From the "History of Modern Saints", to be published early 22nd century
In the middle of June 2001, a violent
flamewar erupted on the
GNOME-Hackers mailing list (yes, even
more violent than usual).
Michael Baulig, until then GNOME 2.0 release coordinator, announced his
resignation after a bitter dispute over the integration of
Bonobo within Gnome, as well as deeper "management" issues. This led
Miguel de Icaza to write a long, inspiring answer about how the GNOME project was at risk of crumbling under "elitism" and intern "
conspiracy theories", and encouraging readers to "give (their) love and support to those who are actually contributing
their work and sweat to the project." He concluded his message with the amazing proclamation:
"You can now flame me, I am full of love, and will ignore any insults,
because that is how good my Gnus filter is."
This obvious indication that Miguel had reached a heavenly
state of grace was promptly reported all over the world through
various media, reaching audiences far beyond the
hacker community. It was eventually reported to Pope
John Paul II, who declared that the author of this supreme expression of love, self-
abnegation and compassion toward the whole human race deserved no less than immediate
canonization. After a theological inquiry led to the conclusion that Miguel effectively deserved universal
worship, John Paul II made him a True Saint of the
Catholic Church under the name of
Sanctus Michael Icasas, patron Saint of
hackers,
developers and
newsgroup users.