Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft as Chief Censor of Torvalds' Git and Torvalds' Linux (Foundation): How Did We Get Here?

Centralisation of Git repositories and delegation of authority to the Linux Foundation may make us vulnerable to payments from our adversaries, who are like MitM

Adversary (cryptography)



Summary: We deplore and condemn Microsoft's quest to wrest control of GNU/Linux and everything that surrounds it; there seems to be persistent reluctance in key circles to even speak about this problem

IN the context of patents we've already witnessed the ability of litigation zealots to take over patent offices, e.g. Campinos/Battistelli at EPO and Andrei Iancu at USPTO. The key step is putting someone who is hostile towards science and close to the litigation lobby in charge of the whole chain, in turn appointing people like patent trolls as deputies. This is sometimes known as "infiltration" or "entryism" (several spellings are possible for this political slang).



In the context of the Linux Foundation, if the goal is to undermine it, then what you basically want is someone ambivalent/agnostic/hostile towards Linux in charge of the Foundation. The last thing you want is a chief very passionate about Linux (or an actual -- God forbid! -- GNU/Linux user). And that's where we are today...

"My criticism was always sincere and not intended to be provocative, only reactionary. It's a reaction to the attacks on GNU/Linux and -- by extension -- on Software Freedom."Now, when it comes to large repositories like GitHub (a single point of failure to a lot of projects), you basically put a 'mole' inside the management team (like Xamarin's CEO and Mono booster), preferably one who can hook up with the chief of the above Foundation to outsource all the "Linux" stuff to the very same company that's attacking Linux. It's not too expensive to do this; it just takes a bit of time and relentless lying (provocative statements such as "Microsoft loves Linux").

This site is almost 13 years old and my personal activism in this domain predates the site. Knowing my criticism of the Novell deal (with Microsoft) and the Foundation alike, some people view me as an "enemy" not because I'm dishonest or insincere but because what I say is uncomfortable to them (or their agenda). My criticism was always sincere and not intended to be provocative, only reactionary. It's a reaction to the attacks on GNU/Linux and -- by extension -- on Software Freedom.

Earlier today I was advised by some readers to ask for Torvalds' views on the current situation. I had been in contact with him before, so I decided to drop him a few lines. The E-mail was not a 'bait' and it was definitely not hostile. "I want Linux to succeed," I told him, "and not become just a zero-cost commodity for proprietary software giants that could not care any less about Open Source."

It increasingly seems crystal clear what not only Microsoft but a cabal of large companies (including G.A.F.A.M.) have in mind. Software Freedom isn't compatible with their worldview (i.e. their business model) and they're willing to collaborate on one thing: undermining freedom.

"It increasingly seems crystal clear what not only Microsoft but a cabal of large companies (including G.A.F.A.M.) have in mind. Software Freedom isn't compatible with their worldview (i.e. their business model) and they're willing to collaborate on one thing: undermining freedom.""There are forces in this game that try to change Linux from the inside and," I've told Torvalds, "not in a good way. They try to make your job harder, knowing you have stronger grip on the project as its founder and "community darling". The media paints you rather negatively while they pass rules that disproportionately affect non-corporate participants (as part of their job they cannot say or do certain things that would get them fired, whereas community players/actors such as Con K. cannot be fired but excluded)."

I've been trying to come up with analogies for this situation; the closest I've found is borrowed from cryptography. To quote Wikipedia and alter some words (rendering it more applicable to us):

In [FOSS foundations/institutions/companies], an adversary (rarely opponent, enemy) is a malicious entity whose aim is to prevent the users of the [Commons] from achieving their goal (primarily [Freedom and collaboration]). An adversary's efforts might take the form of attempting to discover [dirt], corrupting some of the [stability] in the system, [distorting] the identity of a [group], or forcing [systemic failure].

