Posts by Richard Stallman

The article errs in calling me an "open source firebrand". I lead the free software movement, which is a campaign for software users' freedom. This is a matter of justice, and we fight for it; I am proud to be a firebrand for free software and freedom.

The idea of an "open source firebrand" is an oxymoron, because the whole purpose of "open source" is to reject and bury the issue of freedom. The open-source non-movement denies that there is anything here to fight for.

Please don't misrepresent my views by suggesting I am a supporter of that.

See http://gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html

for more explanation of the difference between free software and open source. See also http://thebaffler.com/past/the_meme_hustler for Evgeny Morozov's article on the same point.

From Richard Stallman

As the leader or "Chief GNUisance" of the GNU Project, I appoint the offical maintainers for GNU packages. The maintainers of a package are in charge of the work on it, and often organize contribution by others.

However, it has been many years since I myself was the maintainer of GNU Emacs. The previous official maintainer of GNU Emacs was Stefan Monnier, who recently resigned after many years of good work.

I wrote GNU Emacs as part of the free operating system GNU, begun in 1984. The last major gap in GNU, the kernel, was filled in 1992 when Torvalds freed his kernel, Linux.

Dr Richard Stallman

President, Free Software Foundation (gnu.org, fsf.org)

Internet Hall-of-Famer (internethalloffame.org)

MacArthur Fellow

The reason these computers spy on their "owners" is that they are run by nonfree software -- software that controls its users. This is one of many reasons we should reject nonfree software and demand that software be free, under its users' control.

See http://gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html.

Meanwhile, we should not settle for existing privacy laws. We must legally require the redesign of all digital systems so as not to accumulate dossiers about people.

See http://gnu.org/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html.

Dr Richard Stallman

President, Free Software Foundation (gnu.org, fsf.org)

Internet Hall-of-Famer (internethalloffame.org)

MacArthur Fellow

Comment from Richard Stallman

I heartily support your rejection of the BSA's attempt to equate

forbidden copying with "piracy". I refuse to speak of "software

piracy", since real life piracy is generally committed using arms, not

using software.

However, the term "copyright theft" is equally misconceived. There is

no way to steal a copyright, since a copyright is not represented by

any specific physical object that one might steal. It is possible to

take someone's copyright through fraud. It is also possible to

intimidate someone into handing it over, as the major record companies

habitually do to young musicians. But theft of a copyright is

impossible.

Software theft is possible -- one could steal a CDROM, for instance --

but this does not involve copying, so it does not concern copyright

law.

What does concern copyright law is copying without authorization.

That may or may not be a crime, but it is never theft, as any lawyer

speaking seriously will confirm. To call it "theft" is to use that

word loosely in order to express an emotional position, on the side of

copyright holders against people who copy. I have a different view,

and the term I use to express it is "forbidden sharing".