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[[Image:Richard Matthew Stallman.jpeg|thumb|197px|An image of Richard Stallman from the cover of the [[O'Reilly Media|O'Reilly]] book ''[[Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software]]'' by [[Sam Williams]] ([[2002]]).]]
[[Image:Richard Matthew Stallman.jpeg|thumb|197px|An image of Richard Stallman from the cover of the [[O'Reilly Media|O'Reilly]] book ''[[Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software]]'' by [[Sam Williams]] ([[2002]]).]]


Since the mid-[[1990s]], he has spent most of his time as a [[political campaigner]], advocating [[free software]] and campaigning against [[software idea patent]]s and expansions of [[copyright]] law. The time that he still devotes to [[computer programming|programming]] is spent on GNU Emacs. He is currently supported by various [[fellowship]]s and maintains a modest standard of living.
Since the mid-[[1990s]], he has spent most of his time as a [[political campaigner]], advocating [[free software]] and campaigning against [[software idea patent]]s and expansions of [[copyright]] law. The time that he still devotes to [[computer programming|programming]] is spent on GNU Emacs. He makes a living through being
paid for around half of the speeches he gives, and maintains a modest standard of living.


== Biography ==
== Biography ==


Richard Matthew Stallman was born in [[Manhattan]] to Alice Lippman and Daniel Stallman. In his programming years he was perhaps better known by his initials, "RMS". In the first edition of the ''[[Hacker's Dictionary]]'', he wrote, '"Richard Stallman" is just my mundane name; you can call me "rms".'
Richard Matthew Stallman was born in [[Manhattan]] to Alice and Daniel Stallman. In his programming years he was perhaps better known by his initials, "RMS". In the first edition of the ''[[Hacker's Dictionary]]'', he wrote, '"Richard Stallman" is just my mundane name; you can call me "rms".' [http://stallman.org/index.html#humorousbio]


His first access to a computer came during his junior year at high school in the [[1960]]s. Hired by the [[IBM New York Scientific Center]], Stallman spent the summer after his high-school graduation writing his first program, a preprocessor for the [[IBM 7094]] written in the [[PL/I]] [[programming language]]. "I first wrote it in PL/I, then started over in assembly language when the PL/I program was too big to fit in the computer", he later said. (Williams 2002, [http://www.faifzilla.org/ch03.html chapter 3])
His first access to a computer came during his junior year at high school in 1969. Hired by the [[IBM New York Scientific Center]], Stallman spent the summer after his high-school graduation writing his first program, a preprocessor for the [[PL/I]] [[programming language]] on the IBM 360. "I first wrote it in PL/I, then started over in assembly language when the PL/I program was too big to fit in the computer", he later said. (Williams 2002, [http://www.faifzilla.org/ch03.html chapter 3])


After that job, Stallman held a Laboratory Assistant position in the Biology Department at [[Rockefeller University]]. Although he was already moving toward a career in mathematics or physics, his analytical mind impressed the lab director such that a few years after Stallman departed for college, his mother received a phone call. "It was the professor at Rockefeller", she recalled. "He wanted to know how Richard was doing. He was surprised to learn that he was working in computers. He'd always thought Richard had a great future ahead of him as a biologist." (Williams 2002, [http://www.faifzilla.org/ch03.html chapter 3])
Stallman was simultaneously a volunteer Laboratory Assistant position in the Biology Department at [[Rockefeller University]]. Although he was already moving toward a career in mathematics or physics, his analytical mind impressed the lab director such that a few years after Stallman departed for college, his mother received a phone call. "It was the professor at Rockefeller", she recalled. "He wanted to know how Richard was doing. He was surprised to learn that he was working in computers. He'd always thought Richard had a great future ahead of him as a biologist." (Williams 2002, [http://www.faifzilla.org/ch03.html chapter 3])


In [[1971]], as a freshman at [[Harvard University]] (graduated with a BA in Physics in 1974), Stallman became a [[hacker]] at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] [[MIT AI Lab|AI Laboratory]]. He was hired by [[Russ Noftsker]], a man who would later found [[Symbolics]] and become a bitter opponent for Stallman. Later, at the age of twenty one, he worked for a timesharing company in [[Westchester County]] with a desk adjacent to that of [[Eben Moglen]], now a well known technology [[lawyer|attorney]].
In [[1971]], as a freshman at [[Harvard University]] (graduated with a BA in Physics in 1974), Stallman became a [[hacker]] at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] [[MIT AI Lab|AI Laboratory]]. He was hired by [[Russ Noftsker]], a man who would later found [[Symbolics]] and become a bitter opponent for Stallman.


