Richard Stallman

2.1. Birth and Family Background

Richard Matthew Stallman was born on March 16, 1953, in New York City to Daniel Stallman and Alice Lippman. He comes from a family of Jewish heritage. Stallman has stated that he had a troublesome relationship with his parents and did not feel he had a proper home during his upbringing.

2.2. Early Interest in Computing

Stallman's fascination with computers began at a young age. As a pre-teen attending a summer camp, he immersed himself in reading manuals for the IBM 7094. From 1967 to 1969, while in high school, he participated in a Saturday program at Columbia University. He also volunteered as a laboratory assistant in the biology department at Rockefeller University. Although his primary interests were in mathematics and physics, his supervising professor at Rockefeller noted his potential as a biologist.

His first hands-on experience with computers occurred at the IBM New York Scientific Center during the summer of 1970, after his senior year of high school. He was hired to write a numerical analysis program using Fortran. After completing this task in a couple of weeks, he recalled, "I swore that I would never use FORTRAN again because I despised it as a language compared with other languages." He then spent the remainder of the summer developing a text editor in APL and a preprocessor for the PL/I programming language on the IBM System/360.

2.3. Harvard University and MIT

In the fall of 1970, Stallman began his academic journey as a first-year student at Harvard University. He quickly distinguished himself with a strong performance in the demanding Math 55 course, finding a sense of belonging at Harvard for the first time in his life.

In 1971, towards the end of his first year at Harvard, Stallman became a programmer at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. He quickly integrated into the vibrant hacker community, where he became widely known by his initials, RMS, which he used for his computer accounts. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in physics. Although he considered continuing his studies at Harvard, he opted to enroll as a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He pursued a doctorate in physics for one year before deciding to leave the program to concentrate fully on his programming work at the MIT AI Laboratory.

Starting in 1975, while working as a research assistant at MIT under Gerald Jay Sussman, Stallman co-authored a significant paper with Sussman in 1977 on an AI truth maintenance system called dependency-directed backtracking. This paper was an early and influential work on the problem of intelligent backtracking in constraint satisfaction problems. The technique introduced by Stallman and Sussman remains, as of 2009, the most general and powerful form of intelligent backtracking. The paper also introduced the concept of constraint recording, where partial results from a search are saved for later reuse.

2.4. Early Programming and Hacker Culture

As a hacker at MIT's AI Laboratory, Stallman was deeply involved in various software projects, including the development of the TECO text editor, Emacs, and the Lisp machine operating system. His contributions included work on the initial CONS (1974-1976) and CADR (1977-1979) systems, the latter of which was later commercialized by companies like Symbolics and Lisp Machines, Inc. (LMI) around 1980.

Stallman became a vocal critic of restricted computer access within the lab, which at the time was primarily funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). When MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science (LCS) implemented a password control system in 1977, Stallman found a method to decrypt the passwords. He then sent messages to users containing their decoded passwords, suggesting they change them to an empty string (no password) to restore anonymous access to the systems. Approximately 20 percent of users followed his advice, though passwords eventually became standard. Stallman proudly recounted the success of this campaign for many years.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the hacker culture that Stallman thrived on began to fragment. To prevent software from being used on competitors' computers, most manufacturers ceased distributing source code and started using copyright and restrictive software licenses to limit or prohibit copying and redistribution. This shift towards proprietary software became the norm, largely influenced by the US Copyright Act of 1976.

In 1979, when Brian Reid incorporated "time bombs" into the Scribe markup language and word processing system to restrict unlicensed access, Stallman condemned it as "a crime against humanity." He later clarified in a 2008 interview that his concern was the blocking of user freedom, not the act of charging for software. Stallman's Texinfo, a GPL-licensed replacement loosely based on Scribe, was completed in its original version in 1986.

A significant incident that solidified Stallman's resolve occurred in 1980 when he and other AI Lab hackers were denied access to the source code for the software of a newly installed laser printer, the Xerox 9700. Stallman had previously modified the software for the lab's older printer (the XGP) to notify users electronically when their print jobs are complete and to alert all logged-in users if the printer jammed. The inability to add these convenient features to the new printer, which was located on a different floor from most users, deeply inconvenienced the lab. This experience profoundly convinced Stallman of the critical need for users to be able to freely modify the software they use.