Actual adversaries, as opposed to idealized ones, are referred to as attackers. The former term predominates [...] This notion of an adversary helps both intuitive and formal reasoning about [FOSS] by casting [...] analysis of [institutions] as a 'game' between the users and a centrally co-ordinated [saboteur]. The notion of [integrity] of a [FOSS] is meaningful only with respect to particular attacks (usually presumed to be carried out by particular sorts of adversaries).


Watch how they slander Torvalds to the point where he's reluctant to speak out critically. It reduces the stability of his projects, wherein his authority is gradually diminished in a top-down fashion. Who's at the top? Follow the money. Mostly adversaries. Check who controls the lion's share of the Foundation's Board nowadays. The same for Git, too...

Recent Techrights' Posts

Rust People: Drain the Swap, You're Holding It Wrong
Does Rust make sense?
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, linuxconfig.org, and Plagiarised Phoronix
Many articles out there are nowadays fake
European Patent Office Illegally Gutting and Outsourcing Its Functions, Acting Like an Above-the-Law Commercial Business (It Won't Stop at Formalities Officers (FOs) and Classification Slop at the EPO)
breaking/violating laws and conventions
Links 19/09/2025: Lobbyist of American GAFAM Becomes Data Protection Commissioner in Europe
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
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)
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
Links 19/09/2025: Press Freedom Dying in US, Anti-Austerity Strikes in France, and Alan Rusbridger to Leave 'Prospect'
Links for the day
Offloading to the Sister Site
In the interest of not overwhelming readers
Links 19/09/2025: Coffee Club and "SpellBinding is Now Absurdly Fast"
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Media Freedom Ceases to Exist in US, "Consider Dropping Twitter/X"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/09/2025: Thinking and Insect Bites
Links for the day
Microsoft E.E.E.: Git Will Now (or Very Soon) Fully Depend on Rust, Which is Controlled by Microsoft
Microsoft now makes Git dependent on Rust, or making Git dependent on GitHub, which is proprietary
The Right to Punch People (Apparently)
At Brett Wilson, Brett's job title is "Head of Crime" and Wilson normalises calls for violence
Slop or Fake Articles Have Turned Linux Journal From a Pioneering/Trailblazing "Linux" Magazine Into a Nuisance
some sites with former reputation - good reputation - turn into cesspools
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 18, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, September 18, 2025
Brett Wilson LLP Seem to Have Had Only One Litigation Client in 2025, He Was Previously Charged, Just Like the Serial Strangler From Microsoft (Whom They Now Represent)
Karma is superstition, regulators are not
Project 2030 to Cover How "Project 2025"-Styled Anti-Media Zealots From America Targeted Techrights and Tux Machines
The common denominator is also their attacks on women
Brett Wilson LLP Failed to Meet Deadlines Set by Judge 7 Months Earlier, Tried to Ruin Our Holiday, Then Had the Audacity to Ask Us for Over 3,000 Pounds for Its Own Lateness
As a matter of principle we will never respond to assassin while we are on holiday
On Claims That After Bluewashing Red Hat Will Increasingly Become an Indian Company
Discussed this week (long and detailed)
Americans Attacking British Sites Only Months After They Leave America
We find it kind of funny if not ironic that this site, originally an American site, got legal harassment only from Americans and only months after it had moved to the UK
Despite Losing Over a Quarter Million Dollars a Year Software in the Public Interest (SPI) Gives Helping Hand to Libreboot
SPI's financial state depends a lot on its public image or its reputation
Slopwatch: Google Helps Plagiarism and Sends Traffic to Ripoff Artists
That Google as a company helps spamfarms is noteworthy
If You Want to Know the Future, Listen to the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and Andy Farnell
We're sure the FSF will have plenty of its own output
Links 18/09/2025: A Taliban Ban on Internet Access and Troubled US Job Market
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/09/2025: Computer Literacy and Accessing Alhena's Database
Links for the day
Links 18/09/2025: US War on Media (Truth Banned, Cancel Culture by the Hard Right), NYT Chief Executive Warns Cheeto is Deploying ‘Anti-press Playbook'
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, September 17, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, September 17, 2025