Richard Stallman
Richard Stallman
Richard Matthew Stallman, often known by his initials, rms, is an American software freedom activist and programmer. He campaigns for software to be distributed in a manner such that its users receive the freedoms to use, study, distribute and modify that software. Software that ensures these freedoms is termed free software. Stallman launched the GNU Project, founded the Free Software Foundation, developed the GNU Compiler Collection and GNU Emacs, and wrote the GNU General Public License...
ProfessionEntrepreneur
Date of Birth16 March 1953
allow computing control deserve free freedom particular software users
The idea of free software is that users of computing deserve freedom. They deserve in particular to have control over their computing. And proprietary software does not allow users to have control of their computing.
acquire amazon buy certain database freedom identify paper paying printed takes
With paper printed books, you have certain freedoms. You can acquire the book anonymously by paying cash, which is the way I always buy books. I never use a credit card. I don't identify to any database when I buy books. Amazon takes away that freedom.
code computers developing explicitly free freedom instead popularity purpose success system thus
When I launched the development of the GNU system, I explicitly said the purpose of developing this system is so we can use our computers and have freedom, thus if you use some other free system instead but you have freedom, then it's a success. It's not popularity for our code but it's success for our goal.
against founded free freedom movement open people reaction software source wiped
I founded the free software movement, a movement for freedom to cooperate. Open source was a reaction against our idealism. We are still here and the open-source people have not wiped us out.
code combining free partly preventing software user various
We've partly removed the inconveniences of preventing a user from combining code from various free software packages.
code covers designed free license means microsoft permit program prohibit
designed to prohibit all free software. It covers only code that implements, precisely, the Microsoft formats, which means that a program under this license does not permit modification.
build community focus freedom mind staying strength
If you focus your mind on the freedom and community that you can build by staying firm, you will find the strength to do it.
develop freedom respects
In the free/libre software movement, we develop software that respects users' freedom, so we and you can escape from software that doesn't.
decision free software
The free world welcomes Sun's decision to use the Free Software Foundation's GPL.
nasty sprung threats
The world has sprung very nasty threats on us and our software.
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British book publishers plan to put a microchip into every book to record who owns it - an unprecedented surveillance measure.
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The reason that a good citizen does not use such destructive means to become wealthier is that, if everyone did so, we would all become poorer from the mutual destructiveness.
developers impose monopolies patents
Software patents are dangerous to software developers because they impose monopolies on software ideas.
change divided forbidden helpless keeps power program since source study system unjust users
Proprietary software keeps users divided and helpless. Divided because each user is forbidden to redistribute it to others, and helpless because the users can't change it since they don't have the source code. They can't study what it really does. So the proprietary program is a system of unjust power.