The internal dynamics of the AI Lab further deteriorated with the emergence of Lisp machine companies. Richard Greenblatt, a fellow AI Lab hacker, founded Lisp Machines, Inc. (LMI) to commercialize Lisp machines designed by him and Tom Knight at the lab. Greenblatt resisted outside investment, believing that profits from initial sales could fund growth. However, other hackers favored a venture capital-funded approach. Unable to reach an agreement, these hackers, with the assistance of AI Lab administrator Russ Noftsker, founded Symbolics. Symbolics recruited most of the remaining hackers, including Bill Gosper, who then left the AI Lab. Symbolics also compelled Greenblatt to resign, citing MIT policies. Although both companies developed proprietary software, Stallman believed that LMI, unlike Symbolics, had attempted to avoid harming the lab's community. For two years, from 1982 to the end of 1983, Stallman worked independently to replicate the output of the Symbolics programmers, aiming to prevent them from establishing a monopoly on the lab's computers.

Stallman argues that software users should possess the freedom to share software with others, and to study and make changes to the software they utilize. He maintains that attempts by proprietary software vendors to prohibit these actions are antisocial and unethical. The phrase "software wants to be free" is often incorrectly attributed to him; Stallman clarifies that this misrepresents his philosophy. He asserts that freedom is essential for the sake of users and society as a moral value, rather than merely for pragmatic reasons like potentially developing technically superior software. In contrast, Eric S. Raymond, a key figure in the open-source movement, argues that moral arguments, as opposed to pragmatic ones, tend to alienate potential allies and hinder the ultimate goal of eliminating code secrecy.

In February 1984, Stallman resigned from his position at MIT to dedicate himself full-time to the GNU Project, which he had initially announced in September 1983. Since then, he has maintained an affiliation with MIT as an unpaid "visiting scientist" in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Until approximately 1998, he maintained an office at the Institute, which also served as his legal residence.

3.1. The GNU Project Announcement

Stallman publicly announced his plan for the GNU operating system in September 1983, disseminating the information across several ARPANET mailing lists and USENET. He embarked on the project independently, articulating his motivation: "As an operating system developer, I had the right skills for this job. So even though I could not take success for granted, I realized that I was elected to do the job." He strategically chose to make the system compatible with Unix to ensure its portability and to facilitate an easy transition for existing Unix users. The name GNU is a recursive acronym for "GNU's Not Unix".

3.2. The GNU Manifesto

In 1985, Stallman published the GNU Manifesto, a foundational document that articulated his deep philosophical and ethical motivations for creating a free operating system named GNU. The Manifesto outlined his vision for a system that would be compatible with Unix but composed entirely of free software, emphasizing the importance of user freedom and community collaboration over proprietary restrictions. This publication served as a powerful declaration, laying the intellectual groundwork for the burgeoning free software movement.

3.3. Establishment of the Free Software Foundation (FSF)

Soon after the publication of the GNU Manifesto, Stallman established the Free Software Foundation (FSF) in October 1985. This non-profit corporation was founded in Massachusetts as a 501(c)(3) organization. The FSF's mission was to support and promote free software by employing free software programmers and providing a crucial legal and organizational infrastructure for the rapidly growing free software movement. Stallman served as the nonsalaried president of the FSF. In 1989, he also co-founded the League for Programming Freedom.

4.1. The Philosophy of Free Software

Stallman's core principles regarding software freedom emphasize the ethical and social importance of user control over software. He argues that software users should have four essential freedoms: the freedom to run the program as they wish, for any purpose; the freedom to study how the program works and change it to make it do what they wish (access to source code is a precondition for this); the freedom to redistribute copies so they can help their neighbor; and the freedom to distribute copies of their modified versions to others. He maintains that attempts by proprietary software vendors to prohibit these acts are antisocial and unethical. Stallman asserts that freedom is vital for the sake of users and society as a moral value, not merely for pragmatic reasons such as potentially developing technically superior software. He clarifies that the phrase "software wants to be free" is often incorrectly attributed to him, as it misrepresents his philosophy by focusing on cost rather than liberty.

