Re: rudeness in general
On Sun, Jan 09, 2005 at 04:17:14PM -0500, Glenn Maynard wrote:
> I found RMS to be extremely rude and dismissive in the GFDL
> discussions. (His outright refusal to comminicate with Branden
> Robinson comes to mind.)
Perhaps they were both rude, in different ways. Or perhaps it was a
sort of misunderstanding. I can understand that RMS was offended by
Branden's 7-point interrogation, however I am not saying Branden
intended it to be offensive. A little more care might have avoided the
problem.
http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2003/09/msg00003.html
This post appears to me to be confrontational, and not respectful. This
is not the right way to talk to the president of the FSF.
Contrast that with the previous post from RMS, which is typical of his
courtesy and manner:
> I believe the FSF is not in a situation where they can talk about
> the best for our users, when they prominently advocate the use of
> invariant sections, and spread misinformation about non-free
> software we distribute.
>
> To accuse someone of dishonesty is a grave accusation. This
> accusation is harsh and unjustified. I am the one in the FSF who has
> made statements about Debian and non-free software, and the statements
> I have made are true as far as I know. If you think anything I said
> is not true, please show me the statement and the relevant facts. If
> something I said is incorrect, I will change it.
>
> Even if Debian decides not to use GNU manuals, some kinds of
> cooperation should still be possible, as long as we are civil to each
> other.
Note that he is asking for people to be civil, talking about cooperation
even if we drop the GNU manuals, and being very non-confrontational,
even though various Debian representatives _are_ being confrontational.
He is able to be critical without being rude.
I ask people to please make a great effort to be polite and
"professional" in representing Debian. Please don't tell newbies to go
RTFM or throw ESR's "smart-questions" FAQ at them, please don't get
personal and abusive on the lists, and please treat the president of the
FSF with the respect he deserves.
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