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New Series: Inside the Free Software Foundation (FSF)

When you attack Free Speech to supposedly protect Free software (or FSF) you are protecting neither

Free Speech and Free software
Free Speech, Free software



Summary: In the interest and motivation of exposing the true nature of things, Techrights will turn its attention to internal affairs at the higher echelons of the FSF, founded more than three and a half decades ago in MIT (where Stallman launched the GNU Project, developed the GNU Compiler Collection and a lot more foundational Free software)

THIS past weekend we highlighted the importance of intervention of some kind. Based on a bunch of recent blog posts from their Board -- something that I noticed over at Diaspora -- things had gone sour and there's an effort to silence people to maintain the impression that everything is rosy. They might think that it's for the better good of Free software, but it is bad for free speech (or Free Speech) and the same thing is happening in Debian right now.



Many people will refuse to talk about this; they want to avoid becoming the next target or persecution, smears, cancellation and so on.

The series won't be about me or about us. We'll make sure it's factual and we invite sources with additional information of relevance to contact us discreetly. 6 years ago we dealt with secrecy at the European Patent Office (EPO), where staff representatives -- sometimes even judges -- were attacked and fellow examiners were threatened to prevent 'leakage' to the media.

"Transparency isn't so scary a thing when what you're up to isn't at all nefarious."Now, we don't encourage leaking anything. But as people now know (it's common knowledge), there's a degree of secrecy at Debian (secret mailing lists and whispering -- akin to secret agencies) and the FSF has a policy -- imposed on people at the top (Brad Kuhn spoke about it last year as he departed) -- preventing communication with media. This, in my view, is contrary to the values of the FSF. We need facts, not NDAs/embargoes/sanctions. Transparency isn't so scary a thing when what you're up to isn't at all nefarious.

We'll keep it polite and even cordial. We love GNU, we love the FSF, but some elements inside today's FSF aren't there for free speech and maybe not for software freedom, either.

Recent Techrights' Posts

The Next Talk of Richard Stallman (Father of GN/Linux and the GPL) Advertised in the Media 3 Days in Advance
He spoke in Italy earlier this year and also did some interviews
The Microsofter Who Kept Sending Threatening Post and E-mail to My Wife Has Been Joking He'd Work on Code for "Sexual Favours"
For one thing, for software professionals (like for landlords), this is outright illegal and you'd get arrested for it, and moreover it's no joking matter because there are many real victims of such sexual exploitation
We Seem to Have Abandoned Science and Replaced Sound Policy With Private Patent Shareholders and College Dropouts Like Bill Epsteingate
Because of what they did there are now many people out there who reject all vaccines
 
Free Software as a Culture of Resistance
Free software as a movement accomplished a lot in 40+ years
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, May 23, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, May 23, 2025
Simpler is Better
Gemini Protocol turns 6 in exactly 4 weeks
Slopwatch: Brian Fagioli, Brittany Day, and Other Plagiarists Who Rip Off Real Writers and Target Themes Around "Linux"
Fagioli also prompted chatbots for some words diarrhoea
Growing Recognition Out There That Courts Must Abandon Microsoft or Have No Perception of Authority, Autonomy, Independence, Fairness, and More
Imagine making a complaint about Microsoft to an agency that uses Microsoft
Links 23/05/2025: Microsoft Openwashing at ZDNet, Signal Does It Wrong (DRM, Back Doors Still Intact)
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/05/2025: Clutter in Modern Interfaces and Dealing With DRM-Free Music
Links for the day
Links 23/05/2025: Tax Audits of Hong Kong's Independent as ‘Intimidation Tactics,’ Why "Regulating X Isn’t Censorship"
Links for the day
TecAdmin Took a Break From Linux to Push SPAM
This happened hours ago, and it seems to have been posted directly by the site's "Admin" (Rahul)
Links 23/05/2025: Violent Attacks on the Press, VMware Price Hikes, Vista 11 Considered Unsuitable for Any Confidentiality
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/05/2025: Balkan Tourism, UK Polls, Reticulum and Meshtastic
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, May 22, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, May 22, 2025
Back to Basics, Folks, "AI" (Plagiarism) is Symptom of a Dying Industry Looking for Whatever Prey It Can Devour
lousy/sloppy imitations
Liam Proven's Thoughts on "AI" Being a Scam No Different From Religions, Alternative Medicine, and More
"Is there anywhere outside of retrocomputing that doesn't have AI in it?"
Many IBM Layoffs, Centred Around Expert Labs US in Atlanta (Offer of "Relocation" Where No Such Option Exists)
So Techrights was assessing comments/gossip online and it was right about the Thursday cull
Slopwatch: Slopfarms That 'Hallucinate' