Eric S. Raymond: Difference between revisions

Raymond was born in [[Boston, Massachusetts]] in 1957, and lived in [[Venezuela]] as a child. His family moved to [[Pennsylvania]] in 1971.<ref>{{cite web  | url = http://laweekly.com/art+books/cyber/man-against-the-fud/6614/  | title = Man Against the FUD  | access-date = July 7, 2008  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071013123601/http://laweekly.com/art+books/cyber/man-against-the-fud/6614/  | archive-date = October 13, 2007  | url-status = dead }}</ref> He developed [[cerebral palsy]] at birth; his weakened physical condition motivated him to go into computing.<ref name="let my software go">{{cite news | url = https://www.salon.com/test2/1998/03/30/feature947788266/ | date = April 1998 | title = Let my software go! | first = Andrew | last = Leonard | work = [[Salon.com]] | publisher = [[Salon Media Group]] | location = San Francisco | access-date = November 23, 2009 }}</ref>

Raymond began his [[computer programming|programming]] career writing [[proprietary software]], between 1980 and 1985.<ref name="resume">{{cite web | url = http://catb.org/~esr/resume.html | title = Resume of Eric Steven Raymond | first = Eric S. | last = Raymond |author-link=Eric S. Raymond|date = January 29, 2003 | access-date = November 23, 2009 }}</ref> In 1990, noting that the [[Jargon File]] had not been maintained since about 1983, he adopted it, but not without criticism; [[Paul Dourish]] maintains an archived original version of the Jargon File, because, he says, Raymond's updates "essentially destroyed what held it together."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dourish.com/goodies/jargon.html | title = The Original Hacker's Dictionary | work = dourish.com | access-date=January 17, 2024}}</ref>

In 1996, Raymond took over development of the open-source email software "popclient", renaming it to [[Fetchmail]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fetchmail.info/|title=Fetchmail|website=www.fetchmail.info}}</ref> Soon after this experience, in 1997, he wrote the essay "[[The Cathedral and the Bazaar]]", detailing his thoughts on [[open-source software development]] and why it should be done as openly as possible (the "bazaar" approach). The essay was based in part on his experience in developing Fetchmail. He first presented his thesis at the annual [[Linux Kongress]] on May 27, 1997. He later expanded the essay into a book, ''The Cathedral and the Bazaar: Musings on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary'', in 1999. The essay has been widely cited.<ref>{{cite book|title=Citations for "The Cathedral and the Bazaar"|year=1999 |url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/book/10.5555/580808 |publisher=ACM Digital Library|isbn=9781565927247 |access-date=10 February 2015}}</ref> The internal white paper by Frank Hecker that led to the release of the [[Mozilla]] (then [[Netscape (web browser)|Netscape]]) source code in 1998 cited ''The Cathedral and the Bazaar'' as "independent validation" of ideas proposed by [[Eric Hahn]] and [[Jamie Zawinski]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.openoffice.org/editorial/ec1May.html |title = Interview: Frank Hecker | last = Suarez-Potts | first = Louis | year = 2001 |access-date = November 5, 2011}}</ref> Hahn would later describe the 1999 book as "clearly influential".<ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 0-7382-0670-9 | title = Rebel Code: Linux and the Open Source Revolution | last1 = Moody | first1 = Glyn | year = 2002| publisher = [[Basic Books]] | url = https://archive.org/details/rebelcodeinside000mood }}</ref>{{rp|190}}

From the late 1990s onward, due in part to the popularity of his essay, Raymond became a prominent voice in the open source movement. He co-founded the [[Open Source Initiative]] (OSI) in 1998, taking on the self-appointed role of ambassador of [[Open-source model|open source]] to the press, business and public. He remains active in OSI, but stepped down as president of the initiative in February 2005.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://opensource.org/pressreleases/expansion.php | title = Open Source Initiative (OSI) Announces expanded programs, counsel, and board | last = Raymond | first = Eric S. |author-link=Eric S. Raymond| date = January 31, 2005 |access-date = January 14, 2010 }}</ref> In early March 2020, he was removed from two Open Source Initiative mailing lists due to posts that violated the OSI's Code of Conduct.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.i-programmer.info/news/136-open-source/13535-co-founder-of-osi-banned-from-.html | access-date=August 12, 2020|title=Co-founder of OSI Banned From Mailing Lists}}</ref>

In 1998, Raymond received and published a Microsoft document expressing worry about the quality of rival open-source software.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/11/biztech/articles/03memo.html |title=Internal Memo Shows Microsoft Executives' Concern Over Free Software |last=Harmon |first=Amy |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 3, 1998|access-date=November 5, 2011}}</ref> He named this document, together with others subsequently leaked, "''The [[Halloween Documents]]''".

