RMS will be 'round, Aug. 9 - 20

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Alan DuBoff (maestro@SoftOrchestra.com):

> I think he should talk to the Debian developers, aren't they the core
> of what Stallman fights for?

Well, you (plural) can probably make that happen, if you wish.  It 
probably involves little more than asking him.

> Let's face it, I think it's very dumb of him not to speak to the
> SVLUG, it's the largest and most active LUG.

<shrug>  First, he's fairly recently spoken to SVLUG, so it's not as if
it's a burning issue.  Other than that, I decline to lose sleep over it:
I find it most useful to just understand that Stallman has his quirks,
which you're not going to change, so either accept the entire package
the way it comes or avoid him.

> Stallman does have a good point, because on one hand there is no
> question that there is a lot of GNU in Linux, nobody denies that.
> OTOH, the companies that are making Linux popular are the very
> companies that Stallman has fought.

You're skirting the edge of not one but two old flamewars that I have no
interest in recapitulating, but I will say that your second statement
in particular sounds factually doubtful:  You are being extremely 
non-specific, but I doubt very much you can cite concrete examples
of Stallman "fighting" companies that have made Linux popular.

(If you think you _can_ cite such examples, I doubt that debate on that
point will be either interesting or topical for this list.  I will, I
suppose, dicuss the matter in private mail if you insist.) 

> Let's say that BAD was to sponsor this so called FSF rally.

This _what_?

> Now, let's say that BAD was able to aquire the space over at Cisco.
> Seems like Stallman wouldn't mind speaking to the Debian group, right?
> :-/

Presumably, you're trying to make some point that I'm missing entirely,
because I can't imagine any reason why RMS would object.  Of course,
discussing theoretical situations involving a person not party to this 
conversation sounds like an extreme waste of time:  If you want
Stallman's views on the matter, ask him.

If you're looking for ideological debate, sorry, I have no time,
no interest -- and no particular position to advance.  ;->
 
> The only other place I can see that would make Stallman happy would be
> Stanford Linear Autitorium, up on the hill. Isn't that where the
> Homebrew used to meet?

Yes, it is indeed the (main) place where we used to meet, although 
there were a couple of others.  However, I think your selection criteria
for meeting sites are haywire.

However, don't take my word for it; ask Stallman.

Meanwhile, I don't want to sound too curmudgeonly, but all of this 
banter is doing nothing at all about resolving where, when, to whom, 
and whether Stallman will be speaking to anyone.  To reiterate, if 
you want that to happen, don't talk to me, but rather to other parties
who are more relevant to the matter.

-- 
Cheers,                   The cynics among us might say:   "We laugh, 
Rick Moen                 monkeyboys -- Linux IS the mainstream UNIX now!
rick (at) linuxmafia.com  MuaHaHaHa!" but that would be rude. -- Jim Dennis