[enriquto]

> Nathan Sidwell is a Facebook engineer who instigated the removal of rms from the gcc steering committee.

> https://gcc.gnu.org/pipermail/gcc/2021-April/235267.html

Today I learned the name of one of the first toxic people who seriously suggested to write gcc in C++. And they are admitting it themselves! What a tragedy. Of course, RMS was, rightfully again, the main opposing force. We live in sad, sad times.

Quoting this person's message:

> Interactions I've had with the SC, beyond maintainer appointment, seem to run into RMS.

Sounds like a feature to me! The main purpose of RMS's presence is precisely to keep away idiotic proposals like those of Nathan Sidwell.

[geofft]

What is your reason for believing that the proposal to write gcc in C++ is idiotic?

[enriquto]

Paraphrasing Torvalds, to keep people like Nathan out.

Being serious, the world needs an easily bootstrappable C compiler. It's a crucial pillar of our society, and we lost it a few years ago. That is a shame.