Summary: The Mono trap uses disinformation to spread itself, leading to more dissatisfied users

IN RECENT posts that specifically mention Banshee we showed that Mono is good for Microsoft, a few Ubuntu moderators refuse to hear about it, Ubuntu users reject Banshee, and Novell employees are promoting Banshee in social networks like Reddit. This comes after Ubuntu had promoted a Mono lobbyist, who calls it “Monobuntu” (sarcastically he claims) whilst pushing for Banshee to be included in Ubuntu 9.10 by default.

According to the following new analysis, those very same Mono lobbyists are using disinformation (gentle word for "lies") to promote Banshee. To quote some of the pertinent details:

Here, let’s take a look at one of the main things that get’s me going about mono-supporters.

There is a strong push to get Banshee in as the default media player in Ubuntu. Here’s my take on that.

The first lie: Banshee saves space.

As near as I can tell, the whole thing really got going from an apebox.org “rant” back around April. In this [cough]fact-filled[/cough] post, the assertion is made that 6.1 MiB will be saved on the LiveCD by replacing “bloated C-based” Rhythmbox with Banshee.

This, like most pro-mono propaganda is about 25% truth/ 75% lie. You see, it doesn’t count the accompanying documentation of Rhythmbox. The apebox.org ranter casually cedes the point on page 4 or so of this thread, pretending all the while like space was “never really my main argument.”

[...]

It’s my opinion that despite protestations of “oh, I’m just looking out for the best application”, it is clear the initial thrust of getting Banshee into Ubuntu as the default media player was based on the pro-mono agenda of simply pushing mono apps.

Let me be clear on my position: if people want to use mono apps, well then, drop it in the repos and drive on Power Ranger. It is the constant “shove it down their throats” of the pro-mono brigade which offends me the most.

Mindshare is very important; it is why all that shovelware pays to have their crappy applications on the WinXP OEM desktop. It is a major “win” for mono to be included by default, because then mono-supporters can simply point to some existing application and say “well, that mono app is already in, so why not this one?”

That's precisely the problem. By ganging up against popular distributions like Ubuntu they can then spread the perception that a lot of GNU/Linux users have Mono installed, which thus gives it legitimacy. Yesterday we found an example of a person who may have to leave Ubuntu because of Mono. GNOME is negatively affected too.

I know that Microsoft is opposed to the existence of Linux. That have said so, often and stridently. I know that Novell caved in and did not stand up for FOSS when they had the chance. They have since apologized, sort of, but the damage is done. Other companies did not follow suit, including Red Hat and Canonical. I respect them for this as much as I detest Novell for selling us down the drain.

Mono is not only a reminder of that sellout, but its legal status is far from settled. Novell and Microsoft can’t agree on who can distribute it. Microsoft takes the position that their agreement only covers Novell and not other distributions. Novell thinks otherwise. I do not care. Nothing that comes from Microsoft can be for our good and benefit. They are dedicated to our destruction and downfall.

Mono has infected Gnome. Ubuntu uses Gnome. I switched to Kubuntu and am happy with it. Now Moonlight is infecting Linux. Canonical is compromising its principles in the use of them and in my using their products I am forced to compromise my own values.

Will Ubuntu (or Canonical) listen to its users? Will it also listen to the warning signs from Microsoft? ⬆

"There is a substantive effort in open source to bring such an implementation of .Net to market, known as Mono and being driven by Novell, and one of the attributes of the agreement we made with Novell is that the intellectual property associated with that is available to Novell customers."

--Bob Muglia, Microsoft President