===Decline of the hacker culture===
===Decline of the hacker culture===


In the [[1980s]], the [[hacker community]] that dominated Stallman's life began to dissolve. The emergence of "portable software" — software that could be made to run on different types of computers — meant that the ability for computer users to modify and share the software that came with computers was now a problem for the business models of the computer manufacturers. To prevent their software from being used on their competitors' computers, manufacturers stopped distributing [[source code]] and began restricting copying and redistribution of their software by copyrighting it.
In the [[1980s]], the [[hacker community]] that dominated Stallman's life began to dissolve. The emergence of "portable software" — software that could be made to run on different types of computers — meant that the ability for computer users to modify and share the software that came with computers was now a problem for the business models of the computer manufacturers. To prevent their software from being used on their competitors' computers, manufacturers stopped distributing [[source code]] and began restricting copying and redistribution of their software by copyrighting it. Such restricted software had existed before, but now
there was no escape from it.


In 1980 [[Richard Greenblatt]], a fellow AI lab hacker, founded [[Lisp Machines Incorporated]] to market [[Lisp machine]]s, which he and [[Tom Knight]] designed at the lab. Greenblatt rejected outside investment, believing that the proceeds from the construction and sale of a few machines could be profitably reinvested in the growth of the company. In contrast, [[Russ Noftsker]] and other hackers felt that the venture-capital funded approach was better. As no agreement could be met, most of the remaining lab hackers gave LMI a year's grace, and then founded [[Symbolics]]. Symbolics recruited most of the remaining hackers — most notably [[Bill Gosper]] — and persuaded them to resign from the AI lab on the grounds of a conflict of interest. While both companies delivered [[proprietary software]], Richard Stallman felt that LMI, unlike Symbolics, had tried to avoid hurting the lab.
In 1980 [[Richard Greenblatt]], a fellow AI lab hacker, founded [[Lisp Machines Incorporated]] to market [[Lisp machine]]s, which he and [[Tom Knight]] designed at the lab. Greenblatt rejected outside investment, believing that the proceeds from the construction and sale of a few machines could be profitably reinvested in the growth of the company. In contrast, [[Russ Noftsker]] and other hackers felt that the venture-capital funded approach was better. As no agreement could be met, most of the remaining lab hackers founded [[Symbolics]]. Symbolics recruited most of the remaining hackers — most notably [[Bill Gosper]] — and they left the AI lab. Symbolics forced Greenblatt to resign too by quoting MIT policies. While both companies delivered [[proprietary software]], Richard Stallman felt that LMI, unlike Symbolics, had tried to avoid hurting the lab.


For two years, from [[1982]] to the end of [[1983]], Stallman single-handedly duplicated the efforts of the Symbolics programmers to prevent them from gaining a monopoly on the Lab's computers. By that time, however, he was the last of his generation of hackers at the Lab. He was asked to sign [[non-disclosure agreement]]s and perform other actions he considered betrayals of his principles, but chose instead to share his work with others in what he regarded as a classical spirit of scientific collaboration and openness.
For two years, from [[1982]] to the end of [[1983]], Stallman single-handedly duplicated the efforts of the Symbolics programmers to prevent them from gaining a monopoly on the Lab's computers. By that time, however, he was the last of his generation of hackers at the Lab. He rejected a future where he would have to sign [[non-disclosure agreement]]s and perform other actions he considered betrayals of his principles, and chose instead to share his work with others in what he regarded as a classical spirit of scientific collaboration.


