Bonum Certa Men Certa

Guest Post: The Linux Foundation Needs to Define “Support”

THE FOLLOWING post is a guest post, which forms part of an ongoing series of articles we do about the Linux Foundation with an investigation underway. We have been receiving a lot of feedback and tips.



As one person put it yesterday: "Since Microsoft joined all of this love for Linux, I was also wondering how come no other media, linux dedicated channels ect.. talked about this very subject. Microsoft is infiltrating Linux to have it's way with it. Linux Foundation is now off my books of being an advocate for Linux."

We don't mean to bash the Linux Foundation; rather, constructively, our goal is to understand what it is and what it does (or who for).




An interesting conversation in our community often centers on what support, investment or returns our projects are receiving from corporations that use our code for profit.

 

The Linux Foundation has member companies that are making a huge profit from open source projects. Companies like AWS, Google and Microsoft are part of the membership with the Linux Foundation. The list of companies/members is found at:

https://www.linuxfoundation.org/membership/members/

 

In 2012, the Linux Foundation numbers were as listed below.

 

Total Revenue

$17,123,662

Total Functional Expenses $16,195,531
Net income $928,131
Notable sources of revenue Percent of total revenue
Contributions $8,255,747 48.2%
Program services $8,781,221 51.3%
Investment income $22,566 0.1%
Bond proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental property income $0
Net fundraising $0
Sales of assets -$37,171
Net inventory sales $0
Other revenue $101,299 0.6%
Notable expenses Percent of total expenses
Executive compensation $1,291,777 8.0%
Professional fundraising fees $0
Other salaries and wages $3,330,574 20.6%
Other
Total Assets $14,731,225
Total Liabilities $4,579,960
Net Assets $10,151,265
Form 990 IRS

 

In 2016, the number are as listed below.

 

Total Revenue

$61,085,552

Total Functional Expenses $51,733,209
Net income $9,352,343
Notable sources of revenue Percent of total revenue
Contributions $0
Program services $60,908,388 99.7%
Investment income $117,563 0.2%
Bond proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental property income $0
Net fundraising $0
Sales of assets $0
Net inventory sales $0
Other revenue $59,601 0.1%
Notable expenses Percent of total expenses
Executive compensation $4,236,621 8.2%
Professional fundraising fees $0
Other salaries and wages $20,934,840 40.5%
Other
Total Assets $39,714,654
Total Liabilities $11,078,045
Net Assets $28,636,609
Form 990 IRS

 

I was surprised to discover the Linux Foundation making claims of supporting inclusiveness.

 

Here you can browse a list of “featured organizations that the Linux Foundation supports”.

https://www.linuxfoundation.org/about/diversity-inclusiveness/programs/

 

Supports is an interesting word. What is the definition of “support” (as a verb).

 

sup€·port

/səˈpôrt/

verb

verb: support; 3rd person present: supports; past tense: supported; past participle: supported; gerund or present participle: supporting

give assistance to, especially financially; enable to function or act.

"the government gives $2.5 billion a year to support the activities of the voluntary sector"

synonyms: help, aid, assist;
 

Is support the right word here?

 

Perhaps the depth and breadth of support is a little more clear when we see responses from some of these partner organizations the Linux Foundation “supports”.

 

Kids on Computers - Online learning discounts (for schools with no internet in Mexico)

 

An example of the support came in the way of discounts for online courses for kids on computers, a project in financial jeopardy last year. Volunteers serve schools in Mexico by setting up computer labs in offline areas, with offline content servers. Needless to say, according to one volunteer, none of the discounts for online learning was used, yet.

 

Outreachy – Sponsorship for travel to Linux Foundation Conferences

 

Let that sink in. That’s right, the Linux Foundation sponsors travel to its events for people speaking about their work in group sessions and giving lightning talks – at Linux Foundation events.

 

You can see all of our sponsor's support levels (LF and LF projects like Cloud Native Computing Foundation and Ceph Foundation included) by looking at their logo placements on the Outreachy main site (we publish information about our sponsorship levels at

https://www.outreachy.org/sponsor/)

LF itself didn't sponsor this last round, but they did the one before that, last year.

