Bonum Certa Men Certa

Tidelift is Connected to Microsoft and It Does Not Spread a Positive Message for the Free/Open Source Community

Video download link | md5sum d65736bde549989cc250fa75d1e66e47 Lifting the Veil of Tidelift Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0



Summary: Tidelift seems to be concern-trolling the Free/Open Source community; looking at who's actually behind Tidelift, this is hardly surprising

WHO or what exactly is Tidelift? Well, we're not asking here what Tidelift once was -- and the same is true for the so-called 'Linux' Foundation and OSI, which incidentally overlaps with Tidelift to some degree. They aren't what they used to be; over time they started to align more and more with proprietary software companies' agenda -- more so after they had taken money from them.



As I explain in the video above, which is based on some research we did earlier today, Tidelift is promoting Microsoft talking points (links omitted by intention), badmouthing Free software, and hiring people it probably ought not hire.

"On the thin surface, this organisation seems like another OSI if not worse; mind the name, which says nothing about source or freedom or sharing or even "open"!"As of this moment, Tidelift's "Our story" says in big letters: "Here’s what we know. Open source software is incredible, but it’s got some issues."

Sounds or smells like concern-trolling, right?

This is the approach of Black Duck and sites that enthusiastically amplify it. They don't want Free software to succeed but to surrender or to fall into the hands of its adversaries.

On the thin surface, this organisation seems like another OSI if not worse; mind the name, which says nothing about source or freedom or sharing or even "open"!

"See some of the people who blog on behalf of Tidelift (Simmons for instance); one has to wonder if they're only pretending to speak 'for' us whilst in fact speaking for the likes of Microsoft (Simmons boasted that half of the OSI's budget goes towards boosting Microsoft GitHub)."Looking thinly and superficially beneath the shallow surface, we've found out they're bankrolled by 'curious' entities. TideLift is partly funded by 'former' Microsoft as the General Manager of General Catalyst (Quentin Clark). He is a longtime Microsoft booster, in effect trying to reform the image of a company that commits crimes and attacks Free software. Now it is joining the Microsoft-led FUD campaign (sleight of hand), only to be cited by openwashing fronts (i.e. proponents of proprietary stuff in "open" clothing). Clark worked for 20 years at Microsoft, now he's behind funding for Tidelift. Not too long ago he was in an interview entitled "Lessons From Working with Bill Gates". See some of the people who blog on behalf of Tidelift (Simmons for instance); one has to wonder if they're only pretending to speak 'for' us whilst in fact speaking for the likes of Microsoft (Simmons boasted that half of the OSI's budget goes towards boosting Microsoft GitHub).

"Black Duck and Snyk and other fake fronts" are a big problem, an associate told us. "I have met people fooled by Black Duck [and] most people don't know where to turn for information so they believe the marketing lies spread by the two..."

Add Tidelift to that same bucket.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Speed of GNU/Linux
The media seldom speaks of the dangers of "proprietary software"
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
Gemini Links 28/04/2025: Autism and Structural Navigation
Links for the day
What Happened to the Open Source Initiative (OSI) Elections: The Purge, the Cover-up, and the Witch-hunts
OSI has gone "full Microsoft"
 
Links 28/04/2025: Canada's Election, Pakistan-India Conflict
Links for the day
Glue Inside Your Pizza (or Why People Will Get Fed Up With Slop)
People are given "answers" from non-intelligence word dumpsters
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
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, April 27, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, April 27, 2025
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
Microsoft Isn't on the Map in USSR
To them, it's either Google or Yandex
In Central America Windows Became a Small Force
These are countries where Windows used to have well over 95% of the "market"
What's Very Vexing to GAFAM, EPO and Others Is That It's Incredibly Hard to Censor Us (and Nobody Ever Successfully Did That Before)
resist, do not capitulate
Site May be Even Faster Now
It basically takes less than a tenth of a second to serve the page
Receiving SLAPPs and Collecting Them Like Trophies (the SLAPPs Always Fail)
People who file lawsuits bring even more attention to themselves (or to embarrassing statements about them)
Year of GNU/Linux on the Laptop?
It's not happening only in Lenovo
What People Must Understand About the Open Source Initiative (OSI)
some facts about the Open Source Initiative (OSI)
Many of the Scandals Are Interconnected (Overlapping People and Corporations)
We're only getting started
More Copyright Lawsuits Against LLM Slop Providers and Suppliers of LLM Slopfarms Would Benefit Society
It's not just bad for the Web and for society; it's also legally dangerous
Links 26/04/2025: General Assassinated in the Town of Balashikha, US Promoting Seafloor Mining
Links for the day
Links 26/04/2025: Facebook Layoffs Again, Remembering What's Real, and Say No to Mass Surveillance
Links for the day
Links 26/04/2025: NOAA Budget Cuts and "Dog Days Ahead"
Links for the day
In defence of JD Vance, death of Pope Francis
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Three Years in Prison for Disney Employee’s ‘Menu Hacking’: The Economic Fallout of Digital Menus
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, April 25, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, April 25, 2025