Yeah, they did exactly that. But it was too late. And we've really lost the battle when browser vendors (one of whom has vested interest in advertisements and tracking) overtook the HTML standard from W3C.

There is no too late for sane and open standards.

We shouldn't give in to the market when the market is wrong.

The market is definitely wrong, but peeing against the wind sets you up for a really sad outcome if you're not pure in the Stallman-sense.

I’m confused too. Being “pure” somehow keeps your leg from getting wet?

If you're pure, you don't care about getting soaked. You do it, because you believe it's the right thing to do, even if people joke about you and you don't make big money.

> sad outcome if you're not pure in the Stallman-sense.

What do you mean?

Sad outcome: realizing that 99% of the people in our field don't care about freedom or privacy, and are willing to actively work against these ideas as long as it is beneficial for their yearly bonus or their next valuation round.