A prominent free software activist was forced to resign from his post in a single email, which was criticized as 'a dangerous move.'
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Richard Stallman was known as a free software activist and had a strong presence, including representing the Free Software Foundation. However, the content of the email about the 'Epstein Incident ' that Mr. Stallman sent personally was regarded as a problem, and he was forced to resign from many positions. Experts warn that this is a 'dangerous move at the expense of future development.'
Amid Epstein Controversy, Richard Stallman is Forced to Resign as FSF President --It's FOSS
https://itsfoss.com/richard-stallman-controversy/
Geoff Greer's site: In Defense of Richard Stallman
https://geoff.greer.fm/2019/09/30/in-defense-of-richard-stallman/
Stallman has been a flagship of hacker culture since the 1970s and is known as a promoter of free software and open source software, including the founding of the Free Software Foundation in 1985. In addition to the representative of the Free Software Foundation, Mr. Stallman had many positions such as serving as a visiting scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL), but in September 2019 he will hold many positions. I was forced to resign.
It was an email about the scandal 'Epstein Incident' that took place around American businessman Jeffrey Epstein that dismissed Mr. Stallman from many positions. In this case, Epstein's notebook, which was engaged in large-scale child prostitution, contained the names of many celebrities, including the president and the British royal family, and Epstein, who was in custody, died of a broken neck. It was a big uproar as experts said, 'A fracture caused by a suicide is a very rare suicide.' In response to this, exposed to criticism even MIT, which has received funding from Epstein, of the MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito has also been forced to resign Mr.
Joi Ito resigns as director of MIT Media Lab Over donations from Epstein --ITmedia NEWS
https://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/1909/08/news020.html
Epstein has a very wide range of friendships from politicians to academia, including former US President Bill Clinton and President Donald Trump, as well as Steven Hawking and several Nobel laureates. I have visited Little Saint James Island, which is owned by Epstein.
Marvin Minsky , co-founder of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, is among those who have been accused of having such a relationship with Epstein. Minsky died in 2016, but Minsky's name is among those who appear to have been involved in sexual intercourse with a teenage woman in Epstein's mansion.
AI pioneer Marvin Minsky accused of sex with Epstein trafficking victim --The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/9/20798900/marvin-minsky-jeffrey-epstein-sex-trafficking-island-court-records-unsealed
In response, Stallman sent an email in support of Minsky to people on the mailing list. The term sexual assault is ambiguous in that the email alleges that Mr. Minsky committed 'sexual assault.'
Stallman has no objection to the facts reported, pointing out that even if the sex between a teenage woman and Minsky is true, it is not appropriate to use the word 'assault' unnecessarily. He said in the email that whatever he wanted to criticize should be explained in terms that avoid moral ambiguity.
However, engineer Seram Jie Gano, who forwarded this email from a friend, published the contents of the email and developed an activity called 'Remove Richard Stallman'. The matter wasn't initially noticed in the digital media community, but it's FOSS, a software-related media outlet, said it was criticized by Stallman for being noticed by activists fighting gender bias in the software industry. Says.
As these news were taken up by other media, Mr. Stallman was forced to resign. It's FOSS admits that 'Mr. Stallman was certainly not a saint, and there were words and deeds that were not taken into consideration, including this remark,' but a 'dangerous priority' is about to be formed. I pointed out that. 'It took only five days for Stallman to be removed from an organization that had worked for more than 30 years, and Stallman himself was not involved in the Epstein scandal at all,' It's FOSS said. Takes this case as dangerous.
by Maurizio Scorianz
Computer engineer Geoff Greer denounces in his blog that Gano's accusations are clearly twisted. In the email, Stallman focuses solely on how to use the term. Regarding the attitude of the woman involved in the case, 'There are many possible scenarios, but the most appropriate scenario is that the woman pretended to behave that way on her own initiative. Epstein told her. Given that he was forcing him to behave, Epstein has good reason to ask women to hide his involvement. '
However, Gano summed up Stallman's remarks for some reason: 'Mr. Stallman somehow said he was'totally pleased'about the enslaved child.' This is completely different from what Stallman wrote in the email, but Greer points out that this false content has been diverted to media such as The Daily Beast and Vice and spread.
Renowned MIT Computer Scientist Richard Stallman Defends Epstein: Victims Were'Entirely Willing'
https://www.thedailybeast.com/famed-mit-computer-scientist-richard-stallman-defends-epstein-victims-were-entirely-willing
Famed Computer Scientist Richard Stallman Described Epstein Victims As'Entirely Willing' --VICE
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/9ke3ke/famed-computer-scientist-richard-stallman-described-epstein-victims-as-entirely-willing
Greer commented on Gano's remarks: 'There are two possibilities. The posters of the'Get rid of Richard Stallman'activities were wondering if Stallman's text couldn't be read correctly or the truth. 'In other words, she's either stupid or malicious. The same is true for Daily Beast and Vice reporters. Explaining that they acted as journalists is to journalists. It's an insult. '
Also more worrisome, Greer points out that some of Greer's acquaintances and friends support Stallman's criticism. At first, when Greer pointed out that 'the content is wrong' to those who were criticizing after receiving Mr. Gano's remarks at face value, this time he searched for other critical reasons and stalls again. Mr. Mann has begun to insist that he is a person to be removed. Greer wrote that some criticized Stallman for what happened decades ago, and in the worst case, argued that ' Stallman is a socially ignorant Asperger's syndrome and should be removed.' I have.
Stallman has played a major role in the free software community for many years and has never received much criticism. Greer points out that no one in the world can be safe anymore once a single misrepresentation, humor failure, or misunderstanding is determined to be enough to lose all careers.
Greer argues that more people have overlooked that today's software environment comes from Stallman's vigorous free software activities. Stallman's contribution is largely responsible for the daily use of free software by people around the world, and Stallman has devoted his life to providing equal access to software to the less wealthy. Claims to have been.
Greer warns that a social structure that thoroughly hunts down failed people, such as Stallman's case, could seriously impede future social development. “To satisfy today's mob, we are sacrificing the future. This is a real risk,” Greer said.
by Gladson Xavier
・ Continued
Richard Stallman returns to the Free Software Foundation after being forced to resign with just one email-GIGAZINE
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