4.2. Copyleft and the GNU General Public License (GPL)

Stallman pioneered the concept of copyleft, a legal mechanism that ingeniously uses the principles of copyright law to preserve and protect the rights to use, modify, and distribute free software. Unlike traditional copyright, which restricts copying and modification, copyleft ensures that all subsequent versions and distributions of a work remain free.

The concept was first implemented in the GNU Emacs General Public License. In 1989, Stallman released the first program-independent GNU General Public License (GPL), which subsequently became the most widely used free software license. The GPL ensures that any software derived from a GPL-licensed program must also be distributed under the GPL, thereby propagating and safeguarding software freedom across derivative works.

4.3. Distinction between Free Software and Open Source

Stallman places great importance on the precise words and labels used to discuss software and freedom. He strongly advocates for the term free software and discourages the common alternative, open-source software, because he believes it fails to highlight the core value of freedom inherent in the software.

Stallman asserts that "Free software is a political movement; open source is a development model." He believes that using the term "open source" does not adequately inform people about the crucial freedom issues at stake and, consequently, does not encourage them to value and defend their freedom. While he accepts alternative terms like software libre and unfettered software, he consistently asks people to use free software in English. For similar reasons, he advocates for terms like proprietary software or non-free software instead of closed-source software when referring to software that does not grant the four essential freedoms.

5.1. GNU Emacs

Stallman was responsible for the development of GNU Emacs, a highly influential and customizable text editor. Its popularity on Unix systems rivaled that of another editor, vi, leading to a notable "editor war" within the computing community. Stallman's playful take on this rivalry involved him "canonizing" himself as St. IGNUcius of the Church of Emacs, humorously acknowledging that "vi vi vi is the editor of the beast" while stating that "using a free version of vi is not a sin; it is a penance". In 1992, developers at Lucid Inc., working on their own version of Emacs, clashed with Stallman and ultimately forked the software into what would become XEmacs.

5.2. GNU Compiler Collection (GCC)

Stallman played a pivotal role in the creation of the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC). This vital suite of compilers enabled the development of free software across various programming languages and architectures, becoming a cornerstone for building the entire GNU operating system and countless other free software projects. Its development was a critical step in achieving the goal of a self-hosting free software system.

5.3. GNU Debugger (GDB)

Stallman also led the development of the GNU Debugger (GDB), a powerful and essential tool for software developers. GDB allows programmers to examine the internal workings of programs, trace their execution, and identify and fix errors, making it indispensable for the creation and maintenance of complex software applications within the free software ecosystem.

5.4. Other GNU Utilities

Beyond Emacs, GCC, and GDB, Stallman contributed to the creation of many other fundamental GNU utilities that formed the backbone of the GNU operating system. These include tools like GNU make, a build automation utility that manages the compilation of software projects. By 1990, much of the GNU system had been completed, though a notable omission was a kernel. In 1990, members of the GNU project began using Carnegie Mellon's Mach microkernel in a project called GNU Hurd, which has yet to achieve the maturity level required for full POSIX compliance.

In 1991, Linus Torvalds, a Finnish student, used GNU's development tools to produce the free monolithic Linux kernel. The existing programs from the GNU project were readily ported to run on this new kernel, leading to the formation of the widely used general-purpose operating system.

6.1. Campaigns Against Software Patents, DRM, and Proprietary Software

Stallman has been an outspoken political campaigner for the free software movement since the early 1990s, authoring numerous essays on software freedom. He regularly delivers speeches on topics such as "The GNU Project and the Free Software Movement," "The Dangers of Software Patents," and "Copyright and Community in the Age of Computer Networks." During the 18-month public consultation for the drafting of version 3 of the GNU General Public License (GPLv3) in 2006 and 2007, he added a fourth topic to explain the proposed changes.

