Bonum Certa Men Certa

AstroTurfers Pretend to be GNU/Linux Users?

"Mind Control: To control mental output you have to control mental input. Take control of the channels by which developers receive information, then they can only think about the things you tell them. Thus, you control mindshare!"

--Microsoft, internal document [PDF]



Appended below is the IRC log from just minutes ago. As regular readers are probably aware, our reader "twitter" has abusive stalkers ('witch hunters') in this Web site. They followed his footsteps all the way from Slashdot just to discredit him personally wherever he goes, whatever he does. Speaking from experience, "twitter" is intimately aware of Microsoft's dirty secrets and he talks about it in public.

The log below (particularly the end) is self explanatory, but the summary is that people who go under names like "Gentoo user" are actually Windows users and they are busily attacking critics of Microsoft. The name is probably supposed to lend them credibility (Gentoo is, after all, a hardcore distribution) and also encourage people to explore distributions that will lead to negative judgment of GNU/Linux. ⬆




trmancohttp://news.netcraft.com/archives/2008/11/19/no...Nov 19 15:32
schestowitzYay! Google can shove clocks and weather in my eyes. :-) Well, at least they open-sourced it.Nov 19 15:32
trmanco:-PNov 19 15:32
twitterIck, China to buy GM.  They could make it even more corrupt than it is already.Nov 19 15:33
schestowitzApache still eats Microsoft's lunch.Nov 19 15:34
schestowitz1.8 compared to 1.1Nov 19 15:34
schestowitzRemember that Google's is an Apache fork.Nov 19 15:34
twitterThat lead is going to get bigger, despite the FUD M$ spews.Nov 19 15:35
twitterWAMP is insane.Nov 19 15:35
schestowitzThat's what MS is hoping. It would be interesting to see how Apache/Linux does against Apache/WindowsNov 19 15:36
schestowitzThey keynoted ApacheCon recently. RMS is against it and there's plan to discourage people from attending such events.Nov 19 15:37
schestowitzHow can one give Microsoft such a spot when it's actively threatening to sue?Nov 19 15:37
schestowitzRe: OSCON, PJ said the same.Nov 19 15:37
schestowitzMicrosoft wants the world to believe that there are two Microsofts: good cop and bad cop.Nov 19 15:38
twitterM$ does this on purpose.  It destroys the ability of their "competitors" to communicate.Nov 19 15:38
twitterThey stack the con panel and shove M$ into it.  This destroys the conference.  What's left is M$ only.Nov 19 15:38
twitterDid you see this lovely example of what the M$ world enables?  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/19/d...Nov 19 15:39
schestowitztwitter: yes, Tim O'Reilly had to apologise for saying something negative about the convicted monopolistNov 19 15:39
schestowitz[cause they sponsored his  event]Nov 19 15:39
schestowitzThey gag critics this way. I saw it with Krill.Nov 19 15:39
twitterMore reason to avoid M$ money.Nov 19 15:39
schestowitzAs you say, people like me are already repelled slightly ... wrt ApacheNov 19 15:40
schestowitzAs soon as they defend Microsoft I feel like I need to get a puke pouch.Nov 19 15:40
trmancoschestowitz, "Remember that Google's is an Apache fork." -> I forgot to mention this when I posted the link :-PNov 19 15:41
schestowitzPeople from Apache confronted us in BN. They tried to defend selling out... Microsoft is pressuring many FOSS groups, consortia and LUGs. They try to stink up the place by attending. This IRC channel too used to have 'cj' (for Microsoft).Nov 19 15:41
schestowitztrmanco: Microsoft will surely spin this though as Apache not doing so well. Lies, damn lies, and stats, y'know...Nov 19 15:42
twitterI'm not too worried.  When things really go wrong, projects like Debian fork and everyone runs to the better fork.Nov 19 15:42
schestowitzThat's the stories they'll tell uncritical journos anyway.Nov 19 15:43
twitterStinking up conferences is an old practice.  I read about them doing this to Apple.Nov 19 15:43
schestowitzWait until Microsoft tries to plant some people inside Debian [hypothetical].Nov 19 15:43
