Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Reuters Mistake That Started Linux and Novell FUD

We previously clarified, on numerous occasions even [1, 2, 3], that Novell will not be banned from selling Linux. The mistake made by a single journalist is starting to make some big waves. Take the following for instance:

Novell: 'No One Can Stop Us From Selling Linux'

It was reported that those changes would preclude the inclusion of Linux in third party distribution deals such as the one Novell recently signed with Microsoft and "ban" Novell from selling future versions of Linux.


Is Novell losing Linux? No, it's just bad reporting

Blame Jim Finkle at Reuters, I suppose. His story is the one that started this large dung-ball of misinformation rolling around the Internet. You know the one, about Novell losing the right to distribute Linux.


The FSF Can't Ban Novell’s Linux Distribution Rights

Reuters posted a story on Saturday morning, of all times, titled “FSF says Novell could be banned from selling Linux” that sent the blogosphere and several media outlines into a frenzy of activity. While some folks didn’t bite, many places on the web just repeated the story verbatim. It’s a fetching headline, but a bit misleading since the Free Software Foundation doesn’t really have that authority over Linux.


Our Web site was even mentioned in this context by Linux Electrons and ComputerWorld.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

The Register MS: "AI" More Than 80 Times in One Article. But It's Not an Article, It's Sponsored Keyword-stuffed Page.
The Register MS is being paid to actively promoted this scheme
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 09, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, July 09, 2026
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 08, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 08, 2026
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 07, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 07, 2026
Links 07/07/2026: Microsoft Cuts Doom "id Software" and Turkey Detains Journalists
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/07/2026: Old Computer Challenge (OCC) and Hardware Tests
Links for the day
A Break From the Routine
What matters is what whistleblowers keep feeding information to us
SLAPP Censorship - Part 132 Out of 200: When You Cannot Pay a Million Pounds (1,335,520.00 United States Dollar) to Lawyers But Have a Strong Community
Techrights compensates for its fiscal poverty with a wealth of community spirit
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Czech Mate: EPO Kingmaker or Merely a Pawn in the Game?
recent "missions" of the EPO President
Fame is Not the Goal
"Fame" kills
Mental Health in Free Software Communities
clearly there is a subject that merits debate and it ought not be a taboo anymore
The Era of Sponsored Spam
There is no "era of AI", there is era of BRIBES to PRETEND there is an "era of AI"