Bonum Certa Men Certa

Defaming Boycott Novell Using Lies, Forgeries

Novell on floor



Summary: Foes of Boycott Novell go down low and make up dirt in order to paint the Web site in a negative light

ONE of our readers claims to have just identified and exposed a Microsoft "evangelism" agent who is extremely rude in the sense that he attacks people with vulgarities and threats. While we investigate this to verify with plausible proof, it is also worth mentioning that several hours ago we found the eavesdropping/AstroTurfing operations of Radian6 going through this Web site's server (Visible Technologies is the analogous service that Microsoft supports and uses [1, 2]). To give an example, we have:



[28/Dec/2009:07:22:56 -0800] "GET /robots.txt HTTP/1.1" 200 50 "-" "R6_CommentReader(www.radian6.com/crawler)"

We have had availability issues throughout the day due to excessive server load, apparently caused by bots (mostly Yahoo! and MSN).

“People are leaving fake comments under my own name, usually attacking Free software people or attacking GNU/Linux itself, trying to create resentment that never existed.”That, however, is not the main subject that we aim to address here. For quite some time now (years in fact) we have noticed that people are trying to associate us with the FSF, which are not connected to in any way. At the same time, people post fake comments 'on behalf' of yours truly (in other Web sites) and this afternoon we found another example. I did not write this, it's a fake, but it's posted under my name. People are leaving fake comments under my own name, usually attacking Free software people or attacking GNU/Linux itself, trying to create resentment that never existed. This is not the same thing as Novell's (and OpenSUSE's) smearing of Boycott Novell, which they do from their own headquarters using comments in Boycott Novell and in other Web sites (whose Webmasters confirm are coming from Novell IP addresses only to daemonise us). They often try to divide members of Boycott Novell by distorting messages and trying to turn one person against another in this way. It's an old strategy of divide-and-conquer using disinformation.

About a month ago we showed that opponents of this Web site are now distorting its message, then attacking it for things that are totally imaginary, fictitious even. To make matters worse, some people pretend to speak for this Web site and say the darnest things. That too creates resentment against the Web site and thus distracts from its message.

This is becoming a real problem and it would only be reasonable to make the issue public. Over at USENET, I have responded to constant attempts to defame myself and a few others. It has become an almost daily recurrence over there. The message can be seen below. It ended up as a bit of a rant, but not an impulsive one.




Subject: WinTrolls Distort What Linux Advocates Say, Then Attack Straw Men to Daemonise Them From: Roy Schestowitz Date: Tuesday 29 Dec 2009 00:18:06 Groups: comp.os.linux.advocacy

Suffice to say, the WinTrolls lie systematically, taking something I say completely out of context or deliberately misrepresenting what I say (sometimes making stuff up). And if people check the original things _in context_, then it's all factual, with references even. The WinTrolls know this, but they rely on sloppiness from people who won't verify.

Basically, it's clear that the trolls struggle to counter the facts, so instead they have a plan to delegitimise the messengers, by falsely claiming that they are X, Y, and Z, that they said A, B, C, and they I work for someone (oooh! Conspiracy!). At best, some people will believe their lies; otherwise, they might as well have advocates spend time countering their lies, which usually they don't. It's all part of the plan WinTrolls have to disrupt this newsgroup and smear people who commit the 'sin' of advocating Linux and criticising outlaw companies that -- like them -- are attacking Linux and Linux advocates.

Ask Peter Quinn what happens when you stand in the way of a corporate gang masquerading as a software company.

Microsoft is a de facto cult. It really shows.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

The 50-Pound Note Experiment and the "War on Cash"
Britain is actually seeing a rebound in cash payments, and it's not a temporary phenomenon
 
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Has a Policy on Racism and Sexism
In then future we'll show the misogyny and racial slurs
The Blob Slop
Give me more words, give me some text
Slopwatch: Blaming the Victims for Microsoft's Failures and Plagiarising Phoronix
That's what Google has been reduced to: slop and slopfarms
Links 22/09/2025: Breaches, Windows TCO, and Arrests
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/09/2025: Rabbit Hole and DeGoogling Fairphone
Links for the day
Links 22/09/2025: Russian War Planes Invade NATO Airspace While Dihydroxyacetone Man Escalates Attack on Free Speech Because of Critics
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 21, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, September 21, 2025
Links 21/09/2025: "Hey Hi" (Hype) Under Fire, Fakes Identified; Tesla Burns Family
Links for the day
Google's Software is Malware and Malware in Mobile Devices
Originally posted by Rob Musial
Links 20/09/2025: Hegemony Coming to a Close, Luigi Mangione Ruled Not Terrorist
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/09/2025: "Charlie Kirk Was a Hateful Piece of Shit" and Slop Code Attempted by Microsofter
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 20, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 20, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Snowy Photos and utism is a Spectrum
Links for the day
Microsoft-Sponsored Xenophobia and Nationalism
IBM is very similar in this regard
Vintage is Sometimes Better
Why can't we get back to "simple" if (or where) "simple" means better?
Climate Breakdown Means We'll be Publishing More, Not Less
Press freedom will be a common, recurring theme
Our 5-Year Geminispace Anniversary is Coming Up
I still remember when Gemini Protocol was quite new
It's Right to Point Out Violence From the Right
Violence is a recurring theme
Tentative Summary of Things to Publish in Project 2030
I'll still be in my forties by then
Web Browsers That "Do Hey Hi" (AI)
State-of-the-art plagiarism or "autocomplete on steroids" (not coined by us, nevertheless a nice description) don't have much/any prospect
Links 20/09/2025: Hardware Projects in View, Some Independent Publishers About Russia Prosper After Cheeto Cuts Funding
Links for the day
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Options and TV Time Machine
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Retrocomputer, Antique Phone Experience, and More
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Internet Shutdowns, Media Censorship, and Climate Worries
Links for the day
About 700 New Gemini Capsules in 13 Months (or 54 Per Month)
4.8K would represent a 20% increase
Rust People: Drain the Swap, You're Holding It Wrong
Does Rust make sense?
Techrights the Name Turns 15
About 6 weeks from now we turn 19
Microsoft is Running Out of Time and Floating Fake Figures, Fake Projects, Fake Narratives, Fake Excuses
Also, a lot of Microsoft's "revenue" claims are circular financing (i.e. Microsoft buying from itself, which means Ponzi-like fraud)
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, linuxconfig.org, and Plagiarised Phoronix
Many articles out there are nowadays fake
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 19, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Navigating the Pressures of Modern Life and SpellBinding Accidentally Wrote Another Gemini Server
Links for the day