Eric S. Raymond
From Encyclopedia Dramatica
Eric S. Raymond, (a.k.a ESR) is the author of The Cathedral and the Bazaar, the Jargon File, and founder of the Open Source Initiative. But this isn't what makes him interesting. Rather, ESR is an (arguably) high profile hacker who has been accused by GPL zealots for weakening the free software movement, and selling out to Microsoft in order to meet his favourite science fiction writer. Hence, it should be quite obvious to all that he and Richard Stallman do not get along.
In a sense, ESR is the mirror image of Richard Stallman. Yes, they are both prone to being uncompromising bigots, who smell horribly. However, rather than being a left-wing hippie like Richard Stallman, ESR is a gun-toting, libertarian with terrible personal hygiene, who also supports the invasion of Iraq. He is also a Wiccan. Reseachers believe that ESR and Richard Stallman were originally one and the same until God decided to split their souls in half.
ESR's recent quest is to convince everyone that the GPL is no longer needed. Many detect that he is merely trolling in an attempt to stay relevent.
In the 1980s before the Internet, he ran Starlight music and was manager of a group called The Misfits (who did not feature Glenn Danzing).
In the five-minute interval between when VA Linux went public and when its share price dropped to zero, Eric Raymond penned Surprised by Wealth, in which he assured his geek no-longer-brethren that (a) being richer than Bill Gates wouldn't change him, and (b) if they were so gauche as to ask him for money, he would never speak to them again. Needless to say, the article was soon a moot point, but that didn't stop it from being mercilessly trolled.
In 1999, Debian developer Bruce Perens published an "email threat" [1] he allegedly received from Raymond. Raymond then "clarified" [2] that he only meant to defame Perens.
[edit] Uglyness
The exact reason for the unnatural level of uglyness possessed by ESR has yet to be determined by scientists[citation needed], however many have speculated that it's due to a case of Down's Syndrome, which is absolute bull, considering that ESR has the power of speech and is one of the world's top hax0rs. Other scientists (mainly Astronomers) belive his uglyness due to being beaten to near-death as a small child by his local bullies for being such a massive, giant nerd. However as of 2007 this is unconfirmed. Scientists are still looking into this case.
