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Re: gag rule joke
On 05/11/2018 07:02 AM, Richard Stallman wrote:
I think you are saying that all of you were taken aback that I did not
recognize your complete authority, which you considered indisputable.
Some of you were incensed that I didn't accept that.
I think I can understand what that felt like, because I felt something
along the same lines. I was taken aback that you claimed total
authority over GNU libc, since I never agreed to that. I was not
incensed, but I was shocked and alarmed.
The specific joke was the immediate practical disagreement that made
us aware of the deeper disagreement. But that joke was not terribly
important in itself. At least, not to me. Arguments might convince
me it is better to delete one particular joke, if I think they are
valid.
Thank you, I think this is a good summary and basis to start off from
when we resume discussions after the release.
Humor pervades the GNU Project, because I am in favor of humor. The
name "GNU" is itself a joke -- a recursive acronym. If you want to
work on the GNU Project, you'll have to tolerate various kinds of
humor.
That we have a serious purpose is not a reason to aim for
humorlessness: "Ha Ha Only Serious" is a hacker tradition. See
https://stallman.org/articles/on-hacking.html.
To advocate a ban on jokes is to oppose a principle I hold dear. I
hesitate to delete any joke, if that would be appear to be an advance
for a campaign to delete all jokes.
However, if is clear that the matter at hand is only one specific
joke, arguments based on the specifics of the joke could convince me.
Without elaborating on this too much (since we are in a cooling off
period) this is good to hear too and a very good basis to resume
discussion after the release.
I think I'll have coffee for breakfast today instead of the mojito ;)
Thanks,
Siddhesh