Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Interplay Between Free Software and Journalism Based on Truths, Suppressed Facts

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Feb 19, 2025

Industry awakes in mist

People who say "open source" also like to focus on "transparency" even though the main and original objective was freedom* for users, developers, and so on. It's about people exercising control (sometimes collective control, e.g. as an NGO or company might do) over all the computers. The "transparency" aspect (being able to see the code) is applicable but not the most important aspect. It's not a fantastic selling point either.

In journalism, "transparency" typically means either imposing "transparency" on those who work/operate/conspire in the dark (against the interests of others) or embracing "transparency" to show sources, evidence etc. That's why we share IRC logs every day. We believe that transparency (in the latter sense of the term) assures higher quality and standards. We also try to adhere to source protection; this can be achieved by redaction, which does not necessarily go against transparency because sometimes without some redaction a disclosure of evidence is infeasible.

Our standards of reporting seem to be really pissing off people from Microsoft. Some of them lost their jobs over it, so they're just looking for "revenge" now. Worry not, however, those acts of desperation are "A Gift That Keeps on Giving" as it legitimises our work and demonstrates its true value. If bad people fall, then we're doing something right.

We intend to maintain a high level of transparency; this means that we'll eventually report on all the extortion and censorship attempts. The greater the extortion and censorship, the greater the Streisand Effect will be. I'm hardly new to journalism (this site is an adult) and I know too well how so-called 'Streisand Effect' works. In the past 24 hours traffic in the site was about 50% higher than usual - we attribute that to gagging efforts.

When it comes to Software Freedom, we do our best to share all our code. We have our own Git repository and we make everything in it accessible over Gemini Protocol, even the latest changes.

Honest people can be transparent. Dishonest, rogue people rely on a lack of it. That's why the current US administration - like the one in Moscow - detests journalism as much as it hates true transparency. Reprehensible acts flourish in darkness. User-hostile code - likewise - 'prefers' to remain proprietary not so much for business reasons but secrecy.

____

* Notice the title of my interview with Richard Stallman 18 years ago: (local copy)

Interview with Richard Stallman: Four Essential Freedoms

Other Recent Techrights' Posts

Links 10/05/2025: Germany Considers Smartphone Ban in Schools, Right to Repair Bills
Links for the day
Blizzard/Microsoft Unions Grow Ahead of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft, Apparently Starting Next Week (as Many as 30,000 Workers Laid Off by Year's End)
Microsoft already fired about 5,000-6,000 workers this year by our estimates; that's not counting resignations compelled through pressure (i.e. pushed, did not jump) and contractors
 
You Need Not Be a Big Company to Defeat Microsoft If You Can Successfully Challenge Its Core "Ideas"
Maybe that's just a sign that the ideas of RMS have become too effective and thus "dangerous"
Gemini Links 11/05/2025: Yeeting Oligarch Tech, Offline Browsing
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, May 10, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, May 10, 2025
One is Simply Doomed to Fail When Working for Violent Men From Microsoft and Attacking Women as Well as People Who Merely Expose Crimes or Report Real Crimes
Imagine saying to people that you "practice law" or "exercise law"
The Tariffs Are Accelerating Microsoft's Decline in China
Judging by the way things are going, there will be considerable adoption of GNU/Linux in years to come, China being one major contributing factor.
Control Your Systems, Control All Your Data
what does it take for us to control our own systems and data?
Misplacing Blame for Security Problems, Sometimes With LLM Slop That Blames "Linux" for Microsoft's Failures
Broken telephones and stochastic parrots beget plenty of Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD)
Links 10/05/2025: WW2 Revisionism, Further Tit-for-tat in India-Pakistan Conflict
Links for the day
Gemini Links 10/05/2025: Git Server and Great LLM DDoS of 2025
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, May 09, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, May 09, 2025
"Victory Day" - Part II: Abject Defeat to Hypocrites and Objectionable People Who Strangle Women Whilst on Microsoft's Payroll
Someone is going to have to pay for this; it won't be us
Rust Propaganda Now Amplified by Slopfarms Powered by Microsoft LLMs, Encouraging the Outsourcing of GNU/Linux Distros to Microsoft/GitHub/NSA (and a Shift Away From GPL/Copyleft)
Moving to Microsoft GitHub and adopting unfinished, untested code for highly critical bits
Links 09/05/2025: Inflation Rising and Rights to Protest Curtailed Some More
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/05/2025: Good and Evil, LLMs Made the Web Worse Yet Again
Links for the day
IBM is Rotting With "Zero Internal Jobs" and Many PIPs (Performance Improvement Plans) on the Way, Typically a Fast Track Towards Layoffs Without Severance
At risk of giving air(time) to tribal sentiments, the internal joke at IBM is that to IBM "AI" stands for "All Indian"
European Patent Office (EPO) Faked "Revenue Expansion" by Granting Loads of Invalid, Illegal Patents; Staff Still Wants to Know Where That Money Went
Only about 30% of the EPO's patents are for EU entities/people
The Gerstnerisation of Microsoft: Seventh Wave of Microsoft Layoffs (Over 20,000 to be Cut) Allegedly Going to Start Shortly, Probably Start of Next Week, Microsoft Spreads Chaff and Noise Before the Big Axes Fall
we might be looking at about 50,000 people that Microsoft gets rid of this year
Links 09/05/2025: TeleMessage Blunder, More Distractions From Impending Mass Layoffs at Microsoft
Links for the day
GNU (and the FSF) Still Changing the World
Today, in 2025, GNU powers almost everything
Military-Grade Anti-Linux Microsoft Propaganda Using Microsoft LLMs in Fake 'News' Sites (Slopfarms)
This is part of a pattern
Links 09/05/2025: Analog Computer and First time at FOSDEM
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, May 08, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, May 08, 2025