I also stand up for Stallman
I can't say I agree with this "stand up for weak people against bullies" defense of Richard Stallman. It doesn't do rms any favors, because it makes him look like a weakling.<p>I don't agree with rms right now, but he deserves a lot of respect for the work he has done throughout his life. I'm just going by the wikipedia page, but he wrote gcc and gdb - that alone should give someone a fair amount of respect. If you add the concept of copyleft and the GPL on top of that, you've got a substantial legacy that we owe a debt of gratitude towards.<p>He is an extremist, though. He has always been an extremist. His opinions were often unappealing even when he was writing in opposition to The Borg.  His opinions have only become more unpalatable as closed platforms from Apple and Google have become more appealing on their technical merits.<p>In my own experience, though, it seems like some newer folks don't really understand that those extreme ideas came from an important place. They don't understand the hacker ethic or have much of an idea of the culture that rms comes from, exemplified, and fights for. I imagine most readers here are familiar with it, but it's a fading ideal, for sure.<p>Anyway - I've made fun of rms as much as the next guy, but he doesn't need me to defend him. And I doubt he cares what people say about his rider.