[throwaway17746]

There's a big difference. "Presented as" does not mean "was", and the sentence immediately after that makes it clear that he didn't mean it as such.

There are other pretty bad comments, yes. If most of the coverage focused on those rather than something he didn't actually say, I wouldn't have as much of a problem with it.

[veemacs]

Here here, RMS is a weirdo but he's being vilified for things that do not effect his job in any way, he is by no means a representative for MIT, and his opinions on unrelated matters (no matter how misguided they might be) do not change his ability to represent the FSF.

[throwaway17746]

>and his opinions on unrelated matters (no matter how misguided they might be) do not change his ability to represent the FSF

Now that I can't say I totally agree with. The free software movement is a political movement, and as such his statements and opinions on social issues of all kinds have a deep impact on whether or not he can be a good representative of the FSF.

But we should at least be truthful about his statements and opinions!

[frio]

Thanks. I know we're supposed to just upvote when someone hits the nail on the head, but this comment summarises my internal conflict on this perfectly.

[williamDafoe]

He is a beneficiary of having a free office at MIT like a faculty member on sabbatical there, at the recommendation of his friend, Gerald Sussman.

[codesushi42]

"Presented as" does not mean "was"

It can mean that.

sentence immediately after that makes it clear that he didn't mean it as such.

No, it is debatable. The following sentence does not clearly state they were unwilling.

Another Stallman gem:

I am skeptical of the claim that voluntarily pedophilia harms children. The arguments that it causes harm seem to be based on cases which aren't voluntary, which are then stretched by parents who are horrified by the idea that their little baby is maturing.

[qqn]

For the record, he retracted that statement:

"Many years ago I posted that I could not see anything wrong about sex between an adult and a child, if the child accepted it. Through personal conversations in recent years, I've learned to understand how sex with a child can harm per psychologically. This changed my mind about the matter: I think adults should not do that. I am grateful for the conversations that enabled me to understand why."

https://www.stallman.org/archives/2019-jul-oct.html#14_Septe...

Edit: just noticed that's from two days ago, so in reaction to this fiasco.