Stallman is a staunch opponent of software patents, arguing that they stifle innovation and restrict users' freedoms. He also vehemently opposes digital rights management (DRM), which he consistently renames "digital restrictions management" to highlight its true nature as a mechanism for control rather than protection. He views the more common term "DRM" as misleading. His activism extends to campaigning against other legal and technical systems that he believes strip away users' freedoms, including software license agreements, non-disclosure agreements, activation keys, dongles, copy restriction, proprietary formats, and binary executables distributed without their source code.

Stallman's approach to DRM is best exemplified by the FSF's Defective by Design campaign. In his talks, he proposes a "reduced copyright" system, suggesting a 10-year limit on copyright duration. He advocates for supporting authors through a tax system, with revenues distributed based on the cubic roots of their popularity, aiming to ensure that "fairly successful non-stars" receive a greater share than they currently do. He also suggests a convenient anonymous micropayment system for direct author support. Critically, he asserts that no form of non-commercial sharing of copies should be considered a copyright violation. In line with his views, he has reportedly refused to autograph anything bearing a '©' symbol. He also supported the International Music Score Library Project in getting back online after it was taken down due to a cease and desist letter from Universal Edition.

He highlights the dangers posed by some e-books compared to paper books, citing the Amazon Kindle as an example of an e-reader that prevents copying and allows Amazon to remotely delete books. He argues that such e-books represent a significant step backward from paper books, being less easy to use, copy, lend, or sell, and notes that Amazon e-books cannot be purchased anonymously. His short story "The Right to Read" paints a picture of a dystopian future if the right to share books is impeded. He objects to many terms found within typical end-user license agreements that accompany e-books. He discourages the use of storage technologies like DVD or Blu-ray video discs because their content is encrypted. He considers manufacturers' use of encryption on non-secret data (e.g., to force users to view promotional material) as a conspiracy.

Stallman characterized the Sony BMG copy protection rootkit scandal as a criminal act by Sony and supports a general boycott of Sony for its legal actions against George Hotz. He has suggested that the United States government may encourage the use of software as a service because it could allow them to access users' data without needing a search warrant. Despite his wariness of certain legislation and strong advocacy for user privacy and his own view of software freedom, he denies being an anarchist.

6.2. International Advocacy and Influence

Stallman's staunch advocacy for free software has had a global reach. The Virtual Richard M. Stallman (vrms) software, which analyzes packages installed on a Debian GNU/Linux system and reports those from the non-free tree, was inspired by his principles, though Stallman himself disagrees with some parts of Debian's definition of free software.

In 1999, Stallman called for the development of a free online encyclopedia through public contributions, leading to the creation of GNUPedia. This project was eventually retired in favor of the emerging Wikipedia, which shared similar aims and achieved greater success. Stallman served on the Advisory Council of the Latin American television station teleSUR from its launch but resigned in February 2011, criticizing what he perceived as pro-Gaddafi propaganda during the Arab Spring.

In August 2006, during meetings with the government of the Indian State of Kerala, Stallman successfully persuaded officials to abandon proprietary software, such as Microsoft's offerings, in state-run schools. This advocacy resulted in a landmark decision to switch all school computers in 12,500 high schools from Windows to a free software operating system. Following personal meetings, Stallman also secured positive statements about the free software movement from notable figures including the then-president of India, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, French 2007 presidential candidate Ségolène Royal, and the president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa.

6.3. Protests and Direct Action

Stallman has actively participated in various protests against software patents, digital rights management, and proprietary software. A notable instance occurred in April 2006, when Stallman held a placard stating "Don't buy from ATI, enemy of your freedom" at an invited talk given by an ATI compiler architect in the building where Stallman worked. This direct action led to the police being called. Since then, AMD has acquired ATI and has taken steps to make their hardware documentation available for use by the free software community.

Stallman has characterized Steve Jobs as having a "malign influence" on computing due to Jobs' leadership in guiding Apple to produce closed platforms. According to Stallman, while Jobs was at NeXT, Jobs inquired if he could distribute a modified GCC in two parts: one part under the GPL and the other, an Objective-C preprocessor, under a proprietary license. Stallman initially thought this might be legal but, believing it would be "very undesirable for free software," sought legal advice. The response he received indicated that judges would view such schemes as "subterfuges" and would be very harsh towards them, questioning whether it was "really" one program regardless of how the parts were labeled. Consequently, Stallman informed Jobs that his plan was likely not permitted by the GPL, which led NeXT to release the Objective-C front end under the GPL.

