The witch hunt continues:

http://guix.gnu.org/blog/2019/joint-statement-on-the-gnu-project/

My first thought: this is exactly what they (those who attacked rms) wanted. Divide and conquer.

My second thought: how has Stallman's behavior over the years undermined the empowerment of all computer users?

My last thought: why didn't the people making the statement explicitly state the behaviour(s) they believe to undermine?

@rah

1. RMS divides.

2. Discouraging women from direct involvement in GNU.

3. Because it's (2), outlined in the Medium post that launched this, and people have been disturbed by it for years but thought removing rms was just not wihin reach.

@clacke You're not communicating very well. Your response just seems like a pithy dismissal. You've provided glib answers to important questions without providing any references to back up what you're saying.

@rah He has his EMACS Virgins routine, and singles out women in the audience. He has on repeated occasions been dismissive of women's concerns around how projects and conferences are run. People working in FSF and GNU have said that women avoid putting themselves in a situation where they need to meet him. He broke the CoC at a conference and refused to back down, and nobody felt empowered to enforce it because he is rms.

There are sources for these things spread out in different fora i'ver the years, but for now geekfeminism.wikia.org/wiki/Ri… will have to do.

@clacke That reference does not do. I can find evidence on that website, after having to find it, supporting only one of the complaints you raised. Can I suggest that you take the time to lay out your complaints clearly, in depth and with supporting references? Possibly using a medium that isn't bound by character limits and doesn't engender low signal-to-noise ratios? Your complaints might then be less likely to be dismissed as jumping on the bandwagon of irrational appeals to outrage. (2/2)

@rah Over the years there have been sporadic accounts like this, hard to search for but noticeable just above the noise for people with an interest in GNU/FSF stuff. With the current momentum they are becoming easier to come by:

lists.gnu.org/archive/html/gui…

> In 2014 I was hired at the FSF as a web developer. In 2015 I quit because the work environment that RMS is ultimately responsible for was demotivating and sad. All of my former FSF coworkers, some of whom sincerely tried (and failed) to make positive change, have since moved on due to similar frustrations. In 2018 I disassociated myself with GNU (as in I no longer identify as a GNU hacker, as there is no formal association) after witnessing RMS rudely interrupt and derail Bradley Kuhn's LibrePlanet session and insist that conference rules do not apply to him. That was the last straw for me, personally, but this pressure had been building for years.

@rah

twitter.com/sarahmei/status/81…

> In the 90s, Richard Stallman's attitude towards women alienated me (& many others) from any interest in or support for "free software."

@rah This isn't "he should adjust this one thing he is doing", or "he did this one grave mistake and should apologize" it's "he is difficult to be around, people have been prodding him the whole time with no result and it affects the movement".

This is perhaps too vague for you, but for the people actually involved in the organization, clearly it is enough to sign public letters.