Bonum Certa Men Certa

Guest Post: The Linux Foundation Needs to Define “Support”

THE FOLLOWING post is a guest post, which forms part of an ongoing series of articles we do about the Linux Foundation with an investigation underway. We have been receiving a lot of feedback and tips.



As one person put it yesterday: "Since Microsoft joined all of this love for Linux, I was also wondering how come no other media, linux dedicated channels ect.. talked about this very subject. Microsoft is infiltrating Linux to have it's way with it. Linux Foundation is now off my books of being an advocate for Linux."

We don't mean to bash the Linux Foundation; rather, constructively, our goal is to understand what it is and what it does (or who for).




An interesting conversation in our community often centers on what support, investment or returns our projects are receiving from corporations that use our code for profit.

 

The Linux Foundation has member companies that are making a huge profit from open source projects. Companies like AWS, Google and Microsoft are part of the membership with the Linux Foundation. The list of companies/members is found at:

https://www.linuxfoundation.org/membership/members/

 

In 2012, the Linux Foundation numbers were as listed below.

 

Total Revenue

$17,123,662

Total Functional Expenses $16,195,531
Net income $928,131
Notable sources of revenue Percent of total revenue
Contributions $8,255,747 48.2%
Program services $8,781,221 51.3%
Investment income $22,566 0.1%
Bond proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental property income $0
Net fundraising $0
Sales of assets -$37,171
Net inventory sales $0
Other revenue $101,299 0.6%
Notable expenses Percent of total expenses
Executive compensation $1,291,777 8.0%
Professional fundraising fees $0
Other salaries and wages $3,330,574 20.6%
Other
Total Assets $14,731,225
Total Liabilities $4,579,960
Net Assets $10,151,265
Form 990 IRS

 

In 2016, the number are as listed below.

 

Total Revenue

$61,085,552

Total Functional Expenses $51,733,209
Net income $9,352,343
Notable sources of revenue Percent of total revenue
Contributions $0
Program services $60,908,388 99.7%
Investment income $117,563 0.2%
Bond proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental property income $0
Net fundraising $0
Sales of assets $0
Net inventory sales $0
Other revenue $59,601 0.1%
Notable expenses Percent of total expenses
Executive compensation $4,236,621 8.2%
Professional fundraising fees $0
Other salaries and wages $20,934,840 40.5%
Other
Total Assets $39,714,654
Total Liabilities $11,078,045
Net Assets $28,636,609
Form 990 IRS

 

I was surprised to discover the Linux Foundation making claims of supporting inclusiveness.

 

Here you can browse a list of “featured organizations that the Linux Foundation supports”.

https://www.linuxfoundation.org/about/diversity-inclusiveness/programs/

 

Supports is an interesting word. What is the definition of “support” (as a verb).

 

sup€·port

/səˈpôrt/

verb

verb: support; 3rd person present: supports; past tense: supported; past participle: supported; gerund or present participle: supporting

give assistance to, especially financially; enable to function or act.

"the government gives $2.5 billion a year to support the activities of the voluntary sector"

synonyms: help, aid, assist;
 

Is support the right word here?

 

Perhaps the depth and breadth of support is a little more clear when we see responses from some of these partner organizations the Linux Foundation “supports”.

 

Kids on Computers - Online learning discounts (for schools with no internet in Mexico)

 

An example of the support came in the way of discounts for online courses for kids on computers, a project in financial jeopardy last year. Volunteers serve schools in Mexico by setting up computer labs in offline areas, with offline content servers. Needless to say, according to one volunteer, none of the discounts for online learning was used, yet.

 

Outreachy – Sponsorship for travel to Linux Foundation Conferences

 

Let that sink in. That’s right, the Linux Foundation sponsors travel to its events for people speaking about their work in group sessions and giving lightning talks – at Linux Foundation events.

 

You can see all of our sponsor's support levels (LF and LF projects like Cloud Native Computing Foundation and Ceph Foundation included) by looking at their logo placements on the Outreachy main site (we publish information about our sponsorship levels at

https://www.outreachy.org/sponsor/)

LF itself didn't sponsor this last round, but they did the one before that, last year.

"Other than Red Hat's generous contribution of Marina's time, we haven't really gotten non-monetary contributions from sponsors. We've never received any discounts on training or advertising from LF that I can recall. Linux Foundation does frequently support travel of Outreachy alums to its conferences in the way they fund the travel of many of their regular session speakers, such as travel of Linux kernel alums, who have done lightning talks about their work in group sessions at Open Source Summits.”

- Karen Sandler, Outreachy

So, it seems like the Linux Foundation did not even support this year, yet Outreachy is listed as a featured organization the Linux Foundation “supports”. Supports seems to indicate the present or something it is currently doing. This seems like misrepresentation.

CodeChix – asked what my intent was in gathering the research before answering any questions.

 

Good to hear from you. My name is Rupa Dachere and I lead CodeChix.

Might I ask the intent behind your questions?”

 

Blacks in Technology – not only would not respond but suggested we ask Linux Foundation.