"Other than Red Hat's generous contribution of Marina's time, we haven't really gotten non-monetary contributions from sponsors. We've never received any discounts on training or advertising from LF that I can recall. Linux Foundation does frequently support travel of Outreachy alums to its conferences in the way they fund the travel of many of their regular session speakers, such as travel of Linux kernel alums, who have done lightning talks about their work in group sessions at Open Source Summits.”

- Karen Sandler, Outreachy

So, it seems like the Linux Foundation did not even support this year, yet Outreachy is listed as a featured organization the Linux Foundation “supports”. Supports seems to indicate the present or something it is currently doing. This seems like misrepresentation.

CodeChix – asked what my intent was in gathering the research before answering any questions.

 

Good to hear from you. My name is Rupa Dachere and I lead CodeChix.

Might I ask the intent behind your questions?”

 

Blacks in Technology – not only would not respond but suggested we ask Linux Foundation.

 

Thanks for reaching out to BIT. I am not sure what this is about but I would suggest you reach out to someone at the Linux Foundation regarding your questions.”

 

This gentleman had a great idea!

Let’s ask the Linux Foundation.

 

Linux Foundation, can we see how you support these organizations on the same page as you list the groups? Thanks in advance!

 

The only other response was an automated response to an online contact form.

 

The Linux Foundation has a few projects that may keep these companies/members busy enough to believe the contributions are going to community. In actuality it looks like contributions could support projects from within the Linux Foundation. Of course, there is the exception of the “support” to these inclusiveness featured organizations.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft Windows is No Longer an Operating System, It's Surveillance Project
Why is this even legal to preload on PCs outside the US?
Qualcomm Arduino Takes Aim at Raspberry Pi
Qualcomm is a Microsoft partner
Arduino is Now a Patent Bully (Qualcomm)
Qualcomm has just bought Arduino
Many Years of Microsoft Cancellations and Faked (Acquired) Revenue "Growth"
XBox is basically the "next Skype"
 