Stallman argues that software users should have freedom — in particular, the freedom to "share with their neighbor" and to be able to study and make changes to the software that they use. He has repeatedly said that attempts by proprietary software vendors to prohibit these acts are "antisocial" and "unethical" [http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/opensources/book/stallman.html]. The phrase "software wants to be free" is commonly attributed to him; [http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20050513135545766] however, no evidence can be found to confirm this. He argues that the primary goal of freedom is to benefit users and society rather than to improve software. Consequently, in [[January]] [[1984]], he quit his job at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] to work full time on the GNU project, which he had announced in September [[1983]]. He did not complete a [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] but has been awarded four [[honorary degree|honorary]] doctoral degrees (see below).
Stallman argues that software users should have freedom — in particular, the freedom to "share with their neighbor" and to be able to study and make changes to the software that they use. He has repeatedly said that attempts by proprietary software vendors to prohibit these acts are "antisocial" and "unethical" [http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/opensources/book/stallman.html]. The phrase "software wants to be free" is commonly attributed to him, but he did not say it. He argues that freedom is vital in and of itself and not merely because it may lead to improved software. Consequently, in [[January]] [[1984]], he quit his job at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] to work full time on the GNU project, which he had announced in September [[1983]]. He did not complete a [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] but has been awarded four [[honorary degree|honorary]] doctoral degrees (see below).


=== Founding GNU ===
=== Founding GNU ===
In [[1985]], Stallman published the [[GNU Manifesto]], which outlined his motivation for creating a free operating system called GNU, which would be compatible with [[Unix]]. The name GNU is a [[recursive acronym]] for GNU's Not Unix. Soon after, he incorporated the [[non-profit organization|non-profit]] [[Free Software Foundation]] (FSF) to employ free software programmers and provide a legal infrastructure for the free software community.
In [[1985]], Stallman published the [[GNU Manifesto]], which outlined his motivation for creating a free operating system called GNU, which would be compatible with [[Unix]]. The name GNU is a [[recursive acronym]] for GNU's Not Unix. Soon after, he incorporated the [[non-profit organization|non-profit]] [[Free Software Foundation]] (FSF) to employ free software programmers and provide a legal infrastructure for the free software community.


In [[1989]], Stallman invented and popularized the concept of ''[[copyleft]]'', a [[law|legal]] mechanism to protect the modification and redistribution rights for [[free software]]. By then, much of the GNU system had been completed, with the notable exception of a [[kernel (computers)|kernel]]. Members of the GNU project were working on a kernel called [[GNU Hurd]], but a risky design decision proved to be a bad gamble, and development of the Hurd was slow.
In [[1985]], Stallman invented and popularized the concept of ''[[copyleft]]'', a [[law|legal]] mechanism to protect the modification and redistribution rights for [[free software]]. It was first implemented in the GNU Emacs General Public License, and in 1989 the first program-independent GNU General Public License was released. By then, much of the GNU system had been completed, with the notable exception of a [[kernel (computers)|kernel]]. Members of the GNU project began a kernel called [[GNU Hurd]] in 1990, but a risky design decision proved to be a bad gamble, and development of the Hurd was slow.


By producing the software tools needed to write software, and publishing a generalised license that could be applied to any software project (The GPL), Stallman enabled others to write free software independent of the GNU project. In [[1991]], one such independent project produced the [[Linux kernel]]. By luck, this could be combined with the existing GNU software to make a complete operating system. This was a great milestone for the GNU project, but the simultaneous appearance of Linux and the GNU+Linux operating system created confusion, and most people used the name Linux to refer to both.
By producing the software tools needed to write software, and publishing a generalised license that could be applied to any software project (The GPL), Stallman enabled others to write free software independent of the GNU project. In [[1991]], one such independent project produced the [[Linux kernel]]. By luck, this could be combined with the existing GNU software to make a complete operating system. This was a great milestone for the GNU project, but the simultaneous appearance of Linux and the GNU+Linux operating system created confusion, and most people used the name Linux to refer to both.
Line 43: Line 45:
===Free Software===
===Free Software===


Over the years, people have tried to come up with a term for free software that does not have the ambiguity problem between having-freedom and zero-cost (a problem which does not exist in romance languages). The most well known alternative is "[[open source software]]". Stallman strongly objects to this term since he says it hides the goal of [[freedom]]. Support for this term was no doubt bolstered by some influential figures' dislike of Stallman's moral and political pronouncements. [http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html]
Over the years, people have tried to come up with a term for free software that does not have the ambiguity problem between having-freedom and zero-cost (a problem which does not exist in romance languages). The most well known alternative is "[[open source software]]". Stallman strongly objects to this term since he says it hides the goal of [[freedom]]. Support for this term was no doubt bolstered by some influential figures' dislike of the moral philosophy of the free software movement, which came from Stallman. [http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html]


