Re: why isn't stallman on lp2022 speakers list?

[Thomas Lord]

On 2022-03-15 17:12, Akira Urushibata wrote:
> I have spoken on numerous occasions on free software philosophy placed
> in the context of the development of software technology. [....]

I really loved reading this as someone who once had a
good job as a GNU project grunt working on tasks like
improving GNU sed(1), writing code on Sun and HP workstations
either that the FSF had scored or that kind people at
Carnegie Mellon let me use for that purpose.  It is
interesting and strange to see how what to me is a long
and nuanced history is, indeed, for many younger people
today, a vague and obscure tale about stuff that
happened before they were born.

It still feels like the movement is only just getting started
even if it's already changed "everything". :-)  And it gives
me some hope in the face how exploitative and controlling the
proprietary landscape of cell phones and apps and web-centric
surveillance have become meanwhile.

Go forth and with destroy(*) with creativity and software
freedom!  (*:  freedom-robbing, malicious, ubiquitous, software
practices).

-t




One thing I've noticed over the years

On 2022-03-15 17:12, Akira Urushibata wrote:
> I have spoken on numerous occasions on free software philosophy placed
> in the context of the development of software technology.  I notice
> that many younger engineers have no idea on what computing was like
> before GNU/Linux became popular.  For some years GNU was available
> without Linux.  Bash, Emacs, Gcc, Gawk, etc. were used on Sun and
> Hewlett Packard workstations and MS-DOS PCs.  In those days GNU
> was praised by users for its high reliability and portability.
>
> But outside the computing community, the idea of free software was
> little known.  Most everyone associated with software, it seemed, was
> chanting that strengthening of intellectual property rights was most
> necessary for the industry.  Richard Stallman was alone.  To me he
> looked like a man shouting into the gale.  In other words it was an
> uphill struggle.  Many people paid no attention to what he was saying.
> The greatest encouragement for supporters came from the fact that the
> quality of free software surpassed that of proprietary alternatives.
>
> I do not deny that people other than Richard Stallman made important
> contributions to free software.  When you speak of the history of free
> software, or more generally the history of information technology, you
> are free to name whomever you consider the key contributors.  I do so
> in my lectures.
>
> I don't know about LibrePlanet for I have never participated, but in
> general, I notice that many speakers in software events spend most of
> their allotted time talking about their own achievements.  As such
> there is not enough education to younger engineers on how the movement
> and technology evolved, especially in the early years.  I believe this
> should be an important consideration when deciding who should speak.
>
>
> Akira Urushibata
>
>
>
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