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#GNU and the #FSF have been fighting for copyleft the past decades. But if you look at their financial statement, you’ll see that their paid staff are just a dozen people. All the others are volunteers.
The Tor project alone has more employees than the FSF. Github has almost 6000 employees. Six thousand.
So the advocates for #copyleft must be us. We can’t point at the FSF and say “they didn’t do it”. They provide resources. We have to use them to protect our freedom as users.
@ArneBab Most people at the FSF aren’t working on GNU except keeping some infrastructure online. Much of the work is done by volunteers.
The reality is that the FSF has some good people but they’re hampered by the fact Stallman has ruined the FSF and copyleft for many of the people who used to be supporters.
FSF finances took a hit in the last few years because of his actions.
Where is this “GNU OS”? Why the insistence on arguing about the name of Linux? All of that eats at any good will.
I feel like I'm in a particularly unique place to all of this too.
I use the *GPL, I was a volunteer for GNU, as a filmmaker I wrote and produced a movie about GNU and the FSF with Stephen Fry, I was a consultant and then an employee at the FSF which required me to give up my life in the UK at a moment's notice and live in the US.
So other than the GPL what has he done since 1998 (generous) that wasn't complaining about the name of Linux? The FSF has done quite a lot when he didn't interfere.
And let's be very clear: GPLv3 was a huge international effort from lots and lots of people, it was not Stallman writing a new license in Emacs and putting it on the website.
@mattl ummm... got in the way of development of gcc?
@mattl I wrote a longer answer but deleted it again. Read the Stallman report in detail (again?) and check how much of it would stand if you evaluated it with the law in most member states of the EU.
About GNU OS: Android is not GNU. Can you update a stock Android?
@ArneBab I’m talking about Stallman’s professional behavior. His personal behavior is well documented.
Stallman’s weird insistence with language and phrases is incredibly off putting to most people. It is also cult-like behavior getting people to conform a lingo.
The whole GNU/Linux thing is incredibly stupid.
Failure to embrace open source.
Failure to embrace Creative Commons.
@ArneBab Refusal to use modern computing.
Weird attitude towards Linux in the early days that general purpose PCs were basically garbage.
The GFDL
Absolute refusal to do anything approaching useful with mobile devices
Weirdly paranoid about the web
Why are you asking me about Android?
@mattl I’m asking you about Android, because Android is Linux without GNU.
And most Android devices are locked down in a way that’s incompatible with user freedom. Would be illegal if the system was licensed under GPLv3.
My kids can’t get rid of the pre-installed surveillance crap (nor can I get rid of it for them).
Regarding GFDL: Wikipedia worked with FSF to move from GFDL to cc by-sa. FSF actually changed the GFDL to enable that.
The FSF pages are licensed under creativecommons licenses.
@mattl And until 2015 avoiding cc by-sa was the only sane course of action for programmers using the GPL.
In 2015 cc by-sa was made compatible to GPLv3. Since then cc by-sa is safe to use.
https://creativecommons.org/2015/10/08/cc-by-sa-4-0-now-one-way-compatible-with-gplv3/
@ArneBab there is no reason for GNU to be part of the conversation about Linux or Android beyond those operating systems or distributions of them may choose to include some GNU software or software from BSD or anywhere else.
Announcing you’re making an OS and then not making one doesn’t give you any claim over the name of someone else’s project.
I haven’t had an Android device in years but I’m not surprised it hasn’t changed much.
GFDL should have been killed off much sooner.
@mattl Creating the parts that are required for an OS while also building on Free Software by others *does* make an OS.
It just means that they did not duplicate what already existed well enough as Free Software and passed on the baton where someone else proved that they created better Free Software to solve a problem.
And you’re free to be annoyed by naming discussions.
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@mattl That said: let’s connect the dots of Android. TiVoization actually causes problems.
And GFDL has been replaced with creativecommons by FSF themselves for many of the things they create.
So … I guess you won’t like to read this, but … from your post I take that you agree with quite a few things the FSF does. Not on an emotional level, but on a factual one.
You don’t like them, but it seems you hold the same stance on many things.
Which is not what I expected.
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@ArneBab the issue isn’t me being annoyed with naming but I argue that by making it his focus, Stallman has harmed the FSF, GNU, copyleft and the movement in general.
The FSF staff are good people who want to do what they can, but their efforts are hampered by Stallman.