In my final semester at St. John’s, I was required to take up a research project, give a presentation on the topic, and then write a lengthy paper. Naturally, the topic was also required to be from the field of Computer Science. I knew right away that I wanted to do something with Linux. Through some guidance from my professor, I came to the topic of Free and Open Source Software. One of the first important people I came across in my research was Richard Stallman. So when I discovered a few weeks ago that Stallman was giving a talk at the University of Minnesota, I made sure my calendar was free.

After wandering around the U of M campus for the first time, I managed to find my way to Wiley Hall Room 175 just in time. Stallman took the stage moments later and began what would amount to 2 straight hours of speaking, evangelism, and laughs.

If you aren’t familiar with who Stallman is, well, I’m not surprised. Have you ever heard of the term ‘hacker?’ Stallman was one of the first. Ever heard of GNU, Linux, or Emacs? He either made them himself, or made them possible. If you’re still lost, then maybe you should stop reading here.

RMS began by explaining the four freedoms of free software.

  • Freedom 0: The freedom to use software as you wish
  • Freedom 1: The freedom to view the source code and modify it as you wish
  • Freedom 2: The freedom to distribute copies of the software to others
  • Freedom 3: The freedom to make improvements to the program and distribute those modifications to others

These four freedoms all must be true in order to call a piece of software ‘free.’ From there things really went everywhere.  There was much badmouthing of proprietary software and all the problems and hassles it brings. Stallman’s primary message was to refuse to use proprietary software, evangelise free software, and the computing world will become a much better place. Oh and there were a few jabs at the US government, Microsoft, large corporations that I’ll admit I laughed at.

RMS was also endlessly quotable:

“Ms. Clinton… probably mentions freedom more often than I do, but says much less about the substance of it.”

“If you see someone drowning, and there’s no one else around, and it’s not Bush, you have an obligation to save that person.”

“I am St Ignucius of the Church of Emacs.”

“Vi vi vi is the ‘Editor of the Beast’, but using a free implementation of vi is not a sin, it’s a penance.”

I can’t completely agree with Stallman though. It’s tough because I have a lot of respect for the man for what he’s accomplished and the views we share. Free software is great and so is the idea that we all should share and help each other out. However, that view is unrealistic. I think proprietary software has its place in the world too. And the world certainly isn’t as amiable and agreeable as Stallman would like it to be. I’m not about to give up my DVD movies, my Macbook Pro, or playing Warhammer Online, all of which are, run, or use proprietary software.

Most people probably don’t think about the freedoms they give when running proprietary software, but at the same time I think if they did, most would make the same choice. Because of that, Stallman’s vision of a utopia for free software will never exist. Nonetheless, I encourage Stallman and the Free Software Foundation to continue their work. He is exactly the kind of person you want to lead a movement. He’s pure, uncorruptable, and unflinchingly loyal. He’s made it his life’s purpose to bring his vision to reality. If only some of our politicians and world leaders had the same passion and outlook.