Something similar happened to Tom Preston Werner of Github when he was in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Conference organizers have a responsibility to emphasize the high incidence of theft and assist them however possible - most people coming from developed countries do not have experience with this type of danger. This seems like a situation that could have been avoided if someone was keeping an eye on Rms' bag.
I understand that Stallman is an important figure in the software community, but this really doesn't qualify as news in my opinion. To be fair, the server went down so I can't access the article, but unless he had something really important in that bag, like the only copy of a new C compiler written from scratch, this article is just a minor inconvenience in the life of a celebrity.
I believe he is currently traveling through South America to give FOSS talks in many universities. I believe part of the issue is that because of this very details, it puts an end to his trip which has been rough and marked by health issues.
What I don't understand is why the post's author dares mentioning how RMS reacted. A bit of decency is always a nice thing to have, not to mention due respect.
Yeah. Right now the story is an hour old and has fifty comments.
"How can Richard Stallman getting his bag stolen be that interesting a story?", I thought, as I read the headline. "I guess I should read the story, there must be, in the details, some more important point about how the bag was stolen or what it contains that has broader relevance!"
... turns out, nope. He just had his bag stolen. Y'know, that sucks and all, but I'm still not sure why I'm supposed to care. Richard Stallman didn't care when I got my bag stolen.
Considering RMS a careful person, he probably had backups for all the important information. However, for a person like him, that laptop is probably much more important: he needs to get a specific laptop that respects his freedom, as that one did, so he's probably going to be a bit behind on his e-mails until he gets a proper replacement.
Well he is not the first celebrity to get robbed in B.A.
Bush daughter was visiting the city, the whole neighbourhood was crawling with CIA agents and her purse was still stolen...
The thing is that the UBA (University of Buenos Aires) is public, so anyone can enter their buildings. That, and the fact of having a distracted crowd, makes it a tempting target to a pickpocket. It doesn't have to be a student. It could be anyone passing, entering, grabbing something, and leaving the place before anyone notices something strange.
> Despite his controversial views on a variety of topics, his evangelism work all over the world is a true inspiration for countless people
I disagree, I think his evangelism is dangerous and offensive. He goes around telling programmers that they should give their code for free and he belittles anyone who doesn't follow his advice.
Except he doesn't actually care if you charge for your code. All he cares about are the rights of the consumer. Now, supporting these rights does make it somewhat more difficult to charge for your software, but it clearly isn't impossible: there are companies built around free software. Moreover, if everyone provided free software, it would actually be easier to charge money for it because you wouldn't have to compete with proprietary software and drm.
> I disagree, I think his evangelism is dangerous and offensive.
Which is completely irrelevant to what you quoted.
> He goes around telling programmers that they should give their code for free
So I take it you have never looked at his writing or heart him speak, and only repeat fifth-hand earsay? Because if there's one thing RMS does not do it's tell people they should "give their code for free". RMS has (and talks about) issues with freedom-less software, not with paid software.
> and he belittles anyone who doesn't follow his advice.
Meanwhile you call him and his ideals "dangerous" and "offensive" for what you imagine are disagreements with your position?
I think you are wrong. Convincing people to freely give is nothing dangerous and actually it is a proven fact that it is beneficial both economically and societally - many people now have their bills paid by jobs enabled by free software and while it may be that RMS might like it, commercial software is not dead either and won't be anytime soon. If anything, free software made more people able to sell their services as programmers.
My option is that RMS is going to far in his opposition to commercial software and in his zeal for freedom he sometimes promotes choices which I (and many others) disagree with. But his contributions are still great, despite all the disagreement.
How is that dangerous or offensive? You don't have to agree with his hardfast approach on all Free Software, all the time, but I think software freedom in general is incredibly important to society and I'm glad we have someone like RMS who believes so strongly in it. Being uncompromising can be both a vice and a virtue.
With so much traveling, all around the world, and dealing with thousands of people, something's bound to happen.
