Re: Icon designer wanted (Aquamacs Emacs)

[Tim McNamara]

David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org> writes:

> Tim McNamara <timmcn@bitstream.net> writes:
>
>> David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org> writes:
>>
>>> Tim McNamara <timmcn@bitstream.net> writes:
>>>
>>>> If proponents of free software ever expect to have their products
>>>> in the mainstream and not just the province of geeks, then they
>>>> had better
>>>
>>> Why should I be bothered about the mainstream?  Why should I
>>> applaud moves that focus improving software only on non-free
>>> systems?  There is absolutely nothing for me in that.
>>
>> IMHO that is a narrow and self-centered viewpoint.  Fortunately
>> there are other viewpoints that include thinking more broadly about
>> trying to increase freedom rather than burying one's head in the
>> sand and capitulating.
>
> The words of a MacOSX user that applauds moves that disregard
> anybody except MacOSX users.  I doubt it gets any narrower and
> self-centered than that.

Once again distorting what other people say in order to "prove" your
point.  It's classic Usenet polemic, but invalid all the same.

>> I'd be very disappointed if that was the official attitude of the
>> GNU project!
>
> Of course the official attitude of the GNU project is to promote
> free software, and free systems.  It has always been that, right
> from the beginning.

Your attitude, unfortunately, is in opposition to that.  You seem to
be working very hard on creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.  There
are two sides to every story, even though you seem unwilling to grasp
this simple fact.  GNU's approach is not perfect and contributed to
the XEmacs fork; you seem to be trying to singlehandedly replicate
those errors in the case of Aquamacs.

> That you greed after software that can't be used on free systems and
> promote not bothering about free systems does not change that.

Oh, stop twisting and distorting what other people write so that you
can remain righteous.  Sheesh.

> It is not uncommon to confuse freedom with unfettered egoism in our
> society.
>
> But the important part of freedom is not the freedom to take.  It is
> the freedom to give and cooperate.  And that is what the GNU project
> has been about from the start.

It's too bad that you are determined to be narrow minded and utterly
convinced of your rightness, and fail to be willing to look beyond
your narrow world view.  It's also a poor reflection on gnu.org that
you are determined to denigrate and insult anyone who has the temerity
to disagree with you.  Dogmatism is never pretty and almost never
results in progress.

Attitudes like yours do nothing but damage the free software movement
and will result in it being little more than a footnote in computer
history.