For similar reasons, he asks people to say "[[proprietary software]]", not "closed source software", when referring to software that is not free software.
For similar reasons, he asks people to say "[[proprietary software]]", not "closed source software", when referring to software that is not free software.
Line 55: Line 57:
===Copyright, patents, and trademarks===
===Copyright, patents, and trademarks===


Stallman says the term "Intellectual Property" is designed to confuse people. By lumping together areas of law that have little or nothing in common, it is used to prevent intelligent discussion on a topic. Also, by referring to these laws as "property" laws, he says that term biases the listener when thinking about how to treat these issues. "These laws originated separately, evolved differently, cover different activities, have different rules, and raise different public policy issues. Copyright law was designed to promote authorship and art, and covers the details of a work of authorship or art. Patent law was intended to encourage publication of ideas, at the price of finite monopolies over these ideas--a price that may be worth paying in some fields and not in others. Trademark law was not intended to promote any business activity, but simply to enable buyers to know what they are buying" [http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/not-ipr.xhtml]
Stallman says the term "Intellectual Property" is designed to confuse people. By lumping together areas of law that have little or nothing in common, it is used to prevent intelligent discussion on these specific laws. Also, by referring to these laws as "property" laws, he says that term biases the listener when thinking about how to treat these issues. "These laws originated separately, evolved differently, cover different activities, have different rules, and raise different public policy issues. Copyright law was designed to promote authorship and art, and covers the details of a work of authorship or art. Patent law was intended to encourage publication of ideas, at the price of finite monopolies over these ideas--a price that may be worth paying in some fields and not in others. Trademark law was not intended to promote any business activity, but simply to enable buyers to know what they are buying" [http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/not-ipr.xhtml]


===Lesser terminology issues===
===Lesser terminology issues===
Line 61: Line 63:
To a much lesser extent, Stallman recommends the use of other terms such as "software idea patents" instead of the more common "software patents". His reason is that the latter gives the wrong impression that the patent covers an entire piece of software. He also uses the term "(UFO) Uniform Fee Only", as a replacement for "(RAND) Reasonable And Non-Discriminatory". His reasoning is that a mandatory royalty of any amount discriminates against free software because distributors of free software cannot count the number of copies in existence. This concern is shared by much of the free software and open source communities [http://perens.com/Articles/OASIS.html], but Stallman's term is not widely used. [http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html]
To a much lesser extent, Stallman recommends the use of other terms such as "software idea patents" instead of the more common "software patents". His reason is that the latter gives the wrong impression that the patent covers an entire piece of software. He also uses the term "(UFO) Uniform Fee Only", as a replacement for "(RAND) Reasonable And Non-Discriminatory". His reasoning is that a mandatory royalty of any amount discriminates against free software because distributors of free software cannot count the number of copies in existence. This concern is shared by much of the free software and open source communities [http://perens.com/Articles/OASIS.html], but Stallman's term is not widely used. [http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html]


Not being a lawyer, Stallman does not claim to be an expert on the details of all these various laws.
Stallman is certainly prone to pedantry. Beyond terminology, his understanding of intellectual property can be quite variable. On some matters, Stallman can be quite knowledgeable. On others, he can make very basic errors and show a fundamental misunderstanding of case law and legislation.


