this post was submitted on 29 Sep 2023
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From his website stallman.org:

Richard Stallman has cancer. Fortunately it is slow-growing and manageable follicular lymphona, so he will probably live many more years nonetheless. But he now has to be even more careful not to catch Covid-19.

Recent video of him speaking at GNU 40 Hacker Meeting. Screenshots of video stream.

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[–] [email protected] 178 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Sad news about a pioneer of internet freedom. He has earned his fair share of criticism and detractors, but he has also given a lot to the Linux and free software ecosystem. I personally run [email protected] on all my rigs to support open-source cancer research, I hope one day we can finally cross cancer off the list of humankind's foes.

[–] [email protected] 98 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Stallman is like the friend you'll never introduce to your family.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 11 months ago

The guy in your WoW guild who carries hard but you know you never want to meet.

[–] [email protected] 126 points 11 months ago (21 children)

I don't like to hero worship, but RMS and his ideals are somethings we all should all try and live up to as people of the digital age. Corpo trash cannot, should not, and will not be trusted. Free software will save this world.

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[–] [email protected] 110 points 11 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 39 points 11 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 25 points 11 months ago

Unprivileged users are stuck with cancer. Life ain't fair.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago (1 children)

yay -Rns cancer cancer-lib32

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I only recently moved to Arch and am still learning, what does the n and s flags do?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

-R removes a package. -Rs makes sure that all the then-unused dependencies are also removed along with it. -Rns is not really recommended for general use, but the -n flag removes configuration backup files (in case you consider those bloat).

For more info, check: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Pacman#Usage

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago

Unknown proprietary blobs intervening his free-functioning body

[–] [email protected] 99 points 11 months ago (3 children)
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[–] [email protected] 61 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Seeing him without his beard and hair feels so wrong and even uncanny. I hope he has a lot more years ahead of him and he kicks cancer's ass.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago

His great hair is just too iconic, I would never have recognized him.

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[–] [email protected] 60 points 11 months ago (1 children)

From what I read it slow growing and pretty manageable as far as cancer is manageable of course. Hope he'll make a quick recovery, and start growing that magnificent beard back.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

If Hank Green is anything to go by, it'll only come back stronger.

Edit: His beard I mean.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 11 months ago

Yikes. Your comment was very easy to take out of context.

Until I read back, it looked like you were saying Hank's cancer was somehow back stronger than before (which would have to have been practically fresh breaking news), and not a comment on post-chemotherapy beard growth being different, perhaps stronger, than before.

Follicular cancer doesn't sound like it bodes as well for a beard as other kinds of lymphoma (like Hank's was) but hey, you might still be right.

(RMS is a controversial character in some regards. While I wouldn't strictly wish the loss of a greybeard's beard as cosmic correction of controversial behaviour, I'd much rather that than cancer. That'd be too far, Universe.)

[–] [email protected] 48 points 11 months ago

Really unfortunate. He looks rough. May his days be long yet.

[–] [email protected] 44 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Eff cancer :(

Hopefully some day we get to the point where it's as rare as polio. I think that's the same kind that Hank Green had though, IIRC. Hopefully it's as manageable.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Your comment confused me since I thought you were saying the EFF was cancer at first.

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

His page doesn't load so it must be overwhelmed with visitors.
Linux users all around the world who want to be close to him.
When things matter, we are a good community guys <3

[–] [email protected] 34 points 11 months ago

man, those screenshots hurt

[–] [email protected] 18 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Is he accepting medical treatments that require non-free software? Serious question, from what I know of him he would rather die. I don't know if that changes when you're actually faced with it though.

[–] [email protected] 67 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Software freedom applies only to hardware you personally own. It wouldn't even apply to machines you interact with but do not own (such as ATMs or kiosks) since you aren't the one who agrees to the proprietary software license.

Stallman himself explains it in his computing FAQ.

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 11 months ago (1 children)

He mentioned once that he can use a bank that doesn't use free software because he's not logging in to it to do general purpose computing. I think the same would probably apply to medical treatments.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago (3 children)

I believe he does extend it to JavaScript however, so if he were required to run unfree javascript on a webpage relating to his treatment that could be a problem.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Yes, if the JavaScript is running on a computer he owns. JavaScript programs running in a browser are just as much software as any other type of program.

See The JavaScript Trap

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago

Hope he gets well soon. An inspiration to us all.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yes Stallman have issues but you dont wish someone dead! I know someone who is currently battling cancer and on chemotherapy and its an awful situation just to see it. I hope RMS can beat the cancer.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago (2 children)

What? Who's wishing for Stallman's death?

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago

🫡 to a real one.

May he live as long as possible.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago
[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago

Heck's sake, Ballmer hexed that one on Stallman, with all that saying that "Linux is a cancer" and all that

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago

Cancer and clean-shavenness aside, I disagree with much of his talk. I don't see making social media (or "anti-social media" as he calls it) illegal is the best solution.

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