Re: Joint statement on the GNU Project

[Jean Louis <bugs@gnu.support>]

Dear P,

See my comments below.

* P <pronaip@protonmail.com> [2019-10-10 22:33]:
> ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
> On Thursday, October 10, 2019 7:22 PM, Jean Louis <bugs@gnu.support> wrote:
> 
> > > Your problem is that you published this statement to guix-devel. If you
> > > don't mind, I'll forward your mail to gnu-system-discuss, which is the
> > > appropriate mailing list.
> >
> > I don't mind.
> >
> > Guix developers published biased and factless defamation of RMS on Guix pages.
> 
> This is what they actually said: GNU is not fulfilling its mission
> when the behavior of its leader alienates a large part of those we
> want to reach out to.

That is incorrect. GNU is free operating system, and by writing this
from a Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre system it is a simple fact that it is
fullfiling its mission.

Let us be specific and speak of specific facts, concrete, and let us
avoid generalizations. Ludovic Courtès and the succession company by
conducting fears, uncertainty and doubts[1] and by publishing
generalized, fact-less defamation of Dr. Richard Stallman are simply
trying to take over the authority and powers in GNU project.

However, the effect they got is quite opposite, people don't trust
them.

Even people outside of GNU project and those not being supporters of
free software are expressing their opinions on Internet calling them
"traitors" and other bad names that shall not be mentioned at this
place. 

That is the mob's reaction on their libelous statement, based on
emotions, again not on facts. Their libelous statement itself was
based also on emotions and fears of Ludovic Courtès and the succession
company that they will lose their own reputation in their own lives
due to connection to GNU project itself run by Dr. Richard Stallman.

I say this, if my friend is my friend, I stay loyal to my friend,
despite the rumors in background. Rumors are not facts, and there is
no public figure in the world of last 30 years that has not been
attacked by rumors one way or the other.

But rumor is not a fact.

> Which is true, and the funny thing is, it's true by your own
> admission as well.

It is not true.

It is very easy to say "it is true" and accuse RMS and further inflate
accusations.

It is very hard to provide facts.

The fact is that Ludovic Courtès is not a free software activist. He
cannot represent what he said. He is hacker, he is free software
developer, but not activist in the sense that he pushes free software
forward. Do you see the difference in what I am talking about?

Why I am saying this? Because as of now, on his websites I do not see
mentioning of "free software" and any ideas related to free software.

Do you see here on his website any mentioning of the specific term
"free software"?
http://people.bordeaux.inria.fr/lcourtes/

Try searching for this term:

site:hpc.guix.info "free software" on search engines and you will see
his other website https://hpc.guix.info is not mentioning any
advancement of free software. He is hacker, programmer, developer of
free software, but it looks it just happens by chance, he found ground
to do it, which is all good and fine, but he is not public or loud
proponent of free software.

Nowhere on his personal pages he has mentioned important of the GNU
Project and free software and importance of Dr. Richard Stallman.

He likes free software, he develops it, all is fine, there are many
developers like that, and nobody asks him to be proponend or public
proponent for free software, he is free to do what he wish.

However, the fact that Ludovic Courtès is not a public proponent of
free software and that he never mentioned free software movements and
importances of it, that I know, does not qualify him, does not make
him trusted to say what he said on:
https://guix.gnu.org/blog/2019/joint-statement-on-the-gnu-project/

It is my opinion and impression that many GNU developers joined the
GNU project, without being truly aware of free software ideas and
politics.

What did Ludovic Courtès do for free software in last month, or weeks
other but programming? He has just ruined the image of Guix, GNU, FSF
and Richard Stallman, and himself.

What did Richard Stallman do for free software in last 30 days? He
went to Microsoft Research and did a talk on free software. See this
article:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/free-software-advocate-richard-stallman-spoke-at-microsoft-research-this-week/

That was September 4th 2019.

Did Ludovic Courtès ever did talk on free software?

Or just on Guix, Guile, and other technical stuff that he likes?

Now back to subject of this email, you said that Ludovic Courtès and
his succession company is right and that "GNU is not fullfiling its
mission" due to rumors about RMS, and I have given you my short
research of websites of Ludovic Courtès and have shown you and given
you short research of RMS's deeds in last September 2019, and those
facts are now showing:

1. That Ludovic Courtès never spoke publicly about free software, and
   did not promote free software politics and ideology. He promoted
   free software as such, and is programmer who produces free
   software, and that is good enough. But the distinction is in this
   case important as he is claiming incorrectly that RMS is
   endangering GNU project for rumor's sake.

2. That RMS did the speech in Microsoft Research and pushed forward
   the idea of free software, "covering the importance of free
   software, GPL v3, GNU vs. Linux. He added that "he had a list of
   'small requests': make Github push users to better software license
   hygiene, make hardware manufacturers to publish their hardware
   specs, make it easier to workaround Secure Boot."

That disproves Ludovic Courtès's qualification to say that Dr. Richard
Stallman is not qualified to lead GNU project.

Nobody was EVER qualified to lead GNU project but Richard Stallman.

Ludovic Courtès is not qualified to lead GNU project and make such
statements. He is qualified in technical terms to lead GNU software
projects, not GNU project itself.

GNU Project is primarily idelogical and political. It is not primarily
technical.

People who have signed their disgraceful statements are not
ideologists:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/free-software-advocate-richard-stallman-spoke-at-microsoft-research-this-week/
they are programmers, and I respect each of them what they do in their
programming field.

They are not qualified to replace GNU leadership for reasons that they
have not done anything of ideological value for GNU proejct in that
sense to replace RMS!

Their opinions are invalid. Their opinions are based on their emotions
and lack of experience in the life. Their opinions are based on rumors
and fact-less biased generalizations. None of them could give facts.

A person which could be maybe qualified to say that Dr. Richard
Stallman is not qualified to lead GNU project, could be Eben
Moglen. He was enforcing the GNU GPL license and worked with FSF in
past. He was heavily involved with drafing of the GNU GPL. See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eben_Moglen

Now if he would say at this point or any point of time: "Dr. Stallman
is not disgracing the GNU project because he has long beard and long
hair and French public would rather like to see him nicely trimmed" --
I would laugh about it, and move on. And if Eben Moglen would say that
Dr. Richard Stallman is not doing good for GNU project, then he would
state the facts, and such facts do not exist now. But if he would
state facts, I would not laugh about it, but would rather look into
the facts.

I have asked for facts from Ludovic Courtès and his succession
company, and I got no facts.

I am not in doubt that Dr. Richard Stallman did GOOD to the world with
the GNU project establishment.

Jean Louis

Footnotes:
[1]  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear,_uncertainty,_and_doubt