Bonum Certa Men Certa

Matthias Kirschner (et al) Should Not Have Taken Microsoft Money, as Per the Agreement With the Free Software Foundation (FSF)

15 years ago this was unthinkable; and Microsoft has not changed (except its entryism strategy)

FSFE Donors in 2005
People and firms that supported FSFE a year after the current President had joined



Summary: The corrosive impact of Microsoft money and why the FSFE wasn't supposed to take it; supporting members would likely disapprove because Microsoft stands for the very things they sought to put an end to

WE RECENTLY wrote about the problematic payment from Microsoft to Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), which was founded 19 years ago, 5 years before the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC). The FSF-Relationship-Framework (2005) document is shown below, as it appeared sort of publicly on the Free Software Fellowship's mailing list.



To quote: "These things will never be done by any FSF: [...] Formally ally itself with an organization or person that develops or distributes non-free software or non-free software documentation."

"The biggest fact is the memorandum," told us a reader, "which has never been published."

The reader saw it in the above mailing list. "Notice it is not a legal document," the reader said, and "it doesn't have the usual clauses that would allow FSF to terminate the agreement and protect their trademark. Maybe FSF was just naive, we can't be sure. This document seriously dilutes the value of the FSF brand."

"Months after SFC took money from Microsoft the SFC's Web site called for the resignation/removal of RMS."As we noted before, after RMS was 'ousted' (from the FSF's Board, which he left after pressure) the FSF 'lifted its kimono' like the Linux Foundation had done, hoping to attract sponsors for LibrePlanet, which was eventually canceled due to the pandemic and became just a webstream (like many other cancelled events, still in denial about their cancellation in order to save face, calling webstreams "virtual events" or something ridiculous along those lines).

"Unfortunately," our reader concludes, "anybody holding this document could go and create an FSF today."

And then take money from Microsoft...

Marked in/as bold below is one of several relevant bits:

$Id: FSF-Relationship-Framework.txt 2221 2005-09-02 08:21:16Z greve $



Written by Lisa M. Goldstein, opus@gnu.org, and Richard M. Stallman, rms@gnu.org

A Relationship Framework for FSFs.

This a draft framework for the relationship between the FSF sister organizations in various parts of the world. It says which activities are to be carried out which FSFs, either individually or working together.

FSF-NA refers to the original Free Software Foundation with headquarters in Boston. A "major FSF" refers to an FSF that covers a region which is a whole continent or contains a large fraction of the population of the continent it is in. The hope is that the number of major FSFs will be limited.

A. The following activities will be carried out initially by the FSF-NA after consultation with the other FSFs. We intend, in the future, after we have gained experience working together, to develop a system wherein these decisions are approved jointly by a specific list of several major FSFs.

1. Set policy regarding free software licenses, including the criteria for free software, the development of licenses, and the criteria for choosing the license to use for a program.

2. Define official positions on major new circumstances, such as new technologies, new legal issues, etc, which globally impact the Free Software movement or our licenses, and publish position papers to state these positions.

3. Make major changes in the management of the GNU Project.

4. Approve translations of licenses into languages other than English. (Translation of licenses requires special care and we will have to approach this cautiously.)

5. Decide whether an organization qualifies as an FSF.

B. The following activities will be carried out by one particular FSF initially, and may be extended to individual other major FSFs if need arises:

1. FSF-NA: Certify as a service to businesses that products comply with the GPL.

2. FSF-NA: Be the official copyright holder on GNU software and manuals (when the developers do not keep the copyright).

3. FSF-NA: Hold the primary copies of the copyright assignments themselves.

4. FSF-Europe: Manage and operate the GNU Business Network.

C. The following activities are to be carried out by every FSF:

1. Encourage the development of globally-useful free software packages.

2. Develop new free software and manuals, and adapt existing free software and manuals, to meet its region's special cultural and linguistic needs.

3. Following the overall policy set as in A, create and issue official positions for local events and new local laws that may have impact on the Free Software movement or its licenses.

4. Translate FSF position papers into local languages.

5. Advocate FSF official positions developed in A to national and local governments.

5a. Study possible local threats to software freedom and possible countermeasures.

6. Recruit more volunteers for the GNU Project and other free software projects.

7. Raise funds to spend on free software development and other free software activities.

8. Sell copies of free (as in freedom) software, free manuals, and other products to raise funds to pay for local staff and local events. FSFs will resell their products to each other at cost for redistribution in other countries by sister groups.