6.4. Resistance to Surveillance

Stallman expresses admiration for figures like Julian Assange and Edward Snowden and has frequently spoken out against digital surveillance by governments and corporations. He refers to mobile phones as "portable surveillance and tracking devices" and refuses to own one due to the lack of phones running entirely on free software. He also avoids using a key card to enter his office building, as key card systems track each entry location and time.

For a period, Stallman used a notebook from the One Laptop per Child program. His current computer is a refurbished ThinkPad X200 equipped with Libreboot (a free BIOS replacement) and Trisquel GNU/Linux. Prior to the ThinkPad X200, he used a Thinkpad T400s with Libreboot and Trisquel GNU/Linux, and before that, a ThinkPad X60. Even further back, he used a Lemote Yeeloong netbook (featuring the same company's Loongson processor), which he chose because, like his later machines, it could run with free software at the BIOS level. He stated, "freedom is my priority. I've campaigned for freedom since 1983, and I am not going to surrender that freedom for the sake of a more convenient computer." His Lemote netbook was stolen in 2012 while he was in Argentina. Before using Trisquel, Stallman utilized the gNewSense operating system. He is also known to use a Happy Hacking Keyboard.

Stallman usually does not browse the web directly from his personal computer. Instead, he employs GNU Womb's grab-url-from-mail utility, an email-based proxy that downloads webpage content and then emails it to him. More recently, he stated that he accesses all websites via Tor, with the exception of Wikipedia, which generally disallows editing from Tor unless users have an IP block exemption.

7.1. Importance of Terminology

Stallman places great importance on the words and labels people use to discuss the world, particularly concerning the relationship between software and freedom. He actively asks people to use the terms free software and GNU/Linux, and to avoid terms like intellectual property and piracy (when referring to copying not approved by the publisher). He has been known to make it a condition for giving an interview to a journalist that the journalist agrees to use his preferred terminology throughout the article.

Stallman argues that the term intellectual property is designed to confuse people and is used to prevent intelligent discussion on the specifics of copyright, patent, trademark, and other areas of law by lumping together concepts that are more dissimilar than similar. He contends that by referring to these laws as property laws, the term biases the discussion when considering how to approach these issues. He explains:
"These laws originated separately, evolved differently, cover different activities, have different rules, and raise different public policy issues. Copyright law was designed to promote authorship and art, and covers the details of a work of authorship or art. Patent law was intended to encourage publication of ideas, at the price of finite monopolies over these ideas-a price that may be worth paying in some fields and not in others. Trademark law was not intended to promote any business activity, but simply to enable buyers to know what they are buying."

His insistence on specific terminology and his ongoing efforts to convince people of its importance are a source of regular misunderstanding and friction with parts of the free software and open-source communities.

7.2. The "GNU/Linux" Naming Controversy

Stallman strongly advocates for the use of the term GNU/Linux to refer to the operating system formed by combining the GNU system with the Linux kernel. He considers this operating system "a variant of GNU, and the GNU Project is its principal developer." He argues that failing to use "GNU" in the name unfairly disparages the value of the GNU Project and harms the sustainability of the free software movement by severing the link between the software and the free software philosophy that the GNU Project embodies.

Starting around 2003, he also began using the term GNU+Linux to prevent the common mispronunciation of GNU/Linux, which could erroneously imply that the Linux kernel is maintained by the GNU Project. However, Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, has publicly stated his objection to the modification of the name, asserting that the rename "is their [the FSF]] confusion not ours."

8.1. Comments on the Jeffrey Epstein Scandal

In September 2019, revelations emerged about Jeffrey Epstein's donations to MIT, which led to the resignation of MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito. An internal MIT CSAIL listserv mailing list thread was initiated to protest the perceived cover-up of MIT's connections to Epstein. During this discussion, the conversation turned to the deceased MIT professor Marvin Minsky, who had been named by Virginia Giuffre as one of the individuals Epstein had forced her to have sex with. Giuffre was a minor at the time and had been caught in Epstein's underage sex trafficking ring.

