RE: [Gllug] Talk by Richard Stallman in London, 12 Feb
>
>
> 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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