Dora, Hi.
I don't know if this email will reach you, since I have no reason to trust the infrastructure that supports it. I have a problem... I want to support free software, but not the FSF. It's not rms, not directly at least, he should still be president because he was ousted from that position under disingenuous pretenses. I have far more of a problem with those pretenses than I do with him. I want to support free software, and most certainly not open source, because the latter is a bait-and-switch scam that lies to people and hands free software back to monopolistic code hoarders. I like free software-- the real thing-- the thing rms invented. That's what I want. If I support free software, and encourage others to do so, here is what we get: control of our computing. Freedom. Being able to help our neighbours. The many advantages of "not being handcuffed." If I support the FSF however, this is what I get: disappointment after disappointment, year after year, being told lies (or something really no better than lies) from various ALLEGEDLY pro-fsf sources, who (still) censor mailing lists to this day, who continue to pull organisational tactics to remove rms from things (you know what I mean) and who turn every legitimate complaint into a sales pitch. The general sentiment most pervasive around the FSF today is one of "toxic positivity"-- a real problem that amounts to little more than gaslighting and emotional manipulation. The FSF was better when problems were problems, and happiness wasn't mandatory. If you do an internet search for "wheres the dislike button gnu" (you have to add "gnu" because Youtube has now also removed their dislike button) you'll actually get an FSF page as the top result: https://www.fsf.org/facebook/mark-zuckerberg-is-time-magazines-person-of-the-year-wheres-the-dislike-button I "dislike" the FSF. Actually, no: I Hate the FSF passionately. I hate liars. I hate lies. I hate people sweeping problems under the rug. I hate efforts to manipulate the public-- and the FSF culture of secrecy which helped to obscure the coup in the first place, and not for the last time. I hate their mistreatment of rms, but the new culture of toxic positivity demands we put a smiley face on it. This is a sort of emotional fascism. It's very Orwellian-- I wont ever support it! Unfortunately, the answer to everything now is "Join Us and Help Us" NO! I WON'T support the FSF and its crusade against itself and its own values. I refuse to take part in any of that! But I would still like to support free software. The longer the FSF is around, lying to people and being incredibly unfair, the harder it is to support free software without innocent people getting sucked into this mess. My message is this: "Support free software, and rms-- but NOT the FSF and its lies-- and NOT open source". I think that's fair. Either way, it is the ethical choice that doesn't condone emotional torture and manipulating the public with corporate marketing tactics. I hope you understand. No one else seems to. In the current zeitgeist, everyone is either a Stallman attacker or a "divisive" person or an rms-worshipper. I'm not. I admire rms and find the treatment of him abhorrent and (most importantly) I will not forgive it, because people who would do this to him would do (already do) the very same to us! I'm still angry that the FSF has/had money I gave-- I feel defrauded. Does somebody think that I'm going to go tell other people "give them your money, you'll be pleased?" Does the FSF expect me to lie to my friends the way they clearly expect me to lie to myself? This is ridiculous. Do they think I should be impressed by shuffling the staff positions around, or the (absolutely horrible) changes they've presented to the board this very year as "ethics"? How many times will the FSF steal plotlines from "The Office"? 2022 marks the third time now: (Co-managers, Fake steering wheel, "Ethical training"). I keep predicting that things will get worse, then they do. Then I predict it again, people tell me I'm being negative, then I'm right again. This has gone on for years. Please pull the other leg, this one is getting sore. Stallman was not being "divisive" when he was pessimistic, he was being correct-- just as importantly, he was being honest. There's nothing divisive about true honesty. And there's nothing honest about toxic positivity. Please advise on how I can support free software. But IF you're just going to tell me to support the FSF anyway, is there a polite and POSITIVE way to suggest that you go jump in a lake? Asking for a friend. Feel free to try to fix it. You wont, but you're free to try. I'll let you know when I'm comfortable giving my time and money to them again. Best chances are, that will be never. You just can't put a dollar amount on trust-- but again, you're welcome to try! (The board already has). You must realise that there are more of us every day, wondering the same. I'm in this for them, I'm for the cause-- not for 501(c)3 orgs in the obvious stages of decay. Long live rms and free software. _______________________________________________ Discussion mailing list Discussion@lists.fsfellowship.eu https://lists.fsfellowship.eu/mailman/listinfo/discussion
