[r3856283]

I don't believe your account of this 2009 talk, most definitely do not believe your suggestion of what 100 other people thought is anywhere close to accurate.

> To those who say we need him for GNU outreach: we absolutely don't. ANYONE would be better for the job.

But other people are, and you are ignoring them and helping create this supposed problem, which I'm unconvinced is a real or important problem. LWN said that Panos Alevropoulos gave a great speech at this very same event. Why don't you write or promote an article about his talk and leave the people who want to read this article alone instead of heckling them and RMS. I've read this same complaint for many years "Everyone look: we should pay attention to someone else besides RMS for free software (as I also give attention to RMS through this comment, do not pay attention to anyone else, and do not suggest anyone or do anything to help solve this supposed problem)." RMS said things at this event people are interested in reading about, so this got upvoted, and there is nothing wrong with that, and the fact that you didn't like his attitude in 2009 is really not very interesting as a comment on this 2023 speech where he had a good attitude. Is RMS irredeemable? Should someone be primarily judged by mostly anonymous internet commenters who are not actively involved in the activity they criticize and based on things like a grumpy attitude they once saw? I don't think so.

[0atman]

You don't believe me? That's an extremely weird reaction, he's on public record with this kind of behaviour, just look at most of the comments in this very thread of people saying the same thing.

You've forced me to look up the talk, and the one I have the ticket for in my email is actually from 2011, my memory of the date was wrong: https://localevents.theiet.org/register.php?event=bc7fd2

Someone took a terrible video of it (ah 2011 video) here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vazlMe7sNzM but that doesn't seem to include the Q&A section where he went off the rails.

[r3856283]

> You don't believe me? That's an extremely weird reaction

Really? Let me spell it out for you. You wrote:

> The 100 or so developers all left the talk in silence, mourning the loss of the hero we had imagined him to be.

That is completely not credible on its face. It was a public event. I've been to RMS speeches, seen recordings, and I estimate there was a ~0% likelihood that all the people who attended that event considered RMS a hero before the event and lost that impression through it.