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
* Stallman vehemently differentiates [[Free Software]] from [[Open Source Software]].
* Stallman vehemently differentiates [[Free Software]] from [[Open Source Software]].
* As well as "RMS", Stallman cultivates the humorous sobriquet "St. Ignucius" / "St. IGNUcius" (of the [[Editor war|Church of Emacs]]).
* As well as "RMS", Stallman cultivates the humorous sobriquet "St. Ignucius" / "St. IGNUcius" (of the [[Editor war|Church of Emacs]]).
* An aficionado of a wide range of music from [[Conlon Nancarrow]] to [[folk music|folk]], Stallman is the author of the [[Filk music|filk]]y [[Free Software Song]].
* An aficionado of a wide range of music from [[Conlon Nancarrow]] to [[folk music|folk]], Stallman is the author of the [[Filk music|filk]]y [[Free Software Song]]. He has performed renaissance music and Balinese gamelan music, as well as international folk dance.
* Stallman is a science fiction fan and occasionally goes to conventions.
* Stallman gave [[POSIX]] its name.
* Stallman gave [[POSIX]] its name.
* In 1977, Stallman published an AI [[truth maintenance system]] called dependency-directed backtracking. The paper was co-authored by [[Gerald Jay Sussman]]. [http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/mcallester90truth.html]
* In 1977, Stallman published an AI [[truth maintenance system]] called dependency-directed backtracking. The paper was co-authored by [[Gerald Jay Sussman]]. He jokes that "This is how the computer can avoid exploding
when you ask it a self-contradictory question." [http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/mcallester90truth.html]
* When asked who his influences are, he has remarked that he admires [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], [[Nelson Mandela]], [[Aung San Suu Kyi]], [[Ralph Nader]], and [[Dennis Kucinich]]. He has also commented: "''I admire [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and [[Winston Churchill]], even though I criticize some of the things that they did.''"
* When asked who his influences are, he has remarked that he admires [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], [[Nelson Mandela]], [[Aung San Suu Kyi]], [[Ralph Nader]], and [[Dennis Kucinich]]. He has also commented: "''I admire [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and [[Winston Churchill]], even though I criticize some of the things that they did.''"
* Stallman did not participate in the counterculture of the 60s, but found its rejection of
⚫
* At one point, Stallman named the GNU [[HURD]] kernel "Alix" after his then-girlfriend.
wealth as the main goal of life inspiring.
⚫
* Stallman speaks fluent [[English language|English]] and [[French language|French]], moderately fluent [[Spanish language|Spanish]], flawed [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] and [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]].
⚫
* Stallman initially named the GNU [[HURD]] kernel "Alix" after his then-girlfriend, who managed a
⚫
<!-- I've lost the reference for this, can someone uncomment it if they dig up the reference? * In 2004, having been asked, he endorsed [[Hugo Chavez]], recommending people to vote No in the [[Venezuelan recall referendum|Venezuelan recall referendum, 2004]] -->
Unix computer facility and had told her friends "They ought to name a kernel after me."
⚫
*The movie documentary ''[[Revolution OS]]'' features interviews with Stallman.
⚫
* Stallman speaks fluent [[English language|English]] and [[French language|French]], moderately fluent [[Spanish language|Spanish]], flawed [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]]. He has studied Latin, Chinese, Hungarian,
⚫
*He has been the subject, or some would say the instigator, of a number of widely-publicized [[flamewar]]s. Although occasionally for technical reasons ([[Tcl]] vs. [[Scheme programming language|Scheme]]), most of these flamewars have revolved around the use of non-free software.
and Navajo, but did not reach the point of being able to speak them. He feels he has mastered a language
⚫
*Stallman founded the [[League for Programming Freedom]] in 1989 to fight [[software patents]] and [[interface copyright]]. The League never gained the momentum Stallman hoped for, and has become mostly dormant.
when he can make puns in it. [http://stallman.org/spanish-puns.html]
<!-- I've lost the reference for the following, can someone dig up the reference? -->
<!-- In any case, it is true. -- rms. -->
⚫
* In 2004, having been asked, he endorsed [[Hugo Chavez]], recommending people to vote No in the [[Venezuelan recall referendum|Venezuelan recall referendum, 2004]]
⚫
* The movie documentary ''[[Revolution OS]]'' features interviews with Stallman.
⚫
* He has been the subject, or some would say the instigator, of a number of widely-publicized [[flamewar]]s. Although occasionally for technical reasons ([[Tcl]] vs. [[Scheme programming language|Scheme]]), most of these flamewars have revolved around the use of non-free software.
⚫
* Stallman founded the [[League for Programming Freedom]] in 1989 to fight [[software patents]] and [[interface copyright]]. The League never gained the momentum Stallman hoped for, and has become dormant.
* In 1999, Stallman called for development of a free on-line encyclopedia through the means of inviting the public to contribute articles. [http://www.gnu.org/encyclopedia/free-encyclopedia.html]