twitterMy trolls have already bragged about being Debian contributors.Nov 19 15:43
schestowitzThat would ruin it. All they need to do is seed the project with an apologist or a village fool that will open up the door... like Alex Brown in ISO.Nov 19 15:43
schestowitzMono too is entertaining Microsoft chaps.Nov 19 15:44
twitterI ignored it because the project's commitment to freedom and organization are too strong to let M$ fuck it over.Nov 19 15:44
schestowitzNovell did this in India.Nov 19 15:44
schestowitzHence the protestsNov 19 15:44
schestowitzRead the remarks from Anivar.. they excluded OpenOffice.org, Red Hat, etc. It was Novell stealing the show stealthily.Nov 19 15:45
schestowitzRMS approved what the guys did.Nov 19 15:45
twitterM$ can damage Debian by setting up arguments that waste time but M$ will fail before Debian does.Nov 19 15:45
schestowitzIt's claimed that they already do this in UbuntuNov 19 15:45
twitterThey do it everywhere.Nov 19 15:46
schestowitzRequesting Silverlight, defending Mono's presence, etc. I'm told this by people.Nov 19 15:46
twitter "Mind Control: To control mental output you to have to control mental input.  Take control of the channels by which developers receive information, then they can only think about the things you tell them.  Thus, you control mindshare!"   http://docs.google.com/Present?docid...Nov 19 15:47
twitterEverywhere developers meet, M$ will spew poison.Nov 19 15:47
schestowitzYes, I know.Nov 19 15:47
schestowitzThat's a MUST-ATTEND talk at Microsoft.Nov 19 15:47
schestowitzThe guy who wrote it said so.Nov 19 15:47
twitterM$ wastes untold billions of dollars pushing that kind of poison.Nov 19 15:48
schestowitz"Gentoo user" is one of your stalkers in BNNov 19 15:49
schestowitzThat 'person' never talks about the subjects at hand. Just ad hominem, IIRC.Nov 19 15:50
twitteryes.  They keep posting the same crap.Nov 19 15:50
twitterIt's spam.Nov 19 15:50
schestowitzWho goes by the Linux vanity name "Gentoo user" anyway?Nov 19 15:50
schestowitzAnd why Gentoo? To say "I'm hardcore 1337 *nix"?Nov 19 15:50
twitterFor a while, while it was new and difficult, the M$ trolls were promoting gentoo.Nov 19 15:51
twitterThere's nothing like throwing a newbie to the something like that to sour them on the whole GNU/Linux experience for years.Nov 19 15:52
twitterThe name choice may lend credibility for readers who know nothing, which is what M$ is interested in.Nov 19 15:53
twitterAnyone who knows anything quickly dumps Windows as a platform.Nov 19 15:54
twitterM$ is all about delaying that and staying relevant.Nov 19 15:54
twitterThe trolls used to bug me about the name "twitter" too.Nov 19 15:56
twitterI chose it because that's what I do to equipment to make it work well.  It turned out to be a good choice from the way the M$ people hear my posts like a gaggle of angry birds.Nov 19 15:58
twitterIf Kennedy thinks someone at M$ hates him, Kennedy should watch my stuff sometimes.  :)Nov 19 16:00
trmancoHey cool, Portuguese media promoting Ubuntu: http://ciberia.aeiou.pt/?st=10581Nov 19 16:02
twitterM$FT, still under $20, and they will fall off the cliff with the rest of the market as the GWB administration has promised to sit on it's hands instead of bailing out home owners.  LA Times had a good article on this.Nov 19 16:03
trmancoand some more: http://tek.sapo.pt/noticias/computadores/open_so... | http://tek.sapo.pt/noticias/computadores/ope...Nov 19 16:06
schestowitzMicrosoft promoting Gentoo, eh? I think I know why.Nov 19 16:06
schestowitzCreate some more bitter experiences...Nov 19 16:06
schestowitztwitter: I can check the logs to see what 'Gentoo user' runs.Nov 19 16:07
schestowitz[unless there's header spoofing]Nov 19 16:07
twitterthat will be interesting.Nov 19 16:07
twitterhere's the article http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi...Nov 19 16:07
twitterBasically, Paulson has promised to do nothing and to ignore homeowner problems.  The stock market and economy will tank on that kind of news.Nov 19 16:08
schestowitzHehe.Nov 19 16:10
schestowitzI just realised that Microsoft employed Gentoo's founder. Take that thought further...Nov 19 16:10
