Yesterday I had the fortune (misfortune?) to dine with Richard M. Stallman aka RMS. Stange person indeed. Very bright, he has an answer for everything, and the answer is always very intelligent and gives you lots to think about.
That said, I think he is also the most discourteous and rude person I met in my life (which spans, I regret to say, over half a century). True, he is a globe trotter giving conferences constantly everywhere, and he certainly had his good share of bad experiences, but… nobody has condemned him to do it.
So, while the memory is still warm, I thought to give him few (unasked and unwanted, I am afraid) suggestions that may help improve his manners:
At table:
- do not read when you are with other people, especially while they are talking to you
- do not keep your netbook over the dish, constantly typing on it and lifting it only when you have to take a fork of whatever lies under it
- do not get angry and accuse your host for not having consulted with you in advance on what you like and dislike to eat
- do not charge your host with the mischief of having irreparably ruined your dinner due to his totally lack of courtesy (sic!)
- when somebody asks you a question do not ignore him and start to talk with the person at his side
- if somebody, concerned of your tiredness, asks you if you prefer to stay silent, do not answer “yes, unless you have something important to say”
At a conference:
- do not remove your shoes and socks and start massaging your feet with a cream
- if somebody asks you a question don’t start the answer with a “your question is meaningless”
- wait for the question to be completed and do not interrupt assuming the rest and then reproach your interlocutor that he is making assumptions and assumptions are wrong
In general:
- try to find some time to read a good book on the subject of “etiquette”. There are many
- see if the evangelical concept of “why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” can be applied also to you
- before accepting an invitation, get acquainted with the customs of the place you are going, and if you don’t like them, don’t send them in advance a paper explaining how you expect to be treated and then treat them as idiots for not having fully complied with all your requests. Try to adapt. If you cannot, simply don’t go. So doing, you will not offend anybody and your cause would not be damaged.
Anyway, I am still on the FLOSS side.
