When the Free Software Foundation (FSF) allowed disgraced founder Richard M. Stallman (RMS) to rejoin its board[1], the FSF[2] board members clearly had no idea how others would see the move. They do now.
Numerous free software and open-source members and leaders have decried RMS's return[3]. As Georgia Young, former FSF program manager, tweeted: "The thing that randos who have never had to actually work with RMS don't understand is that MANY people who deeply respected him tried to help him learn[4] to not objectify women, shout over others at Libreplanet as if it was his birthday party, stop sh*t like 'emacs virgins." Instead, "That energy, utterly wasted, could've been spent advocating for free software[5] and building the inclusive, impractical community so many people WANT. Spent, instead, on a man's ego, over and over."
Matthew Garrett, a well-known Linux kernel developer and former FSF board member, tweeted: "The idea that someone who does enough "good work" earns a pass for inappropriate behavior is pervasive, and fosters environments where abusers can prosper. People who hold this belief shouldn't be involved in running organizations.[6]"
But, as loud as their voices were, they were not people with any direct role with the FSF today. When Red Hat[7] announced it would no longer be financially supporting the FSF, their words were heard.
Red Hat stated:
Red Hat is a long-time donor and contributor to projects stewarded by the FSF, with hundreds of contributors and millions of lines of code contributed. Considering the circumstances of Richard Stallman's original resignation in 2019, Red Hat was appalled to learn that he had rejoined the FSF board of directors[8].