Derek Bodner’s Blog

Last week Richard Stallman had a lengthy interview over at PC World, which covered many topics. Among those, obviously, was the GPLv3 license, which brought the interviewer to ask about Linus’s stance on GPLv2 being more suitable for the Linux kernel. After taking a moment to bring up the Open Source/Free Software debate, he ends his response with:

However, if you don’t want to lose your freedom, you had better not follow him (Linus).

This is what drives me nuts about Stallman. I don’t disagree with most of his points. I think what he has devoted his life to is honorable, and has done a considerable deal for the computing world. And he has done it at great cost to his own personal well-being. It’s not what he says, but the manner of which he says it. There’s a slight twinge of “if you’re not with us, you’re against us”. He could have taken the moment to have a lengthy discussion on how GPLv3 helps users and developers avoid pitfalls that GPLv2 overlooked, and why Linus should release the kernel under the new license. But instead he delves into an antagonistic rhetoric that IMO doesn’t convince people as much as he could. Idealism’s great, but when it comes off as “I know what’s right, follow me, if not you’re wrong” the voice can be lost.