== Recognition ==
== Recognition ==
Line 89: Line 101:
* [[2003]]: Third honorary doctorate, from the [[Vrije Universiteit Brussel]]
* [[2003]]: Third honorary doctorate, from the [[Vrije Universiteit Brussel]]
* [[2004]]: Fourth honorary doctorate, from the [[Universidad Nacional de Salta|Universidad Nacional de]] [[Salta]]. [http://bo.unsa.edu.ar/cs/R2004/R-CS-2004-0204.html]
* [[2004]]: Fourth honorary doctorate, from the [[Universidad Nacional de Salta|Universidad Nacional de]] [[Salta]]. [http://bo.unsa.edu.ar/cs/R2004/R-CS-2004-0204.html]
* [[2004]]: Honorary professorship, from the Universidad Nacionál de Ingeniería del Perú.

== Links and references ==
== Links and references ==


Revision as of 16:53, 14 July 2005

Richard Matthew Stallman, a.k.a. RMS, (born March 16, 1953) is the founder of the free software movement, the GNU project, and the Free Software Foundation. He is also a renowned hacker, whose major accomplishments include GNU Emacs, the GNU C Compiler, and the GNU Debugger. He is the author of the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or GPL), the most widely-used free software license, which pioneered the concept of the copyleft.

File:Richard Matthew Stallman.jpeg
An image of Richard Stallman from the cover of the O'Reilly book Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software by Sam Williams (2002).

Since the mid-1990s, he has spent most of his time as a political campaigner, advocating free software and campaigning against software idea patents and expansions of copyright law. The time that he still devotes to programming is spent on GNU Emacs. He makes a living through being paid for around half of the speeches he gives, and maintains a modest standard of living.

Biography

Richard Matthew Stallman was born in Manhattan to Alice and Daniel Stallman. In his programming years he was perhaps better known by his initials, "RMS". In the first edition of the Hacker's Dictionary, he wrote, '"Richard Stallman" is just my mundane name; you can call me "rms".' [1]

His first access to a computer came during his junior year at high school in 1969. Hired by the IBM New York Scientific Center, Stallman spent the summer after his high-school graduation writing his first program, a preprocessor for the PL/I programming language on the IBM 360. "I first wrote it in PL/I, then started over in assembly language when the PL/I program was too big to fit in the computer", he later said. (Williams 2002, chapter 3)

Stallman was simultaneously a volunteer Laboratory Assistant position in the Biology Department at Rockefeller University. Although he was already moving toward a career in mathematics or physics, his analytical mind impressed the lab director such that a few years after Stallman departed for college, his mother received a phone call. "It was the professor at Rockefeller", she recalled. "He wanted to know how Richard was doing. He was surprised to learn that he was working in computers. He'd always thought Richard had a great future ahead of him as a biologist." (Williams 2002, chapter 3)

In 1971, as a freshman at Harvard University (graduated with a BA in Physics in 1974), Stallman became a hacker at the MIT AI Laboratory. He was hired by Russ Noftsker, a man who would later found Symbolics and become a bitter opponent for Stallman.

Decline of the hacker culture

In the 1980s, the hacker community that dominated Stallman's life began to dissolve. The emergence of "portable software" — software that could be made to run on different types of computers — meant that the ability for computer users to modify and share the software that came with computers was now a problem for the business models of the computer manufacturers. To prevent their software from being used on their competitors' computers, manufacturers stopped distributing source code and began restricting copying and redistribution of their software by copyrighting it. Such restricted software had existed before, but now there was no escape from it.

In 1980 Richard Greenblatt, a fellow AI lab hacker, founded Lisp Machines Incorporated to market Lisp machines, which he and Tom Knight designed at the lab. Greenblatt rejected outside investment, believing that the proceeds from the construction and sale of a few machines could be profitably reinvested in the growth of the company. In contrast, Russ Noftsker and other hackers felt that the venture-capital funded approach was better. As no agreement could be met, most of the remaining lab hackers founded Symbolics. Symbolics recruited most of the remaining hackers — most notably Bill Gosper — and they left the AI lab. Symbolics forced Greenblatt to resign too by quoting MIT policies. While both companies delivered proprietary software, Richard Stallman felt that LMI, unlike Symbolics, had tried to avoid hurting the lab.

