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RMS Steps Down As Emacs Maintainer

Posted by CmdrTaco on Sat Feb 23, 2008 11:51 AM
from the evangelism-is-time-consuming dept.

sigzero writes "Short but sweet: RMS is stepping down as Emacs Maintainer: 'From: Richard Stallman, Subject: Re: Looking for a new Emacs maintainer or team, Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 17:57:22 -0500 Stefan and Yidong offered to take over, so I am willing to hand over Emacs development to them."

+ -

Maybe... (Score:5, Funny)

by imageboard (1038004) on Saturday February 23 2008, @11:54AM (#22526998)

Maybe he switched to vim.
- Re:Maybe... (Score:5, Funny)
  
  by Brian Gordon (987471) on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:05PM (#22527074)
  
  That was implemented as a 37-key combination so no human could possibly complete it :)
  
  Parent
- Re:Maybe... (Score:5, Funny)
  
  by rubycodez (864176) on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:16PM (#22527154)
  
  you mean upgraded
  
  Parent
- Re:Maybe... (Score:5, Funny)
  
  by Akaihiryuu (786040) on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:47PM (#22527378)
  
  Emacs is a great OS...it does pretty much everything. All it lacks is a decent text editor.
  
  Parent
- - Re:Maybe... (Score:5, Funny)
    
    by Constantine XVI (880691) <trash.eighty+slashdot@g m a i l .com> on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:21PM (#22527202)
    
    http://reddit.com/r/programming/info/69op5/comments/ [reddit.com]
    
    T,FTFY. HAND.
    
    Parent
As expected. (Score:5, Funny)

by ozmanjusri (601766) <aussie_bob@ho[ ]il.com ['tma' in gap]> on Saturday February 23 2008, @11:55AM (#22527004) Journal

Concise, elegant and minimalistic, just like Emacs.
no, wait....
- Re:As expected. (Score:5, Funny)
  
  by smitty_one_each (243267) * on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:04PM (#22527068) Homepage Journal
  
  (asdf-what-is-that-supposed-to-mean)
  (asdf-just-because-the-code-is-all-in-one-namespace-p
  asdf-does-not-make-it-ineffective))
  
  Parent
- Re:As expected. (Score:5, Funny)
  
  by Jugalator (259273) on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:18PM (#22527176) Journal
  
  Concise, elegant and minimalistic, just like his beard.
  
  No wait...
  
  Parent
Are maintainers even necessary? (Score:5, Funny)

by InterruptDescriptorT (531083) on Saturday February 23 2008, @11:56AM (#22527024) Homepage

I thought emacs had become self-aware by now...
- Re:Are maintainers even necessary? (Score:5, Funny)
  
  by cptnapalm (120276) on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:10PM (#22527114)
  
  Yeah, but it still gets lonely...
  
  Parent
Butterfly effect? (Score:5, Funny)

by griffjon (14945) <(moc.liamtoH) (ta) (noJffirG)> on Saturday February 23 2008, @11:59AM (#22527042) Homepage Journal

You could've predicted this using C-x M-c M-Butterfly [xkcd.org] while editing emacs code inside emacs...
Wow (Score:5, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:14PM (#22527132)

A bit like Castro leaving power.
Emacs bloat (Score:5, Insightful)

by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:20PM (#22527198)

I love emacs and RMS' work over the years.. but... The last great emacs release was 19.34b. Every release since then has suffered badly from bloat and other crud. Unfortunately 19.34b doesn't compile on any modern platform (though in 1998 it could be compiled in under 10 seconds on an Origin 2000 with 8 CPUs).

Bring back 19.34b!
hmm (Score:5, Funny)

by ImTheDarkcyde (759406) <ImTheDarkcyde@hotmail.com> on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:22PM (#22527204) Journal

Since I actually had to google "RMS" does it mean I must delete my /. account?
- Re:hmm (Score:5, Funny)
  
  by a_n_d_e_r_s (136412) on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:39PM (#22527326) Homepage Journal
  
  No, you don't - it will be terminated for you.
  
  Parent
The article is EXTREMELY misleading (Score:5, Funny)

by The Breeze (140484) on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:23PM (#22527216) Homepage

Yes, it's true that RMS will no longer the main Emacs maintainer, but the truth is he will still be very close to the project. RMS is merely shifting to a subset; he has dedicated himself to filling a gap that has been missing in the Emacs operating system for a long time; the lack of a robust, powerful, yet easy-to-use editor.
Damnit RMS .... (Score:5, Funny)

by superash (1045796) on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:24PM (#22527228)

...you stole the thunder from Bill gates! He was gonna step down soon and now you ruined it!
- Re:Damnit RMS .... (Score:5, Funny)
  
  by frdmfghtr (603968) on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:43PM (#22527352)
  
  ...you stole the thunder from Bill gates! He was gonna step down soon and now you ruined it!
  Maybe they're both stepping down, going on a togetherness retreat, and announcing that Windows 7 is really GNU/Windows on their return.
  