In response to a comment on the listserv stating that Minsky "is accused of assaulting one of Epstein's victims," Stallman objected to the wording. He argued that Minsky was not accused of "assault," and that from the victims' testimonies, it was unclear whether Minsky had committed "assault." Stallman suggested that "the most plausible scenario is that she presented herself to him as entirely willing. Assuming she was being coerced by Epstein, he would have had every reason to conceal that from most of his associates." When challenged by other members of the mailing list, he added that "It is morally absurd to define 'rape' in a way that depends on minor details such as which country it was in or whether the victim was 18 years old or 17," maintaining that such details were not relevant to the harm inflicted upon the victim.

Stallman remained critical of Epstein and his actions, stating, "We know that Giuffre was being coerced into sex-by Epstein. She was being harmed." However, his comments, along with a compilation of past accusations against him, were published on Medium by Selam Gano, who called for his removal from MIT. A copy of the email chain was published by Vice on September 13, 2019. Further increasing the controversy, Stallman's writings from 2013 and earlier, which touched upon underage sex and child pornography laws, resurfaced. In September 2006, Stallman had written, "I am skeptical of the claim that voluntarily pedophilia harms children. The arguments that it causes harm seem to be based on cases which aren't voluntary, which are then stretched by parents who are horrified by the idea that their little baby is maturing." On September 14, 2019, Stallman acknowledged that he had since learned about the problems associated with underage sex, stating on his blog: "Through personal conversations in recent years, I've learned to understand how sex with a child can harm them psychologically. This changed my mind about the matter: I think adults should not do that."

8.2. Resignation from MIT and FSF Presidency

Amidst the growing backlash following his comments on the Epstein case and the resurfacing of his past writings, Richard Stallman announced his resignation from both his visiting scientist role at MIT and his position as president of the Free Software Foundation on September 16, 2019. He attributed his resignation to "pressure on MIT and me over a series of misunderstandings and mischaracterizations."

In a subsequent post on his website, Stallman clarified that his email list posts were not intended to defend Epstein, stating, "Nothing could be further from the truth. I've called him a 'serial rapist', and said he deserved to be imprisoned. But many people now believe I defended him-and other inaccurate claims-and feel a real hurt because of what they believe I said. I'm sorry for that hurt. I wish I could have prevented the misunderstanding." In 2021, he further apologized for "tone-deafly failing to acknowledge as context the injustice that Epstein did to women or the pain that caused." Despite these resignations, Stallman confirmed that he would remain the head of the GNU Project.

8.3. Return to the FSF Board of Directors

In March 2021, at the LibrePlanet 2021 conference, Richard Stallman announced his controversial return to the Free Software Foundation (FSF) board of directors. This announcement quickly sparked significant backlash within the wider tech and open-source communities.

Shortly after his announcement, an open letter was published on GitHub calling for Stallman's removal from all leadership positions, including the FSF board, and also demanding the resignation of the entire FSF board of directors. This letter garnered support from prominent open-source organizations, including the GNOME and Mozilla. The letter included a detailed list of accusations against Stallman, citing his past controversial statements and behavior.

In response, another open letter was published, advocating for the FSF to retain Stallman. This counter-letter argued that Stallman's statements had been mischaracterized and misunderstood, and that they needed to be interpreted within their proper context. On April 12, the FSF board issued a statement reaffirming its decision to reinstate Richard Stallman. Following this, Stallman himself issued a statement explaining his perceived poor social skills and offering an apology for any offense caused.

Despite the FSF's reaffirmation, multiple organizations criticized, defunded, and/or cut ties with the FSF in protest of Stallman's return. These included major entities such as Red Hat, the Free Software Foundation Europe, the Software Freedom Conservancy, SUSE, the OSI, The Document Foundation, the EFF, and The Tor Project. Debian, however, declined to issue a statement after a community vote on the matter. The FSF, for its part, claimed that these actions had relatively little financial impact, stating that direct financial support from corporations accounted for less than 3% of its revenue in the most recent fiscal year.