I hope RMS has an enrypted backup of his data on his home server. It isn't that hard to do, even if you care deeply about privacy and freedom.
As for the rest of the stuff ... I really hope that the organizers can obtain the medicine for him in short order. It's the least they can do. The stolen passport does slow him down, but he should contact the nearest embassy or consulate and they can help him:
The stolen laptop sadly is unlikely to be recovered. The conference organizers should buy one for him.
Does RMS actually have any money saved up, or just the bare essentials? A public figure like that should make quite a decent amount of money from speaking engagements.
That sucks. I would have hoped that the university / event organisers would have provided any help possible to at least get his paperwork back in order though. The article makes it sound like he was pretty much left on his own devices after the theft.
Yep, he was. Although I find it difficult to think that RMS would find himself helpless and with no one around that would care for him, I do believe that the University/Event organizers couldn't care less for what happened.
When I left the place, he was talking to the Faculty's security staff, and he was accompanied by people from a foundation (the one which usually organizes his events here) at all times. They said he slept well and was calm today.
That has to be perhaps the worst site ever. Without javascript enabled, the entire article is covered up by a CSS overlay telling me I need to enable javascript.. all while the actual content I want to read is behind it.
My experience in countries that are less "developed" is that you'll get any kind of medicine you may need if you're ready to pay the price for it. I'm sure he'll be fine.
Passport are simple to replace but Visas simply aren't replaced at all. He could get new Visas under no delay, unfortunately I don't think he has the right connections for that kind of "fast lane" service.
Had his bag stolen -- glad that he's okay! Normally, though, we wouldn't call this "robbery" in English. Strictly speaking, robbery is used for a theft where force (or threat of force) is involved.
"Robbery" is often used when force isn't involved. If the object is stolen while you're nearby, people will often refer to it as a robbery. Outfielders rob batters of home runs all the time.
The word "rob" is particularly useful because lets the victim be used as the direct object. If you want to emphasize RMS as a victim of personal theft, that's the verb to use.
He was robbed by someone attending his talk, not mugged on the street at gun point so I don't think that "glad he's okay" is appropriate here, especially since "okay" in this case means that he's in a foreign country without passport, money and medicine.
Thanks. I sort of almost majored in English in college (besides being a native English speaker) and didn't even realize the distinction there (i.e. "robbery" implies force).
Reading about Stallman's reaction to this makes me wonder about his mental stability. "Punching himself in the head"? And cursing? Now, cursing I can understand but the picture painted in the story makes it look like Stallman was throwing a tantrum, screaming obscenities, punching himself in the head and then crying. We all knew he was an eccentric fellow but when you're punching yourself in the head, in public no less, you have to wonder what else is going on there. Losing a bag with such important items in it would put anyone in a pretty upset state. Putting aside who we're talking about I think a reaction like that definitely deviates from the norm to the point of maybe crossing the line from eccentricity to instability.
Running the risk of being an armchair psychologist, I think it's pretty well established that RMS likely falls somewhere on the autism spectrum, or at least has some sort of behavioral condition that leads to behavior like this, as well as his documented social quirks.
Which is to say that I think he's probably mentally stable, but a bit strange by everyday standards.
Who'd a thunk he'd be a control freak with little tolerance for the imperfections of human society?
(The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man. - G. B. Shaw)
[+] [-] brentvatne|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rastingerzoh|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dbbolton|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nakkiel|13 years ago|reply
I believe he is currently traveling through South America to give FOSS talks in many universities. I believe part of the issue is that because of this very details, it puts an end to his trip which has been rough and marked by health issues.
What I don't understand is why the post's author dares mentioning how RMS reacted. A bit of decency is always a nice thing to have, not to mention due respect.
[+] [-] babarock|13 years ago|reply
The article is not about rms, but about the venue where the celebrity got robbed.
[+] [-] planetguy|13 years ago|reply
"How can Richard Stallman getting his bag stolen be that interesting a story?", I thought, as I read the headline. "I guess I should read the story, there must be, in the details, some more important point about how the bag was stolen or what it contains that has broader relevance!"
