this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2025
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I knew about the Epstein thing and it is pretty offensive but unsurprising. What is surprising is what I just read about the developer in 2005 who mentioned taking time off for the birth of his daughter, essentially implying that contributing to Emacs was a more valuable contribution than having children. That is messed up.
Even worse, apparently there were also old blog posts where he discussed the legalization of sex with minors and child pornography, arguing that certain acts should be legal "as long as no one is coerced" and are only illegal due to "prejudice and narrow-mindedness."
He's not a great guy. I appreciate the work he has lead with free software, but he's said some pretty screwed up stuff.
Sources:
https://blog.codinghorror.com/spawning-a-new-process/
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/17/761718975/free-software-pioneer-quits-mit-over-his-comments-on-epstein-sex-trafficking-cas
I heard that before
Guys like this always go to bat for pedophiles, wonder what he says about queer people.