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Richard Stallman

Richard Stallman Quotes

Activist

Richard Stallman, born on March 16, 1953, is a renowned activist. He is one of the founders of the free software movement, the founder of the GNU project, and the founder of the Free Software Foundation (FSF). Stallman is dedicated to promoting the ideas of free software, advocating for users' freedom to use, study, modify, and distribute software.

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Famous Richard Stallman Quotes

“A commune is where people join together to share their lack of wealth.”

People Together Wealth Share Communes

Author:Richard Stallman

“The principal lesson of Emacs is that a language for extensions should not be a mere "extension language". It should be a real programming language, designed for writing and maintaining substantial programs. Because people will want to do that!”

People Want Should Writing Real Language Lessons Program Mere Programming Principal Extensions Maintaining Programming Languages

Author:Richard Stallman

“I consider that the Golden Rule requires that if I like a program I must share it with other people who like it. Software sellers want to divide the users and conquer them, making each user agree not to share with others. I refuse to break solidarity with other users in this way.”

People Ifs Way Want Break Share Program Agree Refuse Golden Conquer Divides Software Users Solidarity Golden Rule Sellers

Book:Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman

Source: Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman

“Talking about freedom, about ethical issues, about responsibilities as well as convenience, is asking people to think about things they might prefer to ignore, such as whether their conduct is ethical. This can trigger discomfort, and some people may simply close their minds to it. It does not follow that we ought to stop talking about these things.”

People Thinking Mind Wells May Doe Might Responsibility Talking Issues Ought Asking Ethical Triggers Discomfort Convenience Ethical Issues

Author:Richard Stallman

“People sometimes ask me if it is a sin in the Church of Emacs to use vi. Using a free version of vi is not a sin; it is a penance. So happy hacking.”

People Ifs Sometimes Use Asks Church Sin Versions Ask Me Hacking Penance

Author:Richard Stallman

“I suppose many people will continue moving towards careless computing, because there's a sucker born every minute.”

People Moving Born Minutes Careless Sucker Computing

Author:Richard Stallman

“I could have made money this way, and perhaps amused myself writing code. But I knew that at the end of my career, I would look back on years of building walls to divide people, and feel I had spent my life making the world a worse place.”

People World Way Feels Writing Years Looks Made Ends Careers Building Wall Code Divides End Of The World Amused Building Walls Writing Code

Book:Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman

Source: Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman

“People said I should accept the world. Bullshit! I don't accept the world.”

People World Should Said Accepting Bullshit

Author:Richard Stallman

“Today many people are switching to free software for purely practical reasons. That is good, as far as it goes, but that isn't all we need to do! Attracting users to free software is not the whole job, just the first step.”

People Needs Firsts Reason Whole Today Jobs Steps Practicals Software Users First Steps Switching

Author:Richard Stallman

“Control over the use of one's ideas really constitutes control over other people's lives; and it is usually used to make their lives more difficult.”

People Ideas Use Used Difficult

Book:Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman

Source: Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman

“I'm trying to change the way people approach knowledge and information in general. I think that to try to own knowledge, to try to control whether people are allowed to use it, or to try to stop other people from sharing it, is sabotage.”

People Thinking Way Trying Use Information Approach Sabotage Trying To Change Knowledge And Information

Author:Richard Stallman

“We need to teach people to refuse to install non-free plug-ins; we need to teach people to care more about their long-term interest of freedom than their immediate desire to view a particular site.”

People Needs Long Care Desire Term Interest Views Teach Particular Refuse Long Term Site Plugs

Author:Richard Stallman

“People get the government their behavior deserves. People deserve better than that.”

People Government Behavior Deserve Deserve Better

Author:Richard Stallman

“I never imagined that the Free Software Movement would spawn a watered-down alternative, the Open Source Movement, which would become so well-known that people would ask me questions about "open source" thinking that I work under that banner.”

People Thinking Wells Asks Known Movement Source Alternatives Ask Me Software Well Known Banner Spawn Open Source

Author:Richard Stallman

“It doesn't take special talents to reproduce--even plants can do it. On the other hand, contributing to a program like Emacs takes real skill. That is really something to be proud of. It helps more people, too.”

People Real Helping Hands Can Do Special Talent Proud Skills Program Plant Be Proud Contributing Special Talents

Author:Richard Stallman

“The Adobe flash plug-in is non-free software, and people should not install it, or suggest installing it, or even tell people it exists.”

People Should Software Flash Plugs

Author:Richard Stallman

“Writing non-free software is not an ethically legitimate activity, so if people who do this run into trouble, that's good! All businesses based on non-free software ought to fail, and the sooner the better.”

People Ifs Writing Running Failing Trouble Ought Activity Software

Author:Richard Stallman

“Paying isn’t wrong, and being paid isn’t wrong. Trampling other people’s freedom and community is wrong, so the free software movement aims to put an end to it, at least in the area of software.”

People Ends Community Movement Areas Paid Aim Software

Author:Richard Stallman

“Every decision a person makes stems from the person's values and goals. People can have many different goals and values; fame, profit, love, survival, fun, and freedom, are just some of the goals that a good person might have. When the goal is to help others as well as oneself, we call that idealism. My work on free software is motivated by an idealistic goal: spreading freedom and cooperation. I want to encourage free software to spread, replacing proprietary software that forbids cooperation, and thus make our society better.”

Source: Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman

“Laws that oppress people have no moral authority.”

People Law Moral Authority Moral Authority

Author:Richard Stallman

“So, make a real effort to avoid getting sucked into all the expensive lifestyle habits of typical Americans. Because if you do that, then people with the money will dictate what you do with your life.”

People Ifs Real Effort Habit Lifestyle Expensive Typical

Book:Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman

Source: Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman

About the Author

Born: March 16, 1953
Known for: Activist
Quotes: 95

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