schestowitz[sarcasm] What if Microsoft created and promoted the most difficult and frustrating Linux, then promoted it?Nov 19 16:11
twitterThat may have happened but it backfired.Nov 19 16:11
twitterI have yet to try it out but I keep hearing good things about it and that people actually use it.Nov 19 16:13
twitterI like the Debian way better because most people only want to tweak one or two programs at a time.Nov 19 16:13
schestowitzHa!Nov 19 16:15
schestowitzThis is funny.Nov 19 16:15
schestowitzGentoio user in November:Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz┌─(roy@localhost Wed, 19 Nov 08)─—————————————— ——————─(/home/roy/Desktop)────┐Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz└─(16:12 $)─> gunzip boNov 19 16:16
schestowitzboycottnovell.com-Nov-2008.gz       boycottnovell.com-Nov-2008.gz.partNov 19 16:16
schestowitz┌─(roy@localhost Wed, 19 Nov 08)─—————————————— ——————─(/home/roy/Desktop)────┐Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz└─(16:12 $)─> gunzip boycottnovell.com-Nov-2008.gzNov 19 16:16
schestowitz┌─(roy@localhost Wed, 19 Nov 08)─—————————————— ——————─(/home/roy/Desktop)────┐Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz└─(16:14 $)─> grep 12.10.219.36 boycottnovell.com-Nov-2008Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz12.10.219.36 - - [03/Nov/2008:12:49:47 -0500] "GET /wp-content/themes/ocadia/styNov 19 16:16
schestowitzle.css HTTP/1.0" 200 8903 "http://boycottnovell.com/category/irc-logs/" "MozillaNov 19 16:16
schestowitz.0.17"Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz12.10.219.36 - - [03/Nov/2008:12:49:47 -0500] "GET /category/irc-logs/ HTTP/1.0"Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz 200 69745 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.17) GecNov 19 16:16
schestowitzko/20080829 Firefox/2.0.0.17"Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz12.10.219.36 - - [03/Nov/2008:12:49:51 -0500] "GET /wp-content/uploads/2008/11/9Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz35815___mine__.jpg HTTP/1.0" 200 17438 "http://boycottnovell.com/" "Mozilla/5.0Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz(Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.17) Gecko/20080829 Firefox/2.0.0.17Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz"Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz12.10.219.36 - - [03/Nov/2008:12:49:51 -0500] "GET /wp-content/uploads/2008/11/9Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz52151_abraham_lincoln.jpg HTTP/1.0" 200 12788 "http://boycottnovell.com/" "MozilNov 19 16:16
schestowitzla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.17) Gecko/20080829 Firefox/2Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz.0.0.17"Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz12.10.219.36 - - [03/Nov/2008:12:49:51 -0500] "GET / HTTP/1.0" 200 99315 "http:/Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz en-US; rv:1.8.1.17) Gecko/20080829 Firefox/2.0.0.17"Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz12.10.219.36 - - [03/Nov/2008:12:49:51 -0500] "GET /wp-content/uploads/2008/11/jNov 19 16:16
schestowitzonathan_20zuck.jpg HTTP/1.0" 200 96877 "http://boycottnovell.com/" "Mozilla/5.0Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz(Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.17) Gecko/20080829 Firefox/2.0.0.17Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz"Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz12.10.219.36 - - [03/Nov/2008:12:49:52 -0500] "GET /wp-content/uploads/2008/11/1Nov 19 16:16
schestowitz016609_laundry.jpg HTTP/1.0" 200 9346 "http://boycottnovell.com/" "Mozilla/5.0 (Nov 19 16:16
schestowitzWindows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.17Nov 19 16:16
schestowitzThat's just a portion.Nov 19 16:16
schestowitzIt's always Windows.Nov 19 16:16
schestowitzSeems like your stalker "Gentoo user" has not much to do with GNU/Linux at all.Nov 19 16:17
schestowitzHe came with this IP address several times this month.Nov 19 16:17
schestowitzI assume it's a daily routine because there are gaps in the logs (probably dynamic IP)Nov 19 16:18

