Bonum Certa Men Certa

Openwashing Report: The Linux Foundation Champions Openwashing of GPL-Violating VMware

Weekly openwashing report



Summary: The Jim Zemlin/PR-led Linux Foundation is profiting from openwashing services (for VMware) and at the same time it's banishing critics of VMware, in effect proving just how corruptible (for a fee) the Foundation really is

THE first part about IBM and the previous (second) part about Microsoft highlighted the fact that the Linux Foundation (LF) is little more than a Public Relations (PR) operation. Sure, LF pays the salaries of a few software developers, but those are less than 5% of the Foundation's expenses. Jim Zemlin himself is a high earner; his wife too receives massive salaries, sometimes as a General Manager at close partners of Microsoft. Never anything FOSS...

"Sure, LF pays the salaries of a few software developers, but those are less than 5% of the Foundation's expenses."Speaking of companies that almost never do anything FOSS... how about VMware? Well, VMware is a helluva lot worse because it's one of the best known cases of serial GPL infringements (for many years). Microsoft did that too, but Microsoft is Microsoft and many expect it not only to violate the GPL but actively attack the GPL, usually through proxies such as Black Duck.

Let's look at what the LF does to 'naughty boy' VMware for its violations of the GPL and also recall some crucial history/background.

VMware



For those who don't know, VMware paid the Linux Foundation a lot of money and got rid of Sandler (community). She's no longer in the Board. Nobody from the community is in the Board, which is stacked by large corporations. LF is nothing but a corporate front group now. VMware paid, whereupon all those 'undesirable' community folks were removed or could no longer be elected.

But it gets worse; It also managed to defund the employer of Sandler, which actively defends the licence of Linux. What is the Linux Foundation good for or who is it good for? Of course this entire scandal about GPL enforcement is old. It's clear that the Foundation is actively hostile towards GNU-type stuff it builds upon. That's where we are today. The Linux Foundation not only tolerates GPL violations (Bruce Perens called the LF "an infringers' club"). Due to bribes it became an advocate for the biggest GPL violators. The LF works for companies that actively attack the GPL. Those who don't see a problem with it and participate in this abuse are trolls at best.

"The LF works for companies that actively attack the GPL."We shouldn't be surprised by the latest from TFiR. The Linux Foundation-connected Swapnil is again promoting proprietary software PR for a GPL violator. VP Product Management at VMware gets a platform for "Major Announcements" (proprietary obviously). He's in their pockets, so what else can be expected? It's a whole raft of nonsense from their event. Proprietary obviously...

It's not just Swapnil by the way; The Linux Foundation-connected 'news' sites are also openwashing this serial GPL violator. Swapnil has already admitted that he received sponsorship from the LF to do this (and we know VMware funds the LF, so join the dots).

The LF staff is very well aware of VMware's abuses (it's a serial GPL violator like Microsoft), but it helps the violator leverage other people's FOSS for openwashing purposes, as can be seen here (one week ago).

"The LF staff is very well aware of VMware's abuses (it's a serial GPL violator like Microsoft)..."Open Source isn't the only buzzword/hype wave that this GPL violator is misusing. Blockchain also (another example from the same day).

More vomit-inducing openwashing could be found here last week. Headline: "Pat Gelsinger vows to upgrade VMware's once 'bad' open-source rep to the 'very' best by 2021"

Promises, promises. Didn't they promise GPL compliance of some sort about a decade ago (people had been pointing out these infractions since more than a decade ago)? That never happened. To quote this article/puff piece: "Ahead of day-two of VMware's VMworld 2019 conference in San Francisco, CEO Pat Gelsinger promised to further overhaul the virtualization giant's reputation in the open-source world."

What reputation? There's none.

How does VMware plan to improve its 'open' image?

"They corrupt journalism and we know who facilitates (and profits from) it."Complying with the GPL?

No.

Liberating its products?

No.

Bribing more groups like the Linux Foundation in exchange for shallow openwashing PR (from LF associates like Swapnil) and hiring FOSS-affiliated people like Dirk Hohndel to tell lies to LF associates (on camera). They don't try to actually improve their reputation but to buy reputation. They corrupt journalism and we know who facilitates (and profits from) it. These people are an affront to facts and truth. They're the 'Donald Trumps' of FOSS.

Recent Techrights' Posts

The European Patent Office Cannot Attract Proficient Patent Examiners Who Master Their Domain
They are enablers and facilitators of corruption
[Meme] 9AM Meeting at Brett Wilson LLP
Brett Wilson LLP in space
 
