I would rather not discuss his controversial opinions as well, mostly because I think if one really reads his posts, they would see they’re not actually controversial.

Anyway.

He has greatly impacted my life in so far as being aware of freedom (and the lack of) in software. I do think it’s NOT unfair to call him extremist - but, as a leader in a realm (in this case free software), I want him to be a stickler. What I respect most about RMS is that he doesn’t just tell me what is good - he truly does that himself. Again, with the misunderstanding, he is pretty clear that he encourages part way steps towards free software. He even endorses making free software compatible for MS Windows! If i wasn’t lazy, I could go and find direct quotes to source, but he has said many times, any steps towards freedom is better than nothing - so he doesn’t expect everyone to be extremist. I like that fact that leaders will lead by example as well lecture and RMS does that even at the expense of being labeled extremist.