> “He literally used to have a mattress on the floor of his office. He kept the door to his office open, to proudly showcase that mattress and all the implications that went with it. Many female students avoided the corridor with his office for that reason…I was one of the course 6 undergrads who avoided that part of NE43 precisely for that reason. (the mattress was also known to have shirtless people lounging on it…)”
He lived in his office. Maybe that explains the mattress, huh?
Additionally, at some point another anonymous person has sat on RMS' mattress without wearing a shirt. We're setting the bar quite low for what counts as "abuse" here.
> Until around 1998, my office at MIT was also my residence. I was even registered to vote from there.
> I recall being told early in my freshman year “If RMS hits on you, just say ‘I’m a vi user’ even if it’s not true.”
So one person having allegedly told an arguably sexist text editor joke to another person is somehow good enough evidence to punish the third person who is the subject of the joke?
> Richard Stallman told me of his misery and that he’d kill himself if I didn’t go out with him. [...] He was not a man of his word or he’d be long dead.”
Complicated story, and arguably not nice of RMS, but saying that someone is not "a man of [their] word" because they haven't committed suicide is also not nice, in my eyes at least.
Anything more than unverifiable claims from 30 years ago? And even then, how is sleeping on a mattress oppressive? I also sleep on a mattress. I've also asked girls out when I was young, and been declined (once).
That is some twisted mythos regarding RMS. All his online, TV, and keynote appearances have proven him to be a misunderstood and harmless tech expert. What is your experience from speaking to him personally?