... turns out, nope. He just had his bag stolen. Y'know, that sucks and all, but I'm still not sure why I'm supposed to care. Richard Stallman didn't care when I got my bag stolen.
[+] [-] makmanalp|13 years ago|reply
Edit: What the heck? What's wrong with what I suggested?
[+] [-] gsivil|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] chimeracoder|13 years ago|reply
Here's one, though I'm not sure if it's the correct version: http://www.lemote.com/en/products/Notebook/2010/0310/112.htm...
[+] [-] LiquidSummer|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mrleinad|13 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] mrleinad|13 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] unknown|13 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] eta_carinae|13 years ago|reply
I disagree, I think his evangelism is dangerous and offensive. He goes around telling programmers that they should give their code for free and he belittles anyone who doesn't follow his advice.
[+] [-] tikhonj|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] masklinn|13 years ago|reply
Which is completely irrelevant to what you quoted.
> He goes around telling programmers that they should give their code for free
So I take it you have never looked at his writing or heart him speak, and only repeat fifth-hand earsay? Because if there's one thing RMS does not do it's tell people they should "give their code for free". RMS has (and talks about) issues with freedom-less software, not with paid software.
> and he belittles anyone who doesn't follow his advice.
Meanwhile you call him and his ideals "dangerous" and "offensive" for what you imagine are disagreements with your position?
[+] [-] smsm42|13 years ago|reply
My option is that RMS is going to far in his opposition to commercial software and in his zeal for freedom he sometimes promotes choices which I (and many others) disagree with. But his contributions are still great, despite all the disagreement.
[+] [-] floomp|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] EGreg|13 years ago|reply
I hope RMS has an enrypted backup of his data on his home server. It isn't that hard to do, even if you care deeply about privacy and freedom.
As for the rest of the stuff ... I really hope that the organizers can obtain the medicine for him in short order. It's the least they can do. The stolen passport does slow him down, but he should contact the nearest embassy or consulate and they can help him:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/emergencies/lostpassport...
The stolen laptop sadly is unlikely to be recovered. The conference organizers should buy one for him.
Does RMS actually have any money saved up, or just the bare essentials? A public figure like that should make quite a decent amount of money from speaking engagements.
[+] [-] pandres|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] MehdiEG|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mrleinad|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] crazy2k_|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] eta_carinae|13 years ago|reply
Words fail me.
[+] [-] devicenull|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pgrote|13 years ago|reply
The bigger concern is the medicine. How does that work with prescription medicine outside the US?
The laptop is rather unique, so if someone pawned it you would think it could be hunted down.
[+] [-] nakkiel|13 years ago|reply
Passport are simple to replace but Visas simply aren't replaced at all. He could get new Visas under no delay, unfortunately I don't think he has the right connections for that kind of "fast lane" service.
[+] [-] rdl|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Turing_Machine|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] shrughes|13 years ago|reply
The word "rob" is particularly useful because lets the victim be used as the direct object. If you want to emphasize RMS as a victim of personal theft, that's the verb to use.
[+] [-] creativityhurts|13 years ago|reply
Such a shame.
[+] [-] javert|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Rauchg|13 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] weslly|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] MindTwister|13 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] rdavl|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] billpatrianakos|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] stinkytaco|13 years ago|reply
Which is to say that I think he's probably mentally stable, but a bit strange by everyday standards.
[+] [-] jrockway|13 years ago|reply
FWIW, I don't think the author is a native speaker of English, and may mean something closer to "facepalm" than "beating the shit out of himself".
[+] [-] RockyMcNuts|13 years ago|reply
(The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man. - G. B. Shaw)
[+] [-] kenneth_reitz|13 years ago|reply
I had $0 in cash on me. It was quite frightening, even in one of the richest cities in world.
Everything worked out in the end, but it was the most I've been stressed out in a while.
[+] [-] ibisum|13 years ago|reply
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