Civility in the Marketplace of Ideas [was: Public Domain Python]

[Steven D. Majewski]

<http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/print/2322/>

[ ... ] 

"But what mystifies me the most is the amount of vehemence that Richard 
Stallman provokes whenever he weighs in on a subject. I have seen this 
time and time again, most recently regarding licensing issues surrounding 
KDE, Qt, and Python. In these cases, RMS was asked his opinion regarding 
licenses by many folks--including TrollTech, BeOpen, and Linux Today--and 
in each case Stallman responded in a professional and constructive 
manner. He didn't go out in search of fights, and in the case of 
TrollTech and BeOpen I was told both on and off the record that RMS had 
proven to be very helpful. Similarly, when we were seeking comments on 
licensing issues for LinuxToday, RMS was very helpful. "

"That's why it's so distressing to me to see the reaction he engendered 
from people on Linux Today and Slashdot. The talkbacks in both public 
forums were filled with anger and denouncement. He was called a fascist, 
a dictator, and a communist. Readers felt compelled to make pointed 
personal attacks on RMS in the course of disagreeing with him. " [ ... ]