This account by itself refutes three popular claims that were circulating a few weeks ago:
- that RMS's removal was the result of outside agitators, not of long-term free software community members who long believed he had come to be more harm than good for the movement
- that nobody patiently worked with him to help him understand the impact of his actions, and the real problem here was that he was merely socially awkward but well-intentioned
- that media attention to RMS's Epstein statements triggered a kneejerk, rash response out of nowhere instead of simply being the final straw on the back of a camel who had been at its limit for years
- that RMS's removal was the result of outside agitators, not of long-term free software community members who long believed he had come to be more harm than good for the movement
- that nobody patiently worked with him to help him understand the impact of his actions, and the real problem here was that he was merely socially awkward but well-intentioned
- that media attention to RMS's Epstein statements triggered a kneejerk, rash response out of nowhere instead of simply being the final straw on the back of a camel who had been at its limit for years