Re: [OT] Re: configure script

[Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org>]

I can't speak for the open source movement, let alone for its
founders, but their motivation could not lie in their impressions of
working with me personally, because most of them had never worked
with me directly.

They have been quite articulate about their reasons.  The free
software movement promotes certain views, including the idea that free
software is an ethical imperative and non-free software is
anti-social.  The founders of the open source movement chose to reject
this ethical imperative, and instead to approach business with
arguments based purely on an appeal to selfishness.

As far as I can tell, some open source supporters actually did believe
in the free software movement's ethical position, but decided as a
strategem to avoid mentioning it.  Others, including Eric Raymond,
never agreed with these views, either before or after.  For him, open
source provided an opportunity to convince some people whose views
were more like mine to advocate his views instead.

Subsequently, business has tended to promote "open source", and most
journalists follow business.  As a result, many people don't realize
there is a free software movement.  I regularly encounter people who
agree with the free software movement's position but have no idea that
there is a free software movement.  I ask them to start saying "free
software" instead, and many of them do.