Bonum Certa Men Certa

There Cannot be Software Freedom Without Free Speech (Which is Nowadays Being Wrongly and Creatively Conflated With Racism)

Thin-skinned or patently dishonest corporations and people (unable to endure the slightest of criticism) will doom a fundamental cornerstone in order to muzzle dissenting voices that are both honest and sincere

Star Trek City Edith Keeler: Poor boy, his feelings are hurt. He's not a boy, he's a grown-up.



Summary: The time to speak out in favour of free speech is now; because the next phase typically involves removal (to be sold as "voluntary") of people whose political views are seen as professionally inadequate (recall what they did to Richard Stallman last September)

THE Free Software Movement (FSM) is inherently political. How is that so?



OK, let's start with the simple observation that its core values conflict with or contradict pretty much all the largest companies, which also control the political system (by means of bribery, euphemised as "campaign contributions" and other non-starters).

"Recently we've heard a lot discussions about how Free software is racist, sexist and all sorts of other irrational bigotries."As a longtime reader of ours from Argentina puts it, the moment you speak of software freedom the discussion becomes political, not just technical. It's almost inevitable.

Recently we've heard a lot discussions about how Free software is racist, sexist and all sorts of other irrational bigotries. Of course the code of proprietary software is equally 'rude', but it's being hidden away from us. Microsoft even put the string "BIG BOOBS" inside the Linux kernel (in a driver for its proprietary software, which contains who-the-hell-knows-what inside its secret code...)

"As for FUD, watch how IBM and Red Hat try to present themselves as a "professional" and "tolerant" GNU/Linux vendor; as if to choose Debian instead of RHEL is to rely on a bunch of reckless misogynists who eat babies... that's just classic IBM FUD."There's a coordinated and profound attack on the image of Free software. It's not a new attack. It goes a very long way back. As for FUD, watch how IBM and Red Hat try to present themselves as a "professional" and "tolerant" GNU/Linux vendor; as if to choose Debian instead of RHEL is to rely on a bunch of reckless misogynists who eat babies... that's just classic IBM FUD. It's IBM that led to the invention of FUD as a concept (a former IBM employee was its victim).

At the moment we're getting close to the point where particular words aren't just banned from kernel code; they'll soon be banned from mailing lists too (depending on context). Code, comments, and documentation watered down first because "slave" is a bad word; then they add all sorts of other seemingly innocuous words (mission creep). The same people who push this into the kernel itself also control the Linux Foundation's Linux Kernel Code of Conduct (CoC). Yes, Intel (same employer, which has just been blasted by Torvalds on purely technical grounds).

Moments ago in IRC Ryan told us, "I called Nvidia a bunch of jerks and got CoC blocked." He was referring to the Fedora (i.e. Red Hat) discussions. He's a Fedora user and longtime GNU/Linux proponent, not a troll. Maybe 'doing a Torvalds' isn't OK for everybody, even with omission of the "F word" (the word "jerk" isn't forbidden too, is it?).

We've occasionally written here in Techrights about Intel's serious crimes (including an attack on African children's education). Can one bring those up in mailing lists without risk of being reprimanded? Nobody wants to receive bollocking for merely stating a fact. It's unfair. Months ago at work I used the slang "bollocking" and was told off for it at my job; is the world moving into some sort of post-English era?

"At the moment we're getting close to the point where particular words aren't just banned from kernel code; they'll soon be banned from mailing lists too (depending on context)."Cowardice isn't our ally here; if people lack the courage to speak out about free speech (and no, bringing up the subject does not make one a racist), then little by little we'll lose 'permissible' words and the ability to express ourselves, even if we merely speak about ethical considerations, factually. If you're a Linux kernel developer and you cannot safely and openly speak about Microsoft's crimes and Microsoft's attacks against Linux (still an ongoing problem), then there's something very wrong. Remember that Linus Torvalds is already bossed by several high-level Microsoft employees; can he too (in spite of his high profile in the project, being its founder) get a sense of fear, self-censorship or subconscious restraint? Hey, it's not like he was temporarily 'ousted' (seemingly 'voluntarily') before, right? Oh wait, he was.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Google Spreading Misinformation and Lies
Google is in the propaganda business
New Video Report About Microsoft Cancelling Multi-Billion Dollar Projects
direct link to the video
Microsoft is Already Laying Off Lots of Contractors
cost-cutting at Microsoft takes a new "edge"
Coming Soon: Microsoft Fake Results, Mass Layoffs, and Silence About All the People Microsoft Pressured to "Quit" (So That They Don't Get Counted as Layoffs)
there will be more mass layoffs
 
Just Sending More and More Threats Does Not Change the Fact We Got Abused for Many Years and Women Got Strangled
Wanting a "gag order" - or sometimes injunctions - by sending many threats
Links 29/04/2025: Water Scarcity, LLM Slop Backfiring Again in Legal Documents
Links for the day
statCounter: GNU/Linux Adoption Surging in Switzerland, Windows at All-time Low
What happened?
Gemini Links 28/04/2025: Free Speech and Perfectionism in Design
Links for the day
What Fake News Looks Like (IBM)
IBM told a lie. The media then just blindly repeated this lie.
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, April 28, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, April 28, 2025
China is Already Culling GAFAM (Not Just Microsoft Windows)
OS monoculture or "OS hegemony" may be coming to an end
The "Telephone Operating System in the Vatican" is 95 Years Old, Vatican Moved to GNU/Linux
Maybe Microsoft is down to zero already
If Tesla Shares (and Alleged Value) Fell 55% (From $489 to $222) in a Few Months Maybe It's Not Worth Anything At All (It's Just Gambling)
Tesla swasticars have turned from a "status symbol" into a "public embarrassment" and cause for casual humiliation
Chromebooks' Adoption in Sweden No Longer Depends on Schools
School breaks are when classrooms are shut
No, IBM is Not Investing $150 Billion in the US and It Doesn't Even Have That Kind of Money
Here we go again... media as a vehicle of lobbying and misinformation
Leak: The EPO's General Consultative Committee (GCC) Does Not Consult Staff on Crucial Matters and Bypasses the Administrative Council (AC) to Do Illegal Things
violations against the EPO's very staff
New Leaks Coming Soon, We Maintain 100% Record of Successful Resistance to Censorship
We won't be told what we can and cannot say (especially when it's true)
Central African Republic (CAR): Vista 11 is Only ~0.2% Market Share
99.8% to go!
BSD and GNU/Linux Replaced Microsoft in Secure Servers, All Microsoft Has Left is LLM Slop for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD)
the FUD machine never rests
Gemini Links 28/04/2025: A Simple Task Tracking and Auto-Prioritization Tool and Other Programs
Links for the day
Links 28/04/2025: Canada's Election, Pakistan-India Conflict
Links for the day
Speed of GNU/Linux
The media seldom speaks of the dangers of "proprietary software"
Glue Inside Your Pizza (or Why People Will Get Fed Up With Slop)
People are given "answers" from non-intelligence word dumpsters
Proprietary Windows Versus "Linux" News (Trying to Keep People on Windows, Never Exploring GNU/Linux)
Good editors know better how to recognise threats and not give them lip service
Ensuring That Every Computer User Anywhere in the World Can Take Control of All His or Her Computers
We must fight the people who attack general-purpose computing, in particular those who push this agenda very aggressively inside Linux
Links 28/04/2025: Cyberattacks Happening, Chatbots Disappointing, and "Free Speech Under Fire"
Links for the day
Phone Adoption Very Low in Vatican, Windows Usage Fell Nonetheless
Even in places where people still use desktops/laptops most of the time (and have access to these) Windows is gradually losing ground
GNU/Linux 9% in Cuba, Vista 11 Waning, Android Dominant
Microsoft has pretty much lost Cuba
Gemini Links 28/04/2025: Autism and Structural Navigation
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, April 27, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, April 27, 2025
What Happened to the Open Source Initiative (OSI) Elections: The Purge, the Cover-up, and the Witch-hunts
OSI has gone "full Microsoft"
In 24 Countries Observed by statCounter Vista 11 is Still Less Than a Quarter of Windows Users Despite All Other Versions Being 'Expired'
They ought to move to GNU/Linux
Links 27/04/2025: Pope Goodbyes, "Politics of Fear", Slop Redux and More Google Shutdowns (Google Debt Had Grown This Year)
Links for the day
Links 27/04/2025: Serenity Dialectics, Hockey Jersey Ethics, and More
Links for the day
Links 27/04/2025: Death of Nest Thermostats, Death of Metaverse
Links for the day
Links 27/04/2025: Projects Workflow and Discovering Technology
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, April 26, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, April 26, 2025