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by neilv 1614 days ago
I don't know how much to read into this anecdote, given a related one from around the same time...

In a discussion with RMS, after a little argument, he agreed that the immediate safety of certain underdogs who needed secure communications trumped libre software goals. (The question was something about the libre software solution at the moment being inferior for some threat model.)
1 comments
BrS96bVxXBLzf5B 1614 days ago
That's interesting! He was definitely playing an antagonistic character ("I have a bad ear", "I can't hear you" whenever someone said something disagreeable; one person didn't get it and kept repeating their sentence more loudly to no change). I could imagine him having that more liberal private stance whilst keeping the public one consistently firm.
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neilv 1614 days ago
RMS seems absolutely uncompromising on his principles (whether publicly, or in smaller groups), but I think his principles aren't only about libre software.

Maybe the difference between the two anecdotes was details of what was being weighed against libre software. In his value system, maybe the success of an underdog's mission (maybe for a different kind of freedom) is more important than lives saved? Or maybe he was just feeling punchy in one of the meetings?

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