On Thursday 03 January 2008, Dusty wrote: > Rui Miguel Silva Seabra only ever contributes to this list when its > in a flame war, and always to take up a contrary point of view. He > has proved only one thing. Trolls do exist and their primary form of > communication is to point and grunt. > What Rui says is so stupid, its not even wrong. > > Kindest Regards > Dusty > > Please Rui, dont reply, you'll only prove my point. Go troll > somewhere else.
Hi Dusty, I'm certainly not an apologist or sympathizer. If you check the archives, you'll find I'm one of the folks who has argued against Rui, and Stallman, and other GNU/FSF folks. Though I fiercely disagree with their views, finding their dissenting views on this list is a sign of healthy interaction. This list, and the world, would be far worse if people were too afraid of attacks to voice an unpopular opinion. If you really think about it, this list, and OpenBSD itself, exist because someone had an "unpopular" opinion about doing things "right" and he had the stones to keep voicing his opinion in spite of the countless personal attacks he has endured. Though I cannot speak for Rui, Stallman or anyone else, I've personally learned a lot by stating my opinions and being challenged by people who often know better, or who merely see things in a way I've never really considered. I've been here for more than a decade and I *still* get things wrong, and get corrected, and learn from it. We all do. If we're lucky or smart, we even learn from watching others get it wrong and get corrected on these public lists. Sure, the constant yammering gets old, but vocal disagreement is still better than repression. Scrutiny of a dissenting view is better than suppression, apathy or neglect. Though it might be extremely annoying, it's still better to let them blither, and continue to challenge their views, than it is to try to stop them from blithering. --Even if Rui, or Stallman, or whoever decides to maintain their views, someone else who is quietly reading the exchange might actually learn from it. Kind Regards, JCR
