Richard Stallman (RMS) founded the GNU Project in 1984, the Free Software Foundation in 1985, and remains one of the most important and outspoken advocates for software freedom. RMS now spends much of his time fighting excessive extension of copyright laws, digital restrictions management, and software patents.

It appears to be open season for launching attacks on the head of the Free Software Foundation, Richard Matthew Stallman, the man who is in large measure responsible for the status that free and open source software enjoys today.

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has just released in tandem the second edition of its president and founder Richard Stallman's selected essays, Free Software, Free Society, and his semi-autobiography, Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman and the Free Software Revolution.

"When Richard Stallman announced the GNU Project back in 1983, he launched a movement that would, in time, transform the software industry. The Free Software Foundation, also created by Stallman and now sponsor of the GNU Project, has become a driving force behind the adoption of the widely used GNU GPL software license.

We discussed some of the more recent developments with Richard Stallman, whose passion for freedom in computing remains intense. The following Q & A explores the goals of free software, progress that has been made, and ways to maintain or instill freedom in software that we use..."

Last week Richard M. Stallman, founder of the Free Software movement caused some head scratching when he made some remarks about cloud computing and web applications calling them stupid.

"In February of last year, Richard M. Stallman, founder and president of the Free Software Foundation, spoke at the International Conference on Communication and Technologies in Havana about what he strongly believes are the merits of non-proprietary software. I recently learned directly from Stallman what that experience was like.

"EFF-Austin invites you to a talk by the Free Software Foundation Activist - Richard Stallman on 23rd April 2009 [...] The GNU General Public License (GPL) was the outcome of the need for a principal right to free software. What does the freedom mean, what are the foundations of the GNU GPL philosophy and how has it evolved since Richard Stallman wrote the first GNU GPL in 1989?

"Richard Stallman, who started the free software movement, visits Russian in March 2008. The legendary programmer plans to give several lectures for students and specialists and hold a press-conference. Mr. Stallman is known to be the initiator of his visit to Russia. Experts relate his arrival to a boom in the domestic free software market..."

After our coverage of London's Oyster card, which uses Linux for its online payment system, we had a response from Richard Stallman, head of the Free Software Foundation.