Bonum Certa Men Certa

OSI Board at Microsoft: This is How Institutions Die or Completely Lose Their Purpose/Direction

At 'best' they survive, only to promote Microsoft's agenda and openwashing

OSI Microsoft photo op



Summary: The above photo (or meeting) may mark the turning point of the Openwashing as-a-Standard Initiative (OSI), which less than a year earlier took a bucket of money from Microsoft

THE above is not "fake news..."



All these people actually stood (or sat) there to take a photograph with Microsoft. Look how nonchalant they are.

"We've spent 30 minutes or so looking for additional notes (or photos, newer/older ones) to no avail...""This photo was taken following the spring 2018 face-to-face meeting hosted at the Microsoft office in San Francisco," Simon Phipps explained on May 1st, 2018. "Back row: Faidon Liambotis, Chris Lamb, Simon Phipps, Allison Randal, Molly de Blanc, Patrick Masson [and] Front row: Josh Simmons, VM Brasseur, Carol Smith, Italo Vignoli, Richard Fontana."

"The (co)founder of the OSI left in protest earlier this month."The meeting took place a few months after this (which Microsoft staff then promoted in the OSI's blog, having entered the Board and of course paid a lot of money to OSI less than a year earlier; they're all colleagues and bossed by one another). This remains a very troubling episode in the OSI's history. The (co)founder of the OSI left in protest earlier this month. We're still seeing additional if not belated articles about it (added to Daily Links).

We've spent 30 minutes or so looking for additional notes (or photos, newer/older ones) to no avail... there appears to be just about no record anywhere on the Web of the above meeting. Nothing. Prove us otherwise... if anyone knows about or can find text regarding this meeting, please let us know.

"We've seen similar things at the Linux Foundation (LF) and we can recall the same from Mr. Cohen at OSDL... before everyone quit and formed LF to replace OSDL (rendering Cohen obsolete). He had been meeting with Microsoft in private, which upset a lot of people at the time."This reminds us of how Richard Stallman (RMS) gave a talk at Microsoft without the FSF saying anything about it. This is exceptionally odd because usually the FSF not only announces but repeatedly advertises RMS talks even months in advance.

We've seen similar things at the Linux Foundation (LF) and we can recall the same from Mr. Cohen at OSDL... before everyone quit and formed LF to replace OSDL (rendering Cohen obsolete). He had been meeting with Microsoft in private, which upset a lot of people at the time. There are still some articles on the subject (even on the Web, despite Internet rot).

"I would love to see all open source innovation happen on top of Windows."

--Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO



"Securing an environment of Windows platforms from abuse - external or internal - is akin to trying to install sprinklers in a fireworks factory where smoking on the job is permitted."

--Prof. Eugene H "Spaf" Spafford, father of the field of Internet Security

Recent Techrights' Posts

Why We Support Carole Cadwalladr (Even If We Don't Agree With Everything She Said)
I first became aware of Cadwalladr's work a long time ago
A Coalition or a Coup of Sexism
In the Free software community it's hard to avoid this issue
 
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
Links 15/04/2025: Touchable Volumetric Display and Resistance to American Spying Firms
Links for the day
Links 15/04/2025: Some People Cannot Read and Re-discovering of 'Web 1.0'
Links for the day
Links 15/04/2025: China Admits Targetting Critical Infrastructure Using CALEA Back Doors, NASCAR Cracked by Windows Usage
Links for the day
Microsoft's Serial Strangler Chose to Attack Techrights With SLAPP When Over 400 Victims of Mohamed Al Fayed Complained About Media's Role in Enabling Him
There is a strong element of "free press" here
statCounter Sees GNU/Linux at New High of 6% in Bosnia and Herzegovina
GNU/Linux is measured at all-time high
To Celebrate Git Turning 20 Linus Torvalds is 'Selling Out' to Microsoft and Proprietary Software Which Attacks Git (E.E.E.)
He makes it seem like he's endorsing his attackers
Gemini Protocol Milestone (3,000 Active Capsules)
and a total of nearly 4,500
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, April 14, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, April 14, 2025
Gemini Links 14/04/2025: Silver Pigs and more Foundation, Disliking Computers
Links for the day
Hundreds of Microsoft Layoffs (Net Headcount Decrease) in the United Kingdom
headcount decreased
Links 14/04/2025: Russian Attack on Sumy Shows No Intention of Peace, Virgin Australia Admits Overcharging People
Links for the day
The Dilemma of Web Browsers Lying About What They Are (in Order to Bypass Discriminatory Gateways Like Clownflare) Worsens Due to LLM Slop
LLM crawlers/scrapers have made sites more restrictive and hostile towards browsers that are potent but not "famous"
What Really Matters to Companies is Net Income or Profit (Bankruptcy is Possible Even With High Revenue)
We ought to stop talking about revenue without focusing on actual profit
Carole Cadwalladr Talks About How Big Business Tried to Silence Her (and Why You Might be Next)
Our story is very different from Cadwalladr's for many reasons
Companies Conspiring to Keep Salaries Down and Undermine Competition
People who do all the practical work are being paid less and made to work for much longer
Links 14/04/2025: Disinformation, Public Disdain for LLMs, and "Lessons on Tyranny"
Links for the day
LLM Slop and SEO SPAM Take Us Further Away From Facts (the Case of IBM Layoffs)
Some of these can impact Red Hat as well
Gemini Links 14/04/2025: Ween and Historic Ada Project Management
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, April 13, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, April 13, 2025
Influencers: Red Hat, Inc's IPO, 1999, post-mortem on the directed share offer to open source developer community
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock