Bonum Certa Men Certa

Time to Rename the Linux Foundation's Linux.com and Maybe Call it Linux.NET

Publicity rights (or personality)

Publicity rights



Summary: The "Linux Foundation" has nothing to do with Linux anymore; it's just an opportunistic and tax-exempt marketing agency looking to squeeze bucks out of the Linux trademark of Linus Torvalds

THE Linux Foundation is killing the Linux brand. It's misusing it or "lending" it to things that have nothing to do with Linux. Similarly, as an associate of ours put it this morning, Forbes has, as recently as yesterday, resorted to "brand dilution, "open-source" vs "open source", OSI is too quiet..."



I've pointed this out to OSI; but they rarely respond when I raise such concerns or register complaints with them. From the article's summary: "Open-source relies on collaboration between contributors and companies - but profits make things more difficult. Part one of two."

"The Linux Foundation is killing the Linux brand. It's misusing it or "lending" it to things that have nothing to do with Linux."Notice they're not even speaking about code! This is pure openwashing.

Yesterday we wrote about how Zemlin's PAC had been selling (or licensing) the "Linux" brand to dying/unpopular projects ("The Corporate Linux Foundation [LF as Agent of Microsoft and Other Serial GPL Violators]") while outsourcing almost everything to Microsoft. Thomas B. Rücker wrote in response that "LF is an industry association and pay-for-play is their raison-d'etre. At some point it was supposedly 'just' about paying Linus, but those days are *long* gone. A lot of the projects that get labeled "LF project", there's a vendor paying for this fronting. They've been doing this for years. I've seen this first hand and was privy to meetings."

Someone has just pointed out this article to us. It's about "LF Edge" and it says: "Two open-source foundations - IOTA Foundation working in the sphere of blockchain and the open-source Linux Foundation have come together for Edge computing, specifically the LF Edge."

"What other 'snake oil' is the Linux Foundation willing to be associated with?"What does that have to do with Linux? The Corporate Linux Foundation doubles down on marketing as a business model, misusing the "Linux" brand for quick profit (never mind the dilution of the brand). A few hours ago this site published news entitled "IOTA {MIOTA} Foundation teams up with Linux; may facilitate mainstream interest" (got that? It's about brand recognition, right?)

Nonsensical sites such as these aren't even about Linux. To quote the summary: "IOTA is ranked at #16 above Dash but underneath Huobi Token in the market. The price declined at a rate of 11.73% in the course…"

"As for the site known as Linux.com? Forget about it. It's 'sold'..."What other 'snake oil' is the Linux Foundation willing to be associated with?

As we noted over the weekend, corporations are taking over both "Open Source" and "Linux" (their identity); Microsoft now pays people to relay the lie that Microsoft is authority or commands its competition. As for the site known as Linux.com? Forget about it. It's 'sold'... its soul is sold because all editors and writers got fired back in April; all that's left is a Microsoft-friendly stenographer.

"And now we have a so-called 'Linux' Foundation which does more or less the same (you must create an account with Microsoft to participate in "LF" projects) while its news site, Linux.com, promotes .NET."Welcome to Linux.com? No. Should we call it Linux.NET? Seems reasonable in light of this latest story from Swapnil ("AWS Joins the .NET Foundation"). Whose agenda is being served here? What does that even have to do with Linux?

Need we mention again how the 'Linux' Foundation outsources pretty much everything to Microsoft? The code is hosted by a proprietary software platform called GitHub and check out what Pete Zaitcev (Linux developer) published only hours ago:

A job at LinkedIn [owned by Microsoft] in my area includes the following instruction statement:

Don't apply if you can't really write code and don't have a github profile. This is a job for an expert level coder.

I remember the simpler times when LWN authors fretted about the SourceForge monopoly capturing all FLOSS projects.

P.S. For the record, I do have a profile at Github. It is required in order to contribute to RDO, because it is the only way to login in their Gerrit and submit patches for review. Ironically, Fedora offers a single sign-on with FAS and RDO is a Red Hat sponsored project, but nope — it's easier to force contributors into Github.


We previously covered examples where sponsorship or invitation to events was limited only to those with a GitHub account, i.e. those imprisoned by proprietary software of Microsoft. It's totally absurd. And now we have a so-called 'Linux' Foundation which does more or less the same (you must create an account with Microsoft to participate in "LF" projects) while its news site, Linux.com, promotes .NET.

Recent Techrights' Posts

OSI's Blog is Still 100% Microsoft-Sponsored Attacks on Free/Open Source Software
OSI is a compromised, defunct body. It exists to serve the enemies of its original mission.
Red Hat is Suing to Protect From Patent Trolls
Why doesn't Red Hat (IBM) also lobby to eliminate all software patents once and for all?
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Probably Has No Choice But to Shut Down Its Office
Net Income -$686,366
Difficult Times at Soylent News
We hope that Soylent News will recover from this
Modern spyware and the problems of "Discord newspeak"
The history of modern instant messaging...
The Best Interface is Outdoors, It's Nature!
Not everything should be replaced by or emulated by digital devices
 
Crimes of the EPO Are Costing Everybody in Europe
Since virtually everyone in Europe is a user of software (almost nobody is a forest dweller like in countries near the equator), this impacts everybody
A Decade Ago Things Became So Bad at the European Patent Office (EPO) That Staff Jumped Out the Window During Working Hours
Colleagues saw the suicide; the EPO's response wasn't to tackle the causes but to bolt down the windows (like factories in China installing controversial 'suicide nets')
COVID-19 Ushered in Attacks on Human Rights and Things They Said They Had Introduced Temporarily Are Still in Effect/Operation Today
COVID-19 changed a lot of things
The Peril of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Illuminates the Dangers of Founders Leaving or Being Forced Out
Whatever you may think they stand for, you risk being fixated on what they originally were and perhaps what their Web sites still say
Quitting Academia When Its IT Systems Are Dominated by Clowns Who Outsource
It seems like a common trajectory
Why the Free Software Foundation (FSF) Owning or Renting Office Space Mattered
"In the long term, the FSF needs to own its future office space, but then the deadly risk is that the property ownership becomes the end goal rather than software freedom."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 09, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, September 09, 2024
Nearly Two Years After Quitting My Job
My colleagues and I were bullied by managers (grievance complaint got filed) who didn't even know what "Linux" was
Terms of Service (TOS) Under Scrutiny - Part XVIII - In Conclusion
Many activities can be done offline without having to sign anything
Links 09/09/2024: More Trash Balloons and Collapse of Real Estate Market in China
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/09/2024: ROOPHLOCH and More
Links for the day
Wrong Priorities at IBM
Lavish spendings on a 16-year contract for the most expensive place while firing tens of thousands of staff
Links 09/09/2024: LLMs Manipulated to Lie, More Corruption Found in COVID-19 Contracts
Links for the day
Terms of Service (TOS) Under Scrutiny - Part XVII - A Personal Perspective
The bottom line is, it's possible to reduce (albeit not entirely eliminate) how many things one signs, presses "OK" on and so on
[Video] Richard Stallman's New Talk in Germany Covers What Free Software Means, Why LLMs are "Bullshit", and Lots More (Web3 Summit 2024 Berlin)
Closing Keynote Day 3 - Dr. Richard Stallman - Web3 Summit 2024 Berlin
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 08, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, September 08, 2024
Always Taking Things Up a Notch
Nothing will stop us
[Meme] EPO Keeps Masking Its Corruption With "Diversity and Inclusion" (Hiring the Wife of a Friend of Someone Who Bribed His Way Into EPO Presidency)
chain of nepotism
Very Large EPO Applicants Now Threaten a Boycott of the EPO (the EPO Management is Trying to Bribe Them to Change Their Plans/Minds While Hiding It From Staff)
If corruption prevails to this extent, it will have severe international effect
Gemini Links 09/09/2024: Gemini Application Developer Guide and ROOPHLOCH 2024
Links for the day
Links 09/09/2024: 'Dieselgate' Criminal Trial Starts Late, Mass Layoffs at Volkswagen
Links for the da
On Losing the Job at Google After Talking About Committing Acts of Violence Against Colleagues
We still have a highly toxic element trying to enter and fracture our community
[Meme] Patent Monopolies as Bribes at the European Patent Office (EPO)
bloggers who report crime are being threatened with lawsuits by several law firms hired by the EPO to cover up crimes
New EPO Letter Expressing Concerns About EPO Violating Its Charter, Clearly Violating Rules (Possibly Bribing Siemens With Monopolies) and Granting Loads of Fake Patents to Make More Money
Why does the EU tolerate the EPO's crimes and how much longer will this go on for?
NIST is Threatening to Sue You With Patents on Mathematics (That Aren't Even Legal in the First Place) If They Don't Like You
They're asserting monopolies on mathematics
[Meme] EPO 'Hush Money' to Companies That Point Out EPO Breaks the Rules
A bribed doorman: "We have patent examiners, but if you say the right words, we'll bypass them for you"
Gemini Links 08/09/2024: WebDAV, OpenBSD, Pocket Reform, and More
Links for the day
Links 08/09/2024: Super Typhoon and Lots of Climate Journalism
Links for the day
Certificate Authorities (CAs) Are Serving the Authorities, Not You
The centralised CAs "model" is not working
Rage in the Propaganda Machine
There has never been a better time to quit social control media
The Free Software Movement Must Not Assume That Truth and Science Always Win
Sometimes the bad people and the liars get ahead
Peter Eckersley and 'Afterlife'
It's better to look after one's health at present than to pursue all sorts of perceived 'insurance' policies
Terms of Service (TOS) Under Scrutiny - Part XVI - When Radio is No Longer "Read-Only" (Listening Mode) Because Someone Listens and Sells Your Data
Who would want to put up with this?
Terms of Service (TOS) Under Scrutiny - Part XV - "Zoom's terms of service change sparks worries over AI uses" (and More)
Then they wonder why users get all grumpy?
redhat.com is Promoting Revisionism and Lies Regarding the Origin of the Term "Open Source"
debunked many times before
Software Patents Against GNU/Linux Again
Patent extortion against OpenShift and Red Hat Enterprise Linux
IBM is Cutting - Almost in Half - Its Office Space in Austin, So Expect Many Layoffs (RAs)
IBM reduces office space by 187,00 square feet or 37%
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 07, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, September 07, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day