I Am Microsoft's Worst Nightmare!

Well, I might be, but then again it’s because I work there. No, this is all about Eric Stanley Raymond. And if there’s anything much that Eric Stanley Raymond likes, it’s something that is all about Eric Stanley Raymond.

And, OK, it’s six years old now, but it’s still worth a link. I suspect it boils down the Loon world-view to its essence.

What happened here is that some punk in Podunk sent ESR one of those nitwit-trawling circular “Ooh, does I gots teh jobz fer U” things we all get, and dear Eric went ballistic and assumed it came directly from Microsoft.

Solipsism, Thy Name is Loon.

And it gets better. His original blog post had about 400 respondents, and he picked one for this, his reply. It contains priceless gems:

I broke us out of the geek ghetto.

I try not to have a big ego about this. I’m well aware that if it hadn’t been me in that role, somebody else would have done it.

Well done that tiny but perfectly formed man.

In fact, having been the key man at one or two pivotal historical moments, I’m in an almost uniquely good position to plump for the “times make the man” theory.

If only he’d been there at Munich in 1938. I have in my hand a piece of paper. Free Open Source Software in our time!

And being the focus of so many peoples’ dreams and
aspirations is … well, it’s terrifying at times.

Is it? Is it really? Then stop doing it, you worthless little prick.

(My thanks to TED on the previous FUD for pointing me to this link.)

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Are all of the worthless little bastards like this? And, if so, who pays them? I could do with some of that.