[tor-relays] FSF board failure

Cristóbal Palmer cmpalmer at ibiblio.org
Fri Mar 26 16:08:11 UTC 2021


Updated the subject line to more accurately reflect the topic.

I encourage the moderators of this list to address Roman's abuse of
this list, as the repeated postings do not show an effort to
communicate in good faith, and repeat sexist tropes against women. The
reply below is for the benefit of others who may have been misled by
Roman's earlier post.

On Fri, Mar 26, 2021 at 11:10 AM Roman Mamedov <rm at romanrm.net> wrote:
>
> Could be important to note that no harassment allegations were ever aimed at
> RMS himself, he's just being attacked for posting a personal opinion about
> unrelated events.

That is incorrect.

As posted up-thread, the issue at hand began with an objection
(presumably) to thisTwitter post:

  https://twitter.com/torproject/status/1374754834050654212

... which leads us here:

  https://rms-open-letter.github.io/

... and in turn takes us to the appendix here:

  https://rms-open-letter.github.io/appendix

... which finally leads us here:

  https://selamjie.medium.com/remove-richard-stallman-appendix-a-a7e41e784f88

Which gives multiple specific instances, some with named accusers,
spanning multiple decades. These are examples of behaviors by RMS
beyond mailing list posts. Further, "posting a personal opinion" is an
action with consequences. You diminish and/or elide that he had/has a
leadership position, and that the opinions in question contribute to a
hostile work and/or learning environment for women, especially young
women, which is not only immoral but actionable under law in the USA.
MIT and FSF have a duty to maintain an equitable work and learning
environment along sex, gender, and other lines or else open themselves
to liability for his abhorrent communication contributing to a
sexualized space. Freedom of Speech does not and should not protect
abusers from consequences.

This is simple. Leadership is a privilege, and leaders should be held
to a high standard. That standard has not been met here, and
interested parties have signed on to a clear letter, which again, is
here: https://rms-open-letter.github.io/ and I encourage you all
(especially those who are spending time defending RMS here) to read
(or re-read). Your defense should be of F/LOSS tools such as Tor, not
individuals such as RMS.

Thanks,
-- 
Cristóbal Palmer
ibiblio.org


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