9.1. Lifestyle and Beliefs

Stallman lives in Boston, having moved there after many years in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is known for his ascetic lifestyle, often comparing it to that of a student. He is an unpaid "visiting scientist" at the CSAIL and has stated that he does not maintain a fixed residence beyond his office at MIT. He explains this choice by saying, "I have always lived cheap... like a student. I like that life. It means I don't have to do what money tells me to do."

Stallman identifies as an atheist of Jewish ancestry and is known to wear a button that reads "Impeach God." He denies having Asperger's, but has sometimes speculated whether he could have a "shadow" version of it. He has also stated that he is childfree.

9.2. Linguistic Abilities

Beyond his native English, Stallman is proficient in multiple languages. He is fluent enough in French and Spanish to deliver two-hour speeches in those languages. He also claims to have some proficiency in Indonesian.

9.3. Health Status

In September 2023, during his keynote presentation at the GNU 40th anniversary event, Stallman publicly disclosed that he had been diagnosed with follicular lymphoma, a form of cancer. He expressed optimism about his prognosis, stating that it is slow-growing and manageable, and that he anticipates living many more years. He later confirmed that his cancer was in remission.

9.4. Hobbies and Musical Interests

Outside of his extensive work in software development and activism, Stallman has a variety of hobbies and musical interests. He has written a collection of filk music and parody songs. He enjoys a wide range of music, from Conlon Nancarrow to folk music, and has expressed appreciation for artists such as Béla Fleck and the Flecktones and "Weird Al" Yankovic.

Stallman is also a composer. He created "The Free Software Song" as a parody of the Bulgarian folk dance tune "Sadi Moma." More recently, he wrote a song titled "Guantanamero," based on the Cuban folk song "Guantanamera", which addresses the plight of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. He recorded this song with local musicians in Cuba.

Additionally, Stallman is a fan of science fiction and particularly enjoys the works of Greg Egan. He has also authored two science fiction pieces himself: "The Right to Read" and "Jinnetic Engineering."

9.5. Political Views

Stallman has cited several figures as influences on his political thought, including Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, Ralph Nader, and Dennis Kucinich. He also expresses respect for historical leaders like Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, though he holds criticisms for some of their actions. Stallman is a supporter of the Green Party and advocates for the realization of a national initiative system for direct legislation through referendums.

He is a staunch opponent of electronic voting, arguing that paper ballots are superior because they allow for easier recounts if copies of the ballots are available. In a lecture in Manchester in March 2008, he defended paper voting for this reason. Stallman also proposes celebrating "Grav-mass" on December 25, in honor of Isaac Newton, who discovered the law of universal gravitation and was born on that date according to the Julian calendar.

10.1. Academic and Professional Recognition

• 1986: Honorary lifetime membership of the Chalmers University of Technology Computer Society.
• 1990: Exceptional merit award MacArthur Fellowship (often referred to as a "genius grant").
• 1996: Honorary doctorate from Sweden's Royal Institute of Technology.
• 2001: Honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow.
• 2002: Membership in the US National Academy of Engineering, recognized "for starting the GNU project, which produced influential, non-proprietary software tools, and for founding the free software movement."
• 2003: Honorary doctorate from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel_{Vrije Universiteit Brussel}^Dutch.
• 2004: Honorary doctorate from the Universidad Nacional de Salta; Honorary professorship from the Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería del Perú.
• 2007: Honorary professorship from the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega University; Honorary doctorate from the Universidad de Los Angeles de Chimbote; Honorary doctorate from the University of Pavia.
• 2008: Honorary doctorate from the Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, in Peru.
• 2009: Honorary doctorate from Lakehead University.
• 2011: Honorary doctorate from National University of Córdoba.
• 2012: Honorary professorship from the Universidad César Vallejo de Trujillo in Peru; Honorary doctorate from the Universidad Latinoamericana Cima de Tacna in Peru; Honorary doctorate from the Universidad Nacional José Faustino Sánchez Carrión_{Universidad Nacional José Faustino Sánchez Carrión}^Spanish in Peru.
• 2014: Honorary doctorate from Concordia University in Montréal.
• 2016: Honorary doctorate from Pierre and Marie Curie University.