9. Develop media relations to create awareness of the FSF and Free Software positions and events.

10. Advise free software developers on licensing matters and technical questions.

11. Enforce and defend the GPL and its sister licenses internationally for software that it holds copyright on.

12. Assist, in its region, efforts by other FSFs to enforce and defend the GPL and its sister licenses for the software they hold the copyright on.

13. When asked to, hold duplicate copies of copyright assignments and other legal papers for other FSFs.

14. Maintain a speaker's bureau.

15. Develop free (as in freedom) class materials for training and education in use of GNU and other free software.

16. Raise awareness of the unethical and antisocial nature of non-free software.

17. Assist other organizations in upholding the GPL and other activities that benefit the free software cause.

18. Encourage general cooperation with the GNU Project.

19. Send information about its main projects to the other FSFs.

19a. Keep its board of directors in contact with the boards of other FSFs, and keep its executives in contact with the executives of other FSFs.

20. Cooperate generally with all other FSFs.

D. These things will never be done by any FSF:

1. Distribute or develop non-free software or non-free software documentation.

2. Promote or encourage the use of any non-free program or non-free software documentation.

3. Formally ally itself with an organization or person that develops or distributes non-free software or non-free software documentation.



If FSFE is willing to take money from Microsoft -- as SFC did last year and this year (in effect selling Microsoft a keynote speech in a conference about something Microsoft viciously attacks) -- who next? What next? Days ago they spoke about their accomplishment in Munich. Will they still 'disparage' Microsoft (sponsor) by speaking about what Microsoft did to GNU/Linux in Munich? Months after SFC took money from Microsoft the SFC's Web site called for the resignation/removal of RMS. Guess what the FSFE said in its press release when RMS stepped down (and before).

Imagine giving a portion of your salary for several years to support the same FSFE (or SFC) that treats the very founder of Free software like that. While taking money from Microsoft...

Recent Techrights' Posts

Lucas Nussbaum & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
There Were Several Waves of Microsoft Shanghai Layoffs in 2025, Western Media Continues to Turn a Blind Eye to Chinese Layoffs of an Epic Scale
Sometimes select Taiwanese news sites (published in English) or automated translations are all we have
Brett Wilson LLP Spreads Trumpism to the United Kingdom, Looking to Profit From 'Legal Colonialism' (Overriding Sovereignty)
There's growing recognition of this conundrum worldwide
Distinguished Lecture by Richard Stallman This Coming Monday in Rome
After "Free software, Crucial for Freedom in a Digital World"
The Lawsuit by Clients of Brett Wilson LLP Against Brett Wilson LLP is Officially On, It is Progressing, The 'Experts' Pick Outside Law Firms (RPC and Mills & Reeve) to Spare Them From Litigants in Person
So it is probably quite potent
The 'Culture Wars' in Free Software Have Gone Out of Control
Social control media amplifies such utterly infantile discourse
Teaser: To Compensate for the Fact Our Clients Are Terrible Human Beings Who Strangle Women (While on Microsoft's Payroll) and We Get Paid by Mystery Parties We Bombard You and Your Wife With Almost 10 Kilograms of Legal Papers
If you can't win an argument, then drown the other side with papers?
Now Confirmed in Western Media: Microsoft Azure Layoffs This Month
Affirmed by more sources moments ago
 