Links 08/10/2025: ‘Death to Spotify’ and Law to Ban Loud Commercials on Streaming (Dis)Services
Links for the day
Links 08/10/2025: Real Innovation and Nina.chat is Dead
Links for the day
Links 08/10/2025: Y2K38 Bug is a Vulnerability, Chat Control in Europe a Threat
Links for the day
How and Why Once-Legitimate Sites Turn Into Slopfarms
Many sites will go offline and many social control networks will shut down once they realise or even openly admit they spend money and time gardening a bunch of bots and slop
UbuntuPIT Became a Slopfarm and Gnoppix Tarnishes Its Own Brand With Slop
It fits all the characteristics of mildly-edited (if at all) slop
Slopwatch: Linux Journal and Other Slopfarms
GAFAM needs to go the way of the dodo
Gemini Links 08/10/2025: "Seek Seek Revolution" and Gradient Backgrounds
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, October 07, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, October 07, 2025
Stagnation of the Economy and What Free Software Can (or Could) Do For It
If your economic model is based on a pyramid of lies, it won't last very long
Social Control Media is Sinking
it would rightly seem like the era of centralised "social" sites (they're not social, they're about controlling the users) is ending, not overnight but gradually
Participation in Cancel Culture Detrimental to One's Career
A cautionary tale
Passion Wins
we've increased the number of birds we feed to 100+
How Solderpunk and Sean Conner Started Gemini Protocol (and, Collectively, Geminispace) Back in 2019
Based on the "official" history
The Comment TheLayoff.com Has Just Censored for Criticising a Ridiculous Puff Piece of IBM Management
If comments get censored for their "style" rather than their substance, then society will be worse off
The Power of Writing Down Facts
The more we write and publish, the more people will know what happened
Microsoft's Non-Denying Denial About XBox's Death is Already Being Shattered to Pieces
Like Microsoft's 'open' 'hey hi', heralding meaningless non-committing agreements with AMD is little more than vapourware
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT Joins the Slopfarms Club
Slopfarms gonna slop
Links 07/10/2025: Privacy at Risk, GAFAM Remains Off the Hook
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/10/2025: Modern Retro Console Idea and Batch vs Bash
Links for the day
Links 07/10/2025: International Criminal Court (ICC) Convicts Ali Kushayb; Moroccan Imprisoned for 'Offensive' Shirt
Links for the day
Links 07/10/2025: EU' Chat Control is Back, US Cracks Down on Democracy
Links for the day
Techrights Pursues Justice and Truth Because, Without Those, Society Descends Into Chaos
most people reject dogma and pseudoscience
Upcoming Talks by Richard Stallman in Helsinki, Göteborg, and Rome
Join with him and share the software
Something Bad is Happening in the Open Source Initiative (OSI)
The latest OSI blog post is from a Microsoft operative and a few weeks ago the Executive Director left
TLS 1.3 Dominates Geminispace (99% of Known Capsules)
it's nowadays safe to assume almost every capsule can handle TLS 1.3
Why soylentnews.org Has Been Having Technical Difficulties Lately
The network has been going up and down quite a lot this past week
A Statement Against Violence
The facts are on our side
They've Run Out of Things to Rebrand or Label as "AI"
The next few years will be interesting because if Microsoft lays off tens of thousands of workers each year, there won't be much left except mountains of debt and dying brands
The Register MS is Still Being Paid to Participate in the "AI" Ponzi Scheme Which Will Crash the Economy
The Register MS is hoping to get lucky by tricking people into a scam
Richard Stallman Confirms His Talk in Göteborg This Coming Friday
"The hosts say that the list will not be given to the state"
Most of the "Linux" Results This Morning in Google News Are LLM Slop From the Same Slopfarm, Plagiarising Phoronix
The main question is, does Google even care at this point?
Gemini Links 07/10/2025: Civil War and "Goodbye Web"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, October 06, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, October 06, 2025
Evidence Contradicting Microsoft's Non-Denying Denials and Expectation of Many Layoffs Soon
"Microsoft has had this constant drip of layoffs for months."
The "AI Revolution" is Going Very Well, Right?
money that does not exist and alleged potential that is pure fiction
Links 06/10/2025: Scam Altman Himself Admits He Runs a Scam Based on a Bubble, US Administration Adopts “War From Within” Narrative to Crush Opposition/Dissent
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Fake Ubuntu 'Articles' and Google News Helps People Who Plagiarise Phoronix Using LLMs
Michael Larabel can't possibly be happy about that
6,000 Pages/Articles a Year
Today in one month from now the site turns 19
When Things Become So Ubiquitous That They're Almost Nameless
The notion or the concept of software freedom isn't tied to any particular brand or project, so it should still resonate
At Least 3 Richard Stallman Talks in Europe Confirmed So Far, Next Week in Rome There's Another
Dr. Stallman has not announced this yet
IDG Seems to Have Abandoned Sandra Henry Stocker's UNIX/Linux Column
Unless we hear otherwise or see some update/s, this may mark another death blow from IDG
Gemini Links 06/10/2025: Winter Nights and "Virtue Signaling"
Links for the day
Links 06/10/2025: Scientific Awards and Typhoon Matmo
Links for the day
IP Kat Gone Bonkers, Pushing Slop in Patents (Likely Illegal, With Severe Consequences)
AstraZenecaKat: "Last time, this Kat covered some practical steps on how to ensure client confidentiality when using AI tools (IPKat)."
Links 06/10/2025: Grokipedia as Malicious Slop, US 'Martial Law' a "New Normal"
Links for the day
Fake Economics and Clown Computing Circuses
who's gonna pay for these scams?
Nobel Prize in Economics Does Not Exist, It's Propaganda From Sveriges Riksbank
"It is that time of the year when it is important to remind people that there are no Nobel Prizes for professional wrestling, astrology, or economics"
Rust is Eating Linux
That's a recipe for problems
Cindy Cohn (Executive Director of EFF) is a Millionaire, Earned Almost $30,000 Per Month Before Departing While the EFF Lost Money
EFF is "Big Business"
Non-Denying Denial From Microsoft (Again) Regarding the End of XBox Consoles
It's kind of hilarious that even the site chosen by Microsoft to relay its BS, based on past loyalty, isn't quite buying it
Bringing Back Lost Articles From the 1990s: Microsoft Products Leave Door Open to NSA
Nothing has changed since then
When the Slop Bubble Pops People Will Say Richard Stallman Was Right (Again)
What was once known as Computer Science turned into "IT"
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, October 05, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, October 05, 2025
Links 06/10/2025: Science, Hardware, and Andrej Babis Making a Comeback
Links for the day