The Fall of the Open Source Initiative (OSI): The Problems Are Much Bigger Than the Rigged Elections

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Mar 06, 2025

As noted yesterday in part 2 (also see what we said in the introductory part and in part 1), this series is delayed somewhat or will change due to a death.

We've meanwhile noticed Microsoft-sponsored sites [1, 2] commenting on this topic, helping to shift attention. Are they doing this deliberately? Is that - to quote an associate - a "distraction from other factors? Or legit?"

The title says "Open Source Initiative: AI Debate Roils Board Elections", but there are bigger scandals.

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols focuses on a symptom, not the cause, when he says:

Here’s the background: the OSI is set to vote on three board seats in March. The OSI board is made up of four directors elected by OSI individual members for two-year terms; four directors elected by OSI affiliate members for three-year terms; and four directors appointed for two-year terms by the board itself. Once elected, the board oversees the organization, approves its budget, and supports the executive director and staff in fulfilling its mission.

In the 2025 election, two seats will be filled by individual members, while one will be elected by affiliate organizations. However, the election process has been criticized because the OSI has refused to accept the candidacy of Debian developer Luke Faraone, citing a missed application deadline.

Faraone claims they submitted their application around 9 p.m. PST on Feb. 17, while the OSI maintains the deadline was 11:59 p.m. UTC (3:59 p.m. PST) on the same day. The dispute has raised a firestorm about the clarity of communication regarding deadlines and time zones.

We're meanwhile seeing IBM staff "Running for a seat at the Open Source Initiative", so there's something to be said about GAFAM and IBM. This is Harish Pillay. He says:

I have been accepted as a candidate to be elected to the Board of the Open Source Initiative under the Individual Members category. If you are a member of the Open Source Initiative, I would be delighted if you would cast your vote in my favour.

Maybe if Faraone was an IBM employee (i.e. sponsor), the outcome would be different.

Anyway, we're still redoing the outline of this series due to sensitive matters. We'll get to the 'meat' soon. It's not only about elections. █