For two years, from 1982 to the end of 1983, Stallman single-handedly duplicated the efforts of the Symbolics programmers to prevent them from gaining a monopoly on the Lab's computers. By that time, however, he was the last of his generation of hackers at the Lab. He rejected a future where he would have to sign non-disclosure agreements and perform other actions he considered betrayals of his principles, and chose instead to share his work with others in what he regarded as a classical spirit of scientific collaboration.

Stallman argues that software users should have freedom — in particular, the freedom to "share with their neighbor" and to be able to study and make changes to the software that they use. He has repeatedly said that attempts by proprietary software vendors to prohibit these acts are "antisocial" and "unethical" [2]. The phrase "software wants to be free" is commonly attributed to him, but he did not say it. He argues that freedom is vital in and of itself and not merely because it may lead to improved software. Consequently, in January 1984, he quit his job at MIT to work full time on the GNU project, which he had announced in September 1983. He did not complete a Ph.D. but has been awarded four honorary doctoral degrees (see below).

Founding GNU

In 1985, Stallman published the GNU Manifesto, which outlined his motivation for creating a free operating system called GNU, which would be compatible with Unix. The name GNU is a recursive acronym for GNU's Not Unix. Soon after, he incorporated the non-profit Free Software Foundation (FSF) to employ free software programmers and provide a legal infrastructure for the free software community.

In 1985, Stallman invented and popularized the concept of copyleft, a legal mechanism to protect the modification and redistribution rights for free software. It was first implemented in the GNU Emacs General Public License, and in 1989 the first program-independent GNU General Public License was released. By then, much of the GNU system had been completed, with the notable exception of a kernel. Members of the GNU project began a kernel called GNU Hurd in 1990, but a risky design decision proved to be a bad gamble, and development of the Hurd was slow.

By producing the software tools needed to write software, and publishing a generalised license that could be applied to any software project (The GPL), Stallman enabled others to write free software independent of the GNU project. In 1991, one such independent project produced the Linux kernel. By luck, this could be combined with the existing GNU software to make a complete operating system. This was a great milestone for the GNU project, but the simultaneous appearance of Linux and the GNU+Linux operating system created confusion, and most people used the name Linux to refer to both.

Terminology

Stallman places great importance on the words people use to talk about the relationship between software and freedom. In particular, he untiringly asks people to say "free software", "GNU/Linux", and to avoid the term "Intellectual Property". His requests that people use certain terms, and his ongoing efforts to convince people of the importance of terminology, are a source of constant friction with some parts of the free and open source software communities.

One of his criteria for giving an interview to a journalist is that the journalist agrees to use certain terminology. Sometimes he even requires journalists to read parts of the GNU philosophy before an interview. [3] This style has earned him a reputation of being "high-maintenance" [4]. He also turns down speaking requests over some terminology issues. [5]

Stallman is prone to being something of a monologuist. He does not take kindly to criticism or interruption.

Free Software

Over the years, people have tried to come up with a term for free software that does not have the ambiguity problem between having-freedom and zero-cost (a problem which does not exist in romance languages). The most well known alternative is "open source software". Stallman strongly objects to this term since he says it hides the goal of freedom. Support for this term was no doubt bolstered by some influential figures' dislike of the moral philosophy of the free software movement, which came from Stallman. [6]

For similar reasons, he asks people to say "proprietary software", not "closed source software", when referring to software that is not free software.

Stallman accepts terms such as Libre Software, FLOSS, and "unfettered software", but prefers the term free software since a lot of energy has been invested in that term.