 

Thanks for reaching out to BIT. I am not sure what this is about but I would suggest you reach out to someone at the Linux Foundation regarding your questions.”

 

This gentleman had a great idea!

Let’s ask the Linux Foundation.

 

Linux Foundation, can we see how you support these organizations on the same page as you list the groups? Thanks in advance!

 

The only other response was an automated response to an online contact form.

 

The Linux Foundation has a few projects that may keep these companies/members busy enough to believe the contributions are going to community. In actuality it looks like contributions could support projects from within the Linux Foundation. Of course, there is the exception of the “support” to these inclusiveness featured organizations.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft's Attack Dogs Have Failed. Now What?
It would be utterly foolish to assume that Microsoft has any intention of changing
All Your "Github Projects" Will be Gone One Day (Just Like Skype)
If you have code you wish to share and keep, then start learning how to do so on your own
Fedora Already Lost Its Soul Under IBM
Fedora used to be very strict compared to many other distros and it had attracted very bright volunteers
Links 17/04/2025: Calling Whistleblowers at Microsoft, Slop Doing More Harm Everywhere
Links for the day
 
Google News is Dying
treating MElon's algorithmic/biased site as a source of verified news
To Understand Who's Truly Controlling You Follow the Trail of Censorship (or Self-Censorship)
Do not let media steal and steer the narrative; CoCs are not about "social justice", they're about corporate domination
Microsoft is Still Attacking GNU/Linux and the Net
Microsoft bribed the government using money that did not even exist
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 17, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 17, 2025
Gemini Links 18/04/2025: Pinephone Pro and Linux is too Easy
Links for the day
Links 17/04/2025: Russian Bot Farms Infect TikTok (Which US Government and SCOTUS Decided to Block January 19), US Hardware Stocks Crash Due to Tariffs
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/04/2025: Sticking to Free Software, Smolnet, and Counting the Reals
Links for the day
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: In Conclusion and Enforcement Action Proceeds Against OSI at the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA)
There's too much to cover in one single part
When You Fail to Filter Your Clients You End Up SLAPPing Reporters on Behalf of Bad People From Microsoft in Another Continent
“American Psycho”
Links 17/04/2025: LayoffBot and Tesla Cheats Buyers
Links for the day
Gemnini Links 17/04/2025: Role of Language and Back to Mutt for E-mail
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 16, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Trump Authority (CA) With a Trump NSA is All About Security, But Whose?
A "turnkey tyranny", as the NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake loved to call it
Confirming IBM Shutdowns and Layoffs Today
It's not over yet
Gemini Links 16/04/2025: The 2010s Are Calling and Why "Tools Will Not Liberate Us"
Links for the day
You Should Probably Self-Host Your E-mail and Never Use a Web Browser for Mail
Does anyone still believe Gmail is "free"?
Links 16/04/2025: Cliff Lynch RIP, More Attacks on Science (NASA)
Links for the day
StatCounter Shows the Market Share of Vista 11 is Decreasing in Ukraine This Year
Microsoft abandoning Vista 10 users would be a victory for Vladimir Putin
Google Promotes Fake Articles (LLM Slop) Instead of Originals, Relaying Microsoft's Linux FUD Emanating From Microsoft LLMs
Shame on Google for participating in the slopfest
In Some Countries the Largest OEMs Already Dump Microsoft Windows
Windows at 18.9%, Android 60.2%
The "Gold" Rule: Taking Money for Reputation Laundering and Openwashing Under the "Linux" Banner
Seller of expensive toilet paper, Jim Zemlin
LLM Slop Says Slop is "coming for white-collar jobs. Microsoft’s layoffs are just the start"
Look what the Web has become
Microsoft Down From 100% to 10% in Myanmar/Burma
only about 4% of Web requests in Myanmar/Burma come from Vista 11, soon to be the only "supported" version of Windows
Reporting Facts About Violence Against Women Deserves Awards, Not Frivolous Lawsuits and Threats
What is Microsoft's stance on women's safety?
Linux.com as Spamfarm of the Linux Foundation, Partner of the Gates Foundation
They no longer publish articles
When Fedora Said It Was Looking to Integrate "AI" It Meant Promoting Microsoft's Proprietary Spyware and GPL-Violating Slop
When they say "AI" they mean Microsoft
Slopwatch: The Typical Slopfarms and the 'Brian Fagioli Dilemma'
To the Web and to society (exposed to the Web) LLMs are a net negative
It Used to be IBM, Now It's Microsoft (Why You Need to Fire Microsofters or CIOs Working for Microsoft)
Typically the only effective solution is to identity and remove Microsofters from one's project/organisation (before they can bring more Microsofters in)
IBM Closes Offices and Labs in the United States to Open New Ones in India
It's not layoffs per se; they're substituting/swapping veteran employees for lesser-paid ones
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 15, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Gemini Links 16/04/2025: IndieWeb Carnival, Tinylog RFC, "Focus, the Web and Gemini"
Links for the day