🚀 go-pugleaf

Wolfgang,

  I apologize.  I read your message and responded when I was in a bad
mood.  We've known each other, for, what, 5 years now?  From the days of
LMI... I met RMS 8 years ago, before I even moved to Boston.
  Richard is brilliant.  He is also a complete fanatic.  He is absolutely
right about many things, including the bad effects of litigious behavior
on the part of Lotus, Apple, et. al.
  I agree with a lot of what he says.  I disagree with some of his
methods.  In particular, I disagree with ANYTHING that smacks of
"one-true-wayism".  We've corresponded about his repeated public calls to
"punish Apple users because of the sins of Apple."  He did not convince me
of the correctness of this behavior; I did not convince him of the
incorrectness.  The result is: I believe that a LOT of what he says (but
not all...) is absolutely right, but, since I do not agree with ALL of
what he says, he has branded me an "enemy."
  This saddens me.  I don't think of myself as an enemy.  Unfortunately, I
do not feel I can support the LPF, for example, because I STRONGLY
disagree with some of its behavior.
  I am a programmer.  I DESPISE Apple's behavior.  I am a Macintosh owner.
I want Apple to prosper.  Contradictory, eh?
  Now, you've just announced that you are going to carry on RMS's
tradition of "Let us Withhold Information from the ENEMIES of the One True
Way of Free Software and PUNISH those Evil Benighted Users of the machines
of the Powerful Evil Empire of AT&T, Apple, etc. for having the GALL to
actually Support the Damned Companies by OWNING and trying to USE their
computers.  May they be DAMNED to PERDITION for making this Mistake!  Let
the WRATH of the FSF and LPF be on their heads, so help us RMS!"
  As a number of people have correctly pointed out, you have every right
to choose to not carry newsgroups you disagree with.  As I subsequently
pointed out, you do NOT have the right to cut off such newsgroups without
informing your downstream sites of what you are doing.  And, preferably,
WHY you are doing it.
  I read your note, concluded you were cutting off the free flow of
information WITHOUT informing the censorees, and responded.
  I hope I was wrong.

  - Peter L. DeWolf
    pld@mcrc.mot.com -or pld@abp.lcs.mit.edu
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