This sounds like a level-headed analysis. Granted, I don't totally understand the history nor the practical nuances of all of the FSF's work, I do have a basic grasp of their overall influence and imprint on FOSS and am a happy Emacs user.
It seems to me that all of this talk questioning the need for the foundation in the modern age is good. The ought to be a bevy of splinter groups advocating and developing for the rights of certain users.
> a bevy of splinter groups advocating and developing for the rights of certain users.
I'm curious what you mean by this. Free Software has always been about licensing software indiscriminately to all users. I much prefer that than a bunch of ideologically-driven splinter groups fighting for the rights of "certain users".
I agree with you. But my choice of words was more a reflection of my observation that not all users care about software licensing rights. Between the mid-80s to now, the motivations and characteristics of the average computer user has changed dramatically. Not everyone necessarily shares the same concerns in the realm of software particularly.
This whole arena is new to me, I must confess, so I'm thinking my way through where I stand in the middle of it all out loud to you. I know I'm probably a few weight classes above my own right now.
Computers have been absorbed into the fragmented, chaotic world that we live in. I think that we are entering a period where lots of ideological enclaves will rupture in the software development world. If there ever was a "utopic" period of the FOSS movement, perhaps it is nearing its end.
It seems to me that all of this talk questioning the need for the foundation in the modern age is good. The ought to be a bevy of splinter groups advocating and developing for the rights of certain users.