  (Had to say it)
  
  Parent
Goodbye (Score:5, Funny)

by digitalderbs (718388) on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:24PM (#22527234)

C-x C-c, RMS. C-x C-c.
The reason he is leaving.. (Score:5, Funny)

by LingNoi (1066278) on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:50PM (#22527388)

He needs more time out because he is starting a new career in break dancing.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pube5Aynsls [youtube.com]
- Re:Stallman is still around? (Score:5, Insightful)
  
  by smitty_one_each (243267) * on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:17PM (#22527164) Homepage Journal
  
  Disagree. He championed the important idea that sharing source code is a Good Thing, and did it with a degree of consistency over time that is remarkable.
  Yeah, I lose track of his ideas after a point (ethics), but I'm a firm believer in "credit where due".
  Certainly more deserving of something like a Nobel Peace Prize than some of the nitwits that have besmirched the concept in recent history.
  Anyone know how to nominate someone for http://www.medaloffreedom.com/ [medaloffreedom.com]
  
  Parent
  - Re:Stallman is still around? (Score:5, Funny)
    
    by sydneyfong (410107) on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:57PM (#22527430) Homepage Journal
    
    You obviously overlook the flamewars he started...
    
    Emacs vs Vi
    GPL vs BSDL
    GNU/Linux vs Linux
    Free vs Open Source
    
    etc etc...
    
    Not that I'm trying to discredit his contributions to Free/Opensource Software, but a "peace" award might be a bit off the mark :)
    
    Parent
  - - Re:Stallman is still around? (Score:5, Insightful)
      
      by smitty_one_each (243267) * on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:47PM (#22527380) Homepage Journal
      
      I've had some extended discussions with him over email.
      Hence the fact that I taper off from agreement when the discussion gets abstract: his philosophical basis leaves me unmoved.
      However, when you consider the impact of the GPL, GCC, and the FSF world-wide, and into the future, the Nobel Peace Prize makes sense, even if the fellow himself has some cantankerous moments.
      In any case, I submit that the man's overall historical impact may rank with Gutenberg, and for the same reason: taking information out of the hands of the elite and offering a level playing field. Gutenberg did it for literacy, Stallman for programming.
      
      Parent
- Re:May His Next Adventure Be Twice as Fruitfull (Score:5, Funny)
  
  by smitty_one_each (243267) * on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:24PM (#22527230) Homepage Journal
  
  EMACS the only software you need.
  For certain values of "need".
  For example, to make picture-mode work for photographs, you'd need a canvas about the size of an aircraft carrier flight deck to express the pixels as text, more RAM than Dodge's truck division to hold the image, and a great deal of patience to scroll it on a typical LCD.
  Really, it's OK to pick the proper tool for the job.
  
  Parent
- Re:More time to work on HURD? (Score:5, Informative)
  
  by smitty_one_each (243267) * on Saturday February 23 2008, @12:56PM (#22527424) Homepage Journal
  
  You can actually use it right now:
  http://www.debian.org/ports/hurd/ [debian.org]
  
  Parent

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Maybe... (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Maybe... (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Maybe... (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Maybe... (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Maybe... (Score:5, Funny)

As expected. (Score:5, Funny)

Re:As expected. (Score:5, Funny)

Re:As expected. (Score:5, Funny)

Are maintainers even necessary? (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Are maintainers even necessary? (Score:5, Funny)

Butterfly effect? (Score:5, Funny)

Wow (Score:5, Funny)

Emacs bloat (Score:5, Insightful)

hmm (Score:5, Funny)

Re:hmm (Score:5, Funny)

The article is EXTREMELY misleading (Score:5, Funny)

Damnit RMS .... (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Damnit RMS .... (Score:5, Funny)

Goodbye (Score:5, Funny)

The reason he is leaving.. (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Stallman is still around? (Score:5, Insightful)

Re:Stallman is still around? (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Stallman is still around? (Score:5, Insightful)

Re:May His Next Adventure Be Twice as Fruitfull (Score:5, Funny)

Re:More time to work on HURD? (Score:5, Informative)

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Maybe... (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Maybe... (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Maybe... (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Maybe... (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Maybe... (Score:5, Funny)

As expected. (Score:5, Funny)

Re:As expected. (Score:5, Funny)

Re:As expected. (Score:5, Funny)

Are maintainers even necessary? (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Are maintainers even necessary? (Score:5, Funny)

Butterfly effect? (Score:5, Funny)

Wow (Score:5, Funny)

Emacs bloat (Score:5, Insightful)

hmm (Score:5, Funny)

Re:hmm (Score:5, Funny)

The article is EXTREMELY misleading (Score:5, Funny)

Damnit RMS .... (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Damnit RMS .... (Score:5, Funny)

Goodbye (Score:5, Funny)

The reason he is leaving.. (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Stallman is still around? (Score:5, Insightful)

Re:Stallman is still around? (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Stallman is still around? (Score:5, Insightful)

Re:May His Next Adventure Be Twice as Fruitfull (Score:5, Funny)

Re:More time to work on HURD? (Score:5, Informative)

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