[rms at gnu.org: Some problems on gnucash.org]

[Thomas Bushnell BSG]

Derek Atkins <warlord at MIT.EDU> writes:

> Quoting Thomas Bushnell BSG <tb at becket.net>:
>
>> Derek Atkins <warlord at MIT.EDU> writes:
>>
>>> Well, the fact that he doesn't control gnucash.org or any of the
>>> servers that run gnucash infrastructure I think would be a major
>>> impediment.   Nothing would stop him from creating a fork, but I
>>> doubt anyone would follow there instead of using what comes from
>>> gnucash.org.
>>
>> It sounds like you're saying "who cares if he starts a war; it will
>> only do a little damage."
>
> I don't see it as a war.  I see it as a tantrum.

Sure, but RMS's tantrums become wars, because he makes them wars.  I'm
not saying this is a good thing, but it's what he does.  

> No, I'm saying "if he's going to act like a 6-year old just treat him
> as such".  When a child has a tantrum usually the best thing to do is
> let them have the tantrum and eventually they will tire themselves out,
> stop crying, and move on with life.  I look at this in the same manner.

Have you seen evidence of this?

Pretending that RMS is a 6-year-old will run into the fact that he's
not.  He still believes that Symbolics had his house burned down.
Years after being told by one printer company that he couldn't have
the source to the printer driver, he is still pushing hard for free
software and has never yet given in, despite a lot of people telling
him he was tilting at windmills.

Sometimes his dogged persistence works well, sometimes it's a
disaster.  But he certainly does not get tired, stop crying, and move
on.  He simply continues!

> I agree that it's worth bending, some, and I've already suggested that.
> However I don't agree that we should jump at any request RMS makes.

I agree *completely*.  I'm not saying we should jump.  I'm saying that
we should not ignore him, or only do what we would have done anyway.

> So?  We're not the OSI.

When we use the term "open source", which we most certainly do, in
preference to "free software" (and in contexts where it would be fine
to use *neither*) we are making the statement that the OSI is right
and the FSF is wrong...

Whether we intend that statement, it is heard by many just as that.

Thomas