I think RMS's stance is by definition always the extreme. He sees these things in black and white, so there's no degrees of compromise. If software phones home with private information without the users explicit consent, it's against his principles, period. And I think that's an excellent position to have, which is not to say you're not right either--making money is an important and difficult aspect of FOSS. But the day that RMS starts compromising will be a sad day.
Agreed, RMS essentially has as his sole professional obligation to the community to explore, stake out, and shine a light on a very deontologic position. It is a lonely camp and it wouldn't hurt us to put some rice in his bowl.
