Copying all or parts of a program is as natural to a programmer as breathing, and as productive. It ought to be as free.
Richard StallmanEMACS could not have been reached by a process of careful design, because such processes arrive only at goals which are visible at the outset, and whose desirability is established on the bottom line at the outset. Neither I nor anyone else visualized an extensible editor until I had made one, nor appreciated its value until he had experienced it. EMACS exists because I felt free to make individually useful small improvements on a path whose end was not in sight.
Richard StallmanValue your freedom or you will lose it, teaches history. "Don't bother us with politics," respond those who don't want to learn.
Richard StallmanTalking about freedom, about ethical issues, about responsibilities as well as convenience, is asking people to think about things they might prefer to ignore, such as whether their conduct is ethical. This can trigger discomfort, and some people may simply close their minds to it. It does not follow that we ought to stop talking about these things.
Richard Stallman