[quenlinlom]

The problem with RMS is that he always assumes people to agree with his way of thinking. His uncompromising tone is also a big problem.

I know, programmers are supposed to be emotionless meritocratic robots, but this Old Boys Know Best attitude is precisely why RMS and GCC is losing user share so quickly these days: the extremist meritocracy of programming culture is actually highly male-centric, and it simply scares off all women and any men who are not sexists.

This is why LLVM is gaining so much support these days: it's technically superior, and its development community isn't sexist.

[tptacek]

This isn't a problem with RMS. It's a fact of RMS, and such a well known fact that it practically defines him. People working on FSF projects tend to understand that.

If you actually read what RMS just wrote, or, for that matter, anything RMS has written in the last decade on similar subjects, it's clear that "losing user share" isn't a meaningful metric to the FSF. If you lose user share by strengthening non-free software, then there was no point to the FSF to begin with.

By starting your comment with "the problem with RMS", you might as well be pointing out "the problem with free software". Which, fair enough, but it's not like people didn't realize that non-free software could edge out free software on functionality or user-friendliness.

[jitendrac]

Still community needs such the persons.