And where, specifically does he say it's ok to buy access to someone else's SMTP server when said server uses non-Free software?

As for Google, agm is exactly right: he shouldn't use it (or any of its non-Free services) according to his own philosophy.

And for what it's worth I owe you no explanation; I'm just trying to do my bit to kurb ignorant ranting by presenting the facts.

RMS doesn't assume that humanity has a hacker complex: he neither insists nor expects that most users of Free software do anything other than use the binaries.

RMS doesn't think using an application that someone else hosts is illegal: he suggests Free software projects use Savannah, a Free web app.

In fact, RMS wholeheardedly supports commercialisation of Free software. After leaving his university position, he made his first bunch of cash by selling binaries of Free software.

SMTP servers that you use, he believes, should use software that is Free so, should you decide, you can buy some hardware and bandwidth and host your own email server with alterarions you decide.

RMS doesn't believe open source "is as evil as any other software". Indeed he doesn't care about open source as a movement. He can't hate the software since most of it is technically Free software too. He just doesn't like the philosophy of software freedom being confused with the engineering method of open source.

Obviously I'm not RMS and can't speak for the man himself, but it seems to me that you're being rather unfair on him.

Gav.