--- On Fri, 4/13/12, Jonathan Wakely <jwakely....@gmail.com> wrote: > > I was wondering if anyone had a response to this? No > > one responded on- or off-list, which was both surprising > > and confusing. > Why? What sort of response were you expecting?
I didn't have a particular expectation (outside of just some kind of response). :-) > What has GCC or GNU got to do with "fraternity between > nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies > and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses"? Well, GCC is part of GNU. GNU is of the Free Software Foundation. The FSF was started by Stallman on principles which were contrary to seemingly fundamental mindsets of the time (and today). His was an ideology organized into a specific thing thta grew into far more than I think even he envisioned. The off-shoots of his creation are powering the world's economy today, powering virtually every machine ever built (at least as an option to do so). Were it not for free software, our world would be markedly different in 2012. Now, specifically to GCC, Linux is built on it. Stallman initially wrote the compiler, debugger, etc., and in so doing got the ball rolling. He's since moved on to the more philosophical end regarding software patents, intellectual property, and the need for free software on principles. He's also devoted his life pretty much exclusively toward this end since 1983/4. > More to the point, RMS hasn't added code to GCC for many years, > it's been the work of lots and lots of others for years. > Where's my nobel prize? Free Software exists as it does today because of Stallman. And I wasn't suggesting RMS get the Nobel Prize for GCC, or even specifically for GNU, but rather for the ideology and philosophical contributions to the world the FSF has created. His initial contributions to all of those (then) fledgling efforts which have panned out into a diverse machine encompassing millions of developers world-wide. Is it not single greatest humanitarian effort begun by a person with an ideological philosophy? His is of such a creation, offered up unto humanity in a way which is unlike other efforts, one where the free labor of literally millions of people across the globe, their skills, their talents, the best they have to offer in many cases, is literally handed over to everyone else for free. And the philosophy behind the GPL ensures that those offerings cannot be retracted at a future date. The Nobel Prize honors people who have changed the world in positive ways, contributing something which makes human life better. RMS has done that with the FSF, GNU in general, and also its offerings (like GCC, surely the fundamental backbone of nearly all free software in existence). I don't think it would be out of line at all to consider the ramifications RMS has had upon this world. He has maintained his vision to free software (and not open source) all along, because he believes and pushes that the right to BE ABLE to share and to have the contributions of your neighbors (both near and far) added to prior work by yourself and others is paramount to having a great society. What better type of improvement is ther than to take the work of millions and offer it for billions to use or improve upon (should they choose)? Name another endeavor piloted by a single individual, especially one which has faced such staunch and continuous opposition at every point, which has then reached such a scope as to touch literally billions of lives, giving every one of them the chance to improve what they have today (should they choose to do so). I'm simply not aware of any efforts of similar scope. Best regards, Rick C. Hodgin
