Still, the Raymond territoriality
charge is a damning one. There are numerous instances
of Stallman sticking to his guns more out of habit than
out of principle: his initial dismissal of the Linux
kernel, for example, and his current unwillingness as a
political figure to venture outside the realm of
software issues.
Then again, as the recent debate over open source also
shows, in instances when Stallman has stuck to his
guns, he's usually found a way to gain ground because
of it. "One of Stallman's primary character traits is
the fact he doesn't budge," says Ian Murdock. "He'll
wait up to a decade for people to come around to his
point of view if that's what it takes."
Murdock, for one, finds that unbudgeable nature both
refreshing and valuable. Stallman may no longer be the
solitary leader of the free software movement, but he
is still the polestar of the free software community.
"You always know that he's going to be consistent in
his views," Murdock says. "Most people aren't like
that.
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