Debian Can Dump Blind Users Because I am Not Blind
the sort of mentality we're up against
Fascistic Policies Got 'Normalised' in 'Public Office'. Let's Not Let the Same Happen in 'Tech'.
Political discourse typically guides what's "normal" and what "good citizens" should believe/feel
Yes, Your Mastodon Instance Will Also Shut Down
Few people run a one-person instance in the Fediverse
The Demise of GAFAM Necessitates Greater and Broader Awareness
Morale at Microsoft is really bad
Free Software Foundation Reaches 75% of Funding Goal
Not bad for this "Fosschild"
Slopwatch: 7 New Examples of Fake 'Linux' Slop Pieces (Plagiarism With Misinformation)
Serial Sloppers need to be shunned
Links 19/07/2025: Kapo-berg Settles, Software Patents Challenged
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 18, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, July 18, 2025
Links 18/07/2025: Peace With PKK and Connie Francis Dies
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/07/2025: Alhena 5.1.8 and Bornhack 2025
Links for the day
How to Top Up a "Limited Liability" With Even More Limitations (Dodging Accountability in the UK)
Some people call it a "shell game". Sometimes it's done for tax evasion purposes.
Free Software Foundation, Inc. (FSF) Inches Towards 75% of Fund-Raising Target
Will the cutoff date be extended again?
Gemini Space (or Geminispace) Grows, But Usage of Certificate Authority Let's Encrypt Drops Further
Ideally, all Gemini capsules should use self-signed certificates
Links 18/07/2025: More Microsoft Layoffs in Activision, The New Stack (Sponsored by Microsoft) Complains About Openwashing
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/07/2025: OCC25 Gnus for Reading Usenet and RSS Feeds, Small Web Updates
Links for the day
Listing as Staff People Who Left the Company More Than Six Years Earlier
There are apparently no laws against that
Brian Fagioli Shovels Up LLM Slop (Plagiarism) Onto Slashdot, Then Uses Slashdot for Affirmation or as Badge of Honour
Notice how some of his latest slop is presented ("as featured on Slashdot")
Social Control Media Productivity
Snapping photos of the bone
The Law Firm SLAPPing Us For the Microsofters Lost 72% of Its Tangible Assets in the Past Year, According to Its Own Reports
That might help explain why they're willing to tolerate serial stranglers from Microsoft as clients
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity.com Slopfarm and Slopfarms Propped Up by Google News
"As LLM slop is foisted onto the WWW in place of knowledge and real content, it now gets ingested and processed by other LLMs, creating a sort of ouroboros of crap."
Links 18/07/2025: Weather Events and Health Hazards
Links for the day
Microsoft's All-Time Low in Finland
Microsoft is in a freefall
Security: Shane Wegner & Debian statement of incompetence
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 17, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, July 17, 2025
Gemini Links 17/07/2025: "Goodreads for Gemini" and Defence of "The Small Web"
Links for the day
Links 17/07/2025: Anger and Morale Issues at Microsoft, Wars and Conflicts Get Digital
Links for the day
CALEA / CALEA2 is the Real Problem, Not Chinese Operatives Exploiting CALEA / CALEA2 (as Any Other Nation Can)
CALEA / CALEA2 is more of a front door than a back door
99.99% Uptime in First Half of 2025
Since January there was only one noticeable outage
Nils Torvalds and Anna "Mikke" Torvalds (née Törnqvis) Hopefully Use GNU/Linux by Now
"Torvalds Family Uses Windows, Not Linus’ Linux"
Attack of the Slopfarms
FUD-amplifying bots with slop images, slop text (LLM slop)
When People Call a Best/Close Friend of Bill Gates a "Serial Rapist"
Good thing that the Linux Foundation keeps the "Linux" trademark ("Linux Mark") clean
Not My Problem, I Don't Care
Context/inspiration: Martin Niemöller
Honest Journalism About the European Patent Office Ceased to Exist After SLAPPs and Bribes to the Media
The EPO is basically a Mafia
Microsoft Bankruptcy in Russia, Shutdown in Pakistan, What Next?
It seems possible that in 2025 alone Microsoft will have laid off over 50,000 workers
Life Became Simpler When I Stopped Driving and I Don't Miss Driving When I See "Modern" Cars
Gee, wonder why car sales have plummeted...
Why I Believe Brett Wilson LLP and Its Microsoft Clients Are All Toast
So far our legal strategy has worked perfectly
EPO Jobs Are Very Toxic and Bad for One's Health
Health first, not monopolies
Response to Ryo Suwito Regarding the Four Freedoms
the point of life isn't to make more money
Microsoft's Morale Circling Down the Drain
Or gutter, toilet etc.
What Matters More Than "Market Share"
The goal is freedom, not "market share"
Tech Used to be Fun. To Many of Us It's Still Fun.
You can just watch it from afar and make fun of it all
Links 17/07/2025: "Blog Identity Crisis" and Openwashing by Nvidia
Links for the day
Greffiers and the US Attorney of the Serial Strangler From Microsoft
The lawsuit can help expose extensive corruption in the American court system as well
Credit Suisse collapse obfuscated Parreaux, Thiébaud & Partners scandal
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
The People Who Promoted systemd in Debian Also Promote Wayland
This is not politics
UK Media Under Threat: Cannot Report on Data Breach, Cannot Report on Microsoft Staff Strangling Women
The story of super injunction (in the British media this week, years late)
Victims of the Serial Strangler From Microsoft, Alex Balabhadra Graveley, Wanted to Sue Him But Lacked the Funds (He Attacked Their Finances)
Having spoken to victims of the Serial Strangler From Microsoft
Links 17/07/2025: Science, Hardware, and Censorship
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/07/2025: Staying in the "Small Web" and Back on ICQ
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 16, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 16, 2025