GNU/Linux

Stallman asks people to say "GNU/Linux", when referring to the operating system made by combining the GNU system and the Linux kernel. His reason for this term is that the connection between the GNU project's philosophy and its software is broken when people call the combination "Linux". [7]

Copyright, patents, and trademarks

Stallman says the term "Intellectual Property" is designed to confuse people. By lumping together areas of law that have little or nothing in common, it is used to prevent intelligent discussion on these specific laws. Also, by referring to these laws as "property" laws, he says that term biases the listener when thinking about how to treat these issues. "These laws originated separately, evolved differently, cover different activities, have different rules, and raise different public policy issues. Copyright law was designed to promote authorship and art, and covers the details of a work of authorship or art. Patent law was intended to encourage publication of ideas, at the price of finite monopolies over these ideas--a price that may be worth paying in some fields and not in others. Trademark law was not intended to promote any business activity, but simply to enable buyers to know what they are buying" [8]

Lesser terminology issues

To a much lesser extent, Stallman recommends the use of other terms such as "software idea patents" instead of the more common "software patents". His reason is that the latter gives the wrong impression that the patent covers an entire piece of software. He also uses the term "(UFO) Uniform Fee Only", as a replacement for "(RAND) Reasonable And Non-Discriminatory". His reasoning is that a mandatory royalty of any amount discriminates against free software because distributors of free software cannot count the number of copies in existence. This concern is shared by much of the free software and open source communities [9], but Stallman's term is not widely used. [10]

Not being a lawyer, Stallman does not claim to be an expert on the details of all these various laws.

Trivia

  • Stallman vehemently differentiates Free Software from Open Source Software.
  • As well as "RMS", Stallman cultivates the humorous sobriquet "St. Ignucius" / "St. IGNUcius" (of the Church of Emacs).
  • An aficionado of a wide range of music from Conlon Nancarrow to folk, Stallman is the author of the filky Free Software Song. He has performed renaissance music and Balinese gamelan music, as well as international folk dance.
  • Stallman is a science fiction fan and occasionally goes to conventions.
  • Stallman gave POSIX its name.
  • In 1977, Stallman published an AI truth maintenance system called dependency-directed backtracking. The paper was co-authored by Gerald Jay Sussman. He jokes that "This is how the computer can avoid exploding

when you ask it a self-contradictory question." [11]

wealth as the main goal of life inspiring.

  • Stallman initially named the GNU HURD kernel "Alix" after his then-girlfriend, who managed a

Unix computer facility and had told her friends "They ought to name a kernel after me."

and Navajo, but did not reach the point of being able to speak them. He feels he has mastered a language when he can make puns in it. [12]

  • In 2004, having been asked, he endorsed Hugo Chavez, recommending people to vote No in the Venezuelan recall referendum, 2004
  • The movie documentary Revolution OS features interviews with Stallman.
  • He has been the subject, or some would say the instigator, of a number of widely-publicized flamewars. Although occasionally for technical reasons (Tcl vs. Scheme), most of these flamewars have revolved around the use of non-free software.
  • Stallman founded the League for Programming Freedom in 1989 to fight software patents and interface copyright. The League never gained the momentum Stallman hoped for, and has become dormant.
  • In 1999, Stallman called for development of a free on-line encyclopedia through the means of inviting the public to contribute articles. [13]

Recognition

Stallman has received numerous prizes and awards for his work, amongst them:

Publications by Richard Stallman

  • Stallman, Richard M. & Sussman, Gerald J. (November 1975). Heuristic Techniques in Computer-Aided Circuit Analysis, published in IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems, Vol. CAS-22 (11)
  • Stallman, Richard M. & Sussman, Gerald J. (1977). Forward Reasoning and Dependency-Directed Backtracking In a System for Computer-Aided Circuit analysis, published in Artificial Intelligence 9 pp.135-196
  • Stallman, Richard M. (1981). EMACS: The Extensible, Customizable, Self-Documenting Display Editor. Cambridge Massachusetts: MIT. MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory publication AIM-519A. PDF HTML
  • Stallman, Richard M. (2002). GNU Emacs Manual: Fifteenth edition for GNU Emacs Version 21. Cambridge, Massachusetts: GNU Press. ISBN 188211485X.
  • Stallman, Richard M. (2002). Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman. Cambridge, Massachusetts: GNU Press. ISBN 1882114981. (Also available online in various formats, e.g. PDF [15].)
  • Stallman et al (2004). GNU Make: A Program for Directed Compilation. Cambridge, Massachusetts: GNU Press. ISBN 1882114833.

Bibliography

Wikiquote has quotations related to Richard Stallman.

Speeches

Interviews

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