Stallman and Negroponte
In my values, freedom is more important than “serving users” in a mere practical sense. Of course, in many cases we can achieve both, so we do not need to choose between them. But once in a while that isn’t so. — Richard Stallman, 2000 (source)
That is my favourite Richard Stallman quote because it, to my mind, perfectly encapsulates why he is largely irrelevant to day-to-day software development. If I want to write a document I will choose and suggest Microsoft Word over a GPL-licensed Hello World program. I suppose that makes me philosophically unclean to the Free Software community, but I can’t shake the idea that the only reason software exists is to serve users in a mere, practical sense.
I view Nicholas Negroponte in much the same way, though Negroponte’s philosophical contribution is as a futurist, rather than an ethicist. I think “Being Digital” was what cemented Negroponte in that role for me.
Do not misunderstand me, both Negroponte and Stallman have immense value to the software industry. Without people publishing proclamations and nailing manifestos to doors nothing truly innovative, and thus nothing better, ever happens. The MIT Media Lab, emacs, the OLPC, and the GNU Project all represent huge contributions to the state of the art. Both in their practical effects and in the fainter ripples of opinion and thought they cause.
Today, it was with little surprise that I read Ivan Krstić’s insider view of the OLPC project. And it was with even less surprise that I read RMS’s response to the news of the OLPC switching to Windows.
Respect these men, value their contributions, and give serious thought to their ideas. But when it’s time to actually write code, concentrate on what you can do for users today.