Between 2000 and 2002, he created [[Configuration Menu Language|Configuration Menu Language 2]] (CML2), a source code configuration system; while originally intended for the [[Linux kernel|Linux operating system]], it was rejected by kernel developers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kerneltrap.org/node/17 |title=CML2, ESR, & The LKML |work=KernelTrap |date=February 17, 2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807034449/http://kerneltrap.org/node/17 |archive-date=August 7, 2007 }}</ref> (Raymond attributed this rejection to "kernel list politics",<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-ivesr.html |url-status=dead | title = Interview: Eric Raymond goes back to basics | work = IBM developerWorks | first = Rob | last = McMillan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030604101517/http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-ivesr.html |archive-date=June 4, 2003 }}</ref> but [[Linus Torvalds]] said in a 2007 mailing list post that as a matter of policy, the development team preferred more incremental changes.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://lkml.org/lkml/2007/7/28/145 | title=LKML: Linus Torvalds: Re: &#91;ck&#93; Re: Linus 2.6.23-rc1 }}</ref>) Raymond's 2003 book ''[[The Art of Unix Programming]]'' discusses user tools for programming and other tasks.

Some versions of ''[[NetHack]]'' still include Raymond's guide.<ref name="nethack">{{cite web |url=http://www.nethack.org/v343/Guidebook.html |title=A Guide to the Mazes of Menace (Guidebook of Nethack) |last=Raymond |first=Eric S. |author-link=Eric S. Raymond|work=NetHack.org |date=December 8, 2003 |access-date=December 15, 2008}}</ref> He has also contributed code and content to the [[free software]] video game ''[[The Battle for Wesnoth]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://gna.org/users/esr | title = People at Gna!: Eric S. Raymond Profile | work = [[Gna.org]] | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170301021140/http://gna.org/users/esr | archive-date = March 1, 2017 | access-date = 2017-09-13 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

Raymond is the main developer of [[NTPsec]], a "secure, hardened replacement" for the Unix utility [[Network Time Protocol|NTP]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blog.ntpsec.org | access-date=January 9, 2020 |title=NTPsec Project Blog}}</ref>

Raymond has refused to speculate on whether the "bazaar" development model could be applied to works such as books and music, saying that he does not want to "weaken the winning argument for open-sourcing software by tying it to a potential loser".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/afterword/ | title = Afterword: Beyond Software? | last = Raymond | first = Eric S. | year = 2000 |access-date = July 24, 2007}}</ref>

Raymond is a member of the [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian Party]] and a [[Right to keep and bear arms|gun rights]] advocate.<ref>[http://innovate.ucsb.edu/799-richard-stallman-free-software-and-copyleft Richard Stallman, Free Software, and Copyleft] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624201402/http://innovate.ucsb.edu/799-richard-stallman-free-software-and-copyleft |date=June 24, 2017 }} 2011</ref> He has endorsed the open source firearms organization [[Defense Distributed]], calling them "friends of freedom" and writing "I approve of any development that makes it more difficult for governments and criminals to monopolize the use of force. As 3D printers become less expensive and more ubiquitous, this could be a major step in the right direction."<ref name="ESR">{{cite web|url=http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=4521|title=Defense Distributed|first=Eric|last=Raymond|author-link=Eric S. Raymond|publisher=Armed and Dangerous|date=August 23, 2012|access-date=January 14, 2013}}</ref><ref name="Verge3">{{cite news|last=Kopfstein|first=Janus|title=Guns want to be free: what happens when 3D printing and crypto-anarchy collide?|url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/4/12/4209364/guns-want-to-be-free-what-happens-when-3d-printing-and-crypto-anarchy|journal=[[The Verge]]|date=April 12, 2013}}</ref>

In 2015, Raymond accused the [[Ada Initiative]] and other [[Women in STEM fields|women in tech]] groups of attempting to [[honey trapping|entrap]] male open source leaders and accuse them of rape, saying "Try to avoid even being alone, ever, because there is a chance that a 'women in tech' advocacy group is going to try to collect your scalp".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/11/06/linus_torvalds_targeted_by_honeytraps_says_eric_raymond/|title=Linus Torvalds targeted by honeytraps, claims Eric S. Raymond|access-date=2017-11-25|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2015/11/this-the-perfect-insane-anti-feminist-rumor.html |title=Is This Crazy Anti-Feminist Rumor the Platonic Ideal of the Men's-Rights Internet?|work=Select All|access-date=2017-11-25|language=en}}</ref>

Raymond has claimed that "[[male homosexuality|Gays]] experimented with unfettered promiscuity in the 1970s and got [[AIDS]] as a consequence", and that "Police who react to a random black male behaving suspiciously who might be in the critical age range as though he is an near-imminent lethal threat, are being rational, not racist".<ref>{{cite web | last=Raymond | first=Eric | date=2002-06-16 | url=http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=26 | title=The Elephant in the Bath-House | access-date=2018-08-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Raymond | first=Eric | date=2016-09-24 | url=http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=7239 | title=Dilemmatizing the NRA | access-date=2018-08-27}}</ref> A progressive campaign, "The Great Slate", was successful in raising funds for candidates in part by asking for contributions from tech workers in return for not posting similar quotes by Raymond. [[NCC Group|Matasano Security]] employee and Great Slate fundraiser Thomas Ptacek said, "I've been torturing Twitter with lurid Eric S. Raymond quotes for years. Every time I do, 20 people beg me to stop." It is estimated that, as of March 2018, over $30,000 has been raised in this way.<ref>{{cite news |last=Jeong |first=Sarah |date=2018-03-08 |title=Meet the campaign connecting affluent techies with progressive candidates around the country |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/8/17092684/great-slate-fundraising-congressional-campaign |work=The Verge |access-date=2018-03-08 }}</ref>