Microsoft Has Just Lost Privacy Case in Austria and Its Latest Moves Make a Complete Ban Seem Imperative
Microsoft is not a software company, it's a spying agency that uses software to collect data
The Register MS: Microsoft is the Security Expert, Not the Prime Culprit, So Buy More Microsoft
This front page feature is devoid of any actual substance, it's just Microsoft copypasta
Paris 'Love Nest' & Debian Outreachy: from Lycée Lakanal to ENS Cachan, Cr@ns, nepotism
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Stefano Zacchiroli (Zack) & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 12/10/2025: "Palm Computering", Further Exploration of Slide Rules, and Key Takeaways from The Well-Grounded Rubyist
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 11, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, October 11, 2025
Tomorrow: Founder of the Free Software Foundation and of GNU/Linux, Richard Stallman, Speaks in Roma (Rome), Italy at 4PM
GNU/Linux is more important than ever in this dystopian world
Microsoft and Apple Are Rare Topics in Geminispace
in Geminispace it's rather safe to assume everyone is into BSD, GNU/Linux, and sometimes retro
Qualcomm and Manchester United Appear to Have Dumped Microsoft (Qualcomm Now Invests More in Linux, Apparently)
It's a relief to no longer see Microsoft logos and brands on a local football club's gear (I'm not a Manchester United fan, but not a foe either)
As Guest of Honour in Rome, Founder of the Free Software Foundation to Speak ("Distinguished Lecture") After Introduction by Leonardo Querzoni
Happy hacking...
All Things Open is Proprietary
The OSI has become a front group of proprietary software openwashers, led and sponsored by proprietary giants
When Microsoft Lays Off Lots of Workers They Say It "Invests in AI" (a Lie), Now It's "Reshuffles" or "Microsoft Tightens"
Microsoft "news" by bots
"I saw Richard Stallman give a talk in the mid 80s, which began my fear and loathing of software patents" and "Richard Stallman was always right."
"By betraying the legacy of our ancestors, we’ve set ourselves on a path toward self-destruction — moral, intellectual, economic, and ultimately biological."
The Demise of Shopping in Person
In a world like this, how valued is the customer?
We Are Safe in a Modern "Tech" Society, Right?
People are safer if they control their own computing
This Past Friday, "Nearly 700 People Came to Listen to RMS!" (Richard Stallman)
"Nearly 700 people came to listen to RMS!"
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT Churning Out Plagiarism and the Slopfarm LinuxSecurity Turns to Pseudonyms
Our hunch is, UbuntuPIT will sooner or later realise that this toxic approach is just harming UbuntuPIT and tainting the reputation of past articles
Gemini Links 11/10/2025: Nyctography, Gerrymandering, and Lurking
Links for the day
Links 11/10/2025: World Mental Health Day 2025, Another European Legal Defeat for Microsoft 360
Links for the day
MIT Technology Review is Part-Time SPAMfarm of Billionaires and Mega-Corporations
Does MIT operate its own "b2b" SPAMfarm?
Open Source Initiative Executive Director Leaves, Replacement Sought by Monopolists, Not the Community or OSI Members
Serves to show who runs this show...
Links 11/10/2025: China-US Tensions Grow Again, "Hey Hi" More Widely Recognised as Bubble Made of Capital That Doesn't Exist
Links for the day
Peter O'Callaghan QC represented grandparents, Westernport Hotel, at Liquor Royal Commission
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Either The Register MS Divests From FOSS Coverage or Liam Proven is on Long Holiday
Publishers perish when their audience loses trust in them
Microsoft Cancelling Another Datacentre is a Sign of Financial Trouble and Lack of Growth
The debt continues to grow
Gemini Links 11/10/2025: An Evening at the Fair and Fast Fourier Friday
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 10, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, October 10, 2025
Geminispace is Very Large
The word continues to spread and the number of participants grows
Another Wave of Microsoft Layoffs, This Time During National Day Holiday
This time it's China again
10 Out of 10: RMS Attracts Massive Audience in Göteborg, Sweden (All Seats Occupied, Some People Standing)
a 55-second clip of his talk
Staying Happy in Times of Crackdowns on Civil Society
Optimism in this sort of "new reality" or "new normal" seems like something for the irrational person
"Nobel" Exploited Posthumously for "AI" Hype, Now They Do the Same With "Quantum"
ere have been many jokes about "Nobel" for peace (often granted to pro-war people) and a fake one for "Economics" (establishment propaganda)
Slopwatch: Plagiarism and "Linux" Articles by Bots
Sites that do this won't survive; many of them rely on slop services (suppliers) that will cease to exist after the bubble bursts
Links 10/10/2025: Putin Admits Russia Downed Azerbaijan Airlines Jet, More New Heat Records
Links for the day
Noteworthy Claim That IBM is Firing a Lot of Lawyers This Week (RAs in the Legal Department)
A lot of what they do is patent 'trolling' or lawyering up against their own staff (e.g. HR disputes)
Links 10/10/2025: US Judge Bars Attacks by ICE On Journalists and Protesters; “We Took The Freedom of Speech Away” Says the President
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Serial Sloppers, Google News Gifting Slopfarms, and Fake News/Plagiarism About "Linux"
Google itself is a slop pusher these days
Qualcomm, the New Owner of Arduino, Blasted for Its Software Patents Tax on 'Smartphones'
A lot of Qualcomm's patents are on software. We wrote about this in prior years.
XBox Layoffs Rumours, Downtime, and Criticism From XBox Co-Founder
"everyone is ditching the xbox."
Links 10/10/2025: Honoring The Legacy Of Robert Murray-Smith, Many Articles on the Hey Hi (AI) Bubble
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/10/2025: October Gothic and Reading Middle Earth Role Playing; C and Ada
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 09, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 09, 2025