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Links 09/11/2026: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Cheats on Wife With A Suspected Chinese Spy, "400,000 Russians Killed in Battle Since 2022 Invasion"
Links for the day
Digitalisation Is Not Inevitable or Unavoidable
Nor inescapable
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXXXIV - Why the Swatting Failed
After that we only ever heard from or spoke to cops when we invited them to our home to collect evidence
 
The Register MS is Not Objective Regarding "AI", It's Paid by Pushers of the Pyramid Scheme (including Nvidia)
Some time soon we'll name some companies that pay millions to The Register MS in order to cement their role in the house of cards (while it lasts)
GAFAM Moribund
A lot of what we say about Microsoft in respect to debt is equally applicable to the rest of GAFAM
NVIDIA as a Scam Company Run by Scammers Who Fake Demand for Their Waste of Energy (Subsidising GPU Sales for Use Cases That Don't Exist)
First they targeted gamers, then fake 'currencies' (which turned out to be a bust), now it's slop (obfuscation of plagiarism using brute force and fusion) [...] We're quite glad that Huang publicly broadcasts how untrustworthy he is
Zero Tolerance for Slop
very few sites that dabbled in slop ended up well off (for it)
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, November 08, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, November 08, 2026
Gemini Links 09/11/2026: "The Blue Wave Won't Save Us" and "Discoverability Is Only Solved If You Can Be Discovered"
Links for the day
IBM 'Robbery': No More Car Allowance in the UK, Severance Shredded, CEO Pay Up 51% in One Year While Thousands Laid Off in Secret
Why does a CEO reward himself so much when the company does so badly?
Gemini Links 08/11/2026: "Back", Zot, and Information Overload
Links for the day
“Concerned Microsoft Workers” Say “Working at Microsoft Has Become Joyless and Demoralizing.” (That's What Microsoft Wants, More Will Leave That Way)
Many Microsoft employees are going to leave
The Register MS is Losing Hundreds of Thousands of Pounds a Year While Directors Pay Themselves Hundreds of Thousands of Pounds a Year in Dividends
they take money from slop pushers and have clearly compromised some journalistic standards in the process
GNU/Linux Measured at 7.4% in the UK This Weekend: Clownflare Radar
I hope that one day GNU/Linux will be everywhere here
Never a One-Person Project
Just because I'm the main "public face" of the site (who takes all the insults and SLAPPs) doesn't mean I deserve all the credit
“I Always Expect to Lose. I Fight Anyway, and Sometimes I Win.” — Richard Stallman
To change the world meaningfully people must think big
Stop Looking for News About "Layoffs", Layoffs Are Over (They've Been Rebranded)
To properly assess the status quo we need other yardsticks
Links 08/11/2026: Bosses Who Were Forcing Their Workers to Use Slop Change Mind, "Rapper RBX Files Ninth Circuit Appeal in Fraud-Focused Class Action Lawsuit Against Spotify"
Links for the day
Links 08/11/2026: Why Vikings Stayed in Iceland and "TikTok Accused Of Promoting Sex Industry To Young Girls"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 08/11/2026: "Before Sunrise" and LLM Scrapers Versus Self-Hosting (or Web in General)
Links for the day
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXXXIII - Weaponising Cops in Another Continent (Europe), Knowing They Cannot Come to Your Home in America, While Threatening Women
This year it culminated in death threats
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, November 07, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, November 07, 2026
The Decade Ahead, a Decade of Suppressed Stories
Our stories aren't discouraged or considered taboo because of racism or "toxic politics" or anything like that; they just hurt powerful people and corporations
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Inaction and Incompetence - Part V - "Reports Closed Without the Evidence Being Examined."
Totally what the SRA did regarding Brett Wilson LLP
Gemini Links 07/11/2026: Illusion Garden and Lagrange 2
Links for the day
Complexity is the Tyrant's Friend
Slop is for feeble minds and cheaters
IBM Firings (or Silent Layoffs) After Bluewashing; "IBM’s Employment History is More Troubling Than its Patriotic Marketing Suggests"
"It has zip to do with race but everything to do with the greed of the 1% who have been doing all they can to destroy the middle class..."
“Week van de Werkstress” and Work-Related Stress at the EPO, Where Staff is Bullied Into Granting Illegal Patents for Foreign Monopolists
"poor working environments, including discrimination and inequality, excessive workloads, low job control and job insecurity pose a risk to mental health"
Czech Republic: GNU/Linux Rises Above 5% in Desktops and Laptops
A year ago it was somewhere around 4%
EPO's Local Staff Committee The Hague Says Almost or About a Third of Staff Assembled to Organise at "a Time of Continued Social Unrest"
They speak of "circa 850 staff members in attendance" (in The Netherlands there are about a couple thousand)
Suggestions That XBox Will be Offloaded by Microsoft, Rather Than Shut Down, Make the False Assumption XBox is Profitable (It's Not, It's a Liability)
Microsoft has serious financial troubles
Which "Smart" "Phone", Which "Social" "Media", and Which "Cloud" "Storage"?
Let's take back control of the language
State of the (Linux) Slop, Late 2026 Edition
Google News (Gulag Noise) is a plagiarism booster
Year 21
It's 5PM here
Links 07/11/2026: "Flock Cameras Got Eviscerated by the Midterms" and Joshua Wong Shows China is Highly Repressive and Fully Controls Hong Kong
Links for the day
At The Register MS the Net Liabilities Doubled in One Year, Tangible Assets Down About 35% in One Year
signed off in 2026
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXXXII - Running One's Mouth
British Police told me "making a false complaint to police is a crime" in relation to Lozza
Another 20 Years of Exposing Corruption
We'll focus on carrying on what we do
EPO Budget and Finance Committee (in Very Recent Meeting) Increases Bribes to People Who Vote on Campinos Reappointment ("Cooperation Activities")
Buying 'elections' to protect the cocaine-stained regime in Europe's second-largest institution
Links 07/11/2026: London's SLAPP Industry Now Targets Kirkenes (Northern Norway) at the Behest of Corrupt Thieves in Russia and Microsoft’s 'Buyout' Offer Crashes Microsoft Systems
Links for the day
Links 07/11/2026: "The Moon is Waning Crescent", Homeworlds, and "Can't Handle The AVIF!"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, November 06, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, November 06, 2026