It always struck me as very sad that the group supposedly aimed at giving Free Software a professional image were, in many sense, less productive or professional than the groups they were trying to get away from in the first place.

Agreed on all points, but I’ve only come to rag on Eric Raymond.

Well said. Here’s my parody of Russell Nelson.

It always struck me as very sad that the group supposedly aimed at giving Free Software a professional image were, in many sense, less productive or professional than the groups they were trying to get away from in the first place.

Open Source, in general, seems to be growing up. The leaders and spokespeople it uses are aware of the importance of professionalism and the clear communications of accurate, relevent, and appropriate messages.

If there is a trend toward more sensible and professional behaviour, Eric is bucking it. If he doesn’t want people posting pictures of his lard ass on the Internet, he should stop telling people how much of a big, muscular tough-guy he is.

Jim — I’m unable to find anything of value in anything you do, say, or are. From what I see of you, you agree with me.

Once again, Russell Nelson fails to even bring a good insult to the table.

You might want to calm down and look at things a little more objectively. ESR is ESR, with warts and all, and doesn’t have the same clout he once had in the Free Software community. He’s done some good things, he does some bad things, he’s certainly a “character” enough for sites like this to find him amusing, especially in his current persona. But he’s not worth getting worked up about. He’s not currently the “leader” of anything other than his merry band of anti-FSF pro-OSS right-wing libertarians.

If you doubt you’re being objective, look at the stuff you’re so caught up in you ought to have caught it and didn’t. For example, ESR claimed you were calling him a liar, in response to your constant claims he exaggerates or otherwise misrepresents, intentionally or otherwise, his contributions to the body of open source source code.

His attempt to prove otherwise was to make a bet with you that of the six statements he made, at least 50% were true. An objective person would have taken one look at the bet, seen ESR’s claim that he’s not factually challenged because more than half of what he says is true, and pointed out that the criteria for the bet itself proves the point you were making. (Hell, it’s actually funny, John could probably make a cartoon based upon ESR making the bet in the first place.) Instead you actually TOOK the bet (and lost it!), I can only assume because you were so caught up in it, you couldn’t take a step back from the fight you were in to see the bigger picture.

Various characters in the open-source world lend themselves to parody. This doesn’t mean they haven’t done good things, and it doesn’t mean they are necessarily relevent wielders of power. Open Source, in general, seems to be growing up. The leaders and spokespeople it uses are aware of the importance of professionalism and the clear communications of accurate, relevent, and appropriate messages.

/me waits for the “RMS is pregnant” storyline…

esr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eirikref/76228360/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eirikref/76228335/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/milisake/13198248/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosenkranz/147104646/

linus:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dunechaser/134671996/

rms:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dunechaser/160405823/

Deuling banjo’s, anyone?

Some of these are slightly humorous:
http://trollaxor.com/archive.html