10.2. Awards for Contributions to Computing and Free Software

• 1990: The ACM's Grace Murray Hopper Award "For pioneering work in the development of the extensible editor EMACS (Editing Macros)."
• 1998: Electronic Frontier Foundation's Pioneer Award.
• 1999: Yuri Rubinsky Memorial Award.
• 2001: The Takeda Techno-Entrepreneurship Award for Social/Economic Well-Being (武田研究奨励賞_{Takeda Kenkyū Shōrei-shō}^Japanese).
• 2007: First Premio Internacional Extremadura al Conocimiento Libre.
• 2015: ACM Software System Award "For the development and leadership of GCC."
• 2016: Social Medicine award from GNU Solidario.

11.1. Key Books and Manuals

• EMACS: The Extensible, Customizable, Self-Documenting Display Editor (1980): This publication from the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory details the design and functionality of the original Emacs editor.
• GNU Emacs Manual (2002): Published by GNU Press, this comprehensive manual serves as the official guide to GNU Emacs.
• GNU Make: A Program for Directed Compilation (2004): Co-authored with Roland McGrath and Paul D. Smith, this manual from GNU Press explains the use of GNU Make for automating software compilation processes.
• GNU C Language Introduction and Reference Manual (2023): A foundational guide to the C programming language within the GNU ecosystem.

11.2. Notable Essays

• Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman (Third Edition, 2015): This collection, published by GNU Press, compiles many of Stallman's most influential essays that articulate his philosophy on free software, society, and digital rights.

12.1. Impact on Computing and Digital Rights

Stallman's influence on computing is undeniable. His initiation of the GNU Project and his unwavering commitment to building a complete free operating system laid the groundwork for the modern free and open-source software (FOSS) ecosystem. The development of key GNU tools like GNU Emacs, GCC, and GDB provided essential components that enabled countless other software projects. The GNU General Public License (GPL), a direct result of his efforts, became the most widely adopted free software license, ensuring the continued freedom of derivative works and fostering a vibrant community of collaborative development.

Beyond technical contributions, Stallman is recognized as the architect of the free software movement's philosophical and ethical underpinnings. His emphasis on user freedom, the importance of source code access, and the right to modify and share software has profoundly influenced the debate on digital rights and the ethical responsibilities of software developers and users. His advocacy extended to the broader free-culture movement, promoting the idea that creative works should be freely shared and adapted. The widespread adoption of GNU/Linux operating systems, which combine GNU components with the Linux kernel, stands as a testament to the practical success of his vision.

12.2. Critical Assessments and Debates

Richard Stallman's uncompromising stance and strong opinions have also made him a figure of frequent critical assessment and debate within the tech community. Journalist Andrew Leonard characterized what he saw as Stallman's uncompromising stubbornness as common among elite computer programmers, stating:
"There's something comforting about Stallman's intransigence. Win or lose, Stallman will never give up. He'll be the stubbornest mule on the farm until the day he dies. Call it fixity of purpose, or just plain cussedness, his single-minded commitment and brutal honesty are refreshing in a world of spin-meisters and multimillion-dollar marketing campaigns."

In 2018, Stallman introduced "Kind Communication Guidelines" for the GNU project, aiming to ensure mailing list discussions remained constructive while avoiding explicit promotion of diversity. However, in October 2019, a public statement signed by 33 maintainers of the GNU project asserted that Stallman's behavior had "undermined a core value of the GNU project: the empowerment of all computer users." This statement, published shortly after his resignation from the FSF presidency and his visiting scientist role at MIT, called for GNU maintainers to collectively decide about the organization of the project. Despite these criticisms, Stallman has continued to lead the GNU Project.

His controversial comments regarding the Jeffrey Epstein scandal in 2019 and his subsequent return to the FSF board in 2021 sparked widespread condemnation and led to several organizations distancing themselves from the FSF. These events highlighted ongoing debates about leadership, accountability, and social dynamics within the free software and open-source communities.