Re: [OFFTOPIC] RMS and reactions to him

[Adrian Bunk <bunk@fs.tum.de>]

On Wed, Jan 15, 2003 at 05:39:33PM +0100, Horst von Brand wrote:
> Mark Mielke <mark@mark.mielke.cc> said:
> 
> [...]
> 
> > In actual fact, I don't want RMS to stop. I believe that his religious
> > attachment to his ideals has allowed a sort of 'grand unification' of
> > compatible beliefs. RMS didn't invent freedom. But he, and his
> > organization, do an excellent job of representing freedom (even if they
> > try to [re]define it to suit their agenda...).
> 
> Please do remember that most of the horrors seen last century (and much
> before that too) were the result of people that genuinely believed they
> somehow owned the truth, and if the world did not conform to their visions,
> much the worse for the world. That you might be somewhat in agreement to
> some narrow religious vision doesn't mean your sort of deviationism will be
> tolerated in any form if they happen to succeed.
>...

This is one of the worst oversimplifications I've ever heard of.

E.g. Mahatma Gandhi was a person in the last century who genuinely
believed he somehow owned the truth and who succeeded. Please tell me 
which horrors he was responsble for/

>...
>  Knuth's "do as you wish, don´t distribute changed versions"
>...

This is wrong, you are allowed to change TeX and Metafont hoever you
want and distribute the changed versions as long as you change the name 
of the program.

cu
Adrian

-- 

       "Is there not promise of rain?" Ling Tan asked suddenly out
        of the darkness. There had been need of rain for many days.
       "Only a promise," Lao Er said.
                                       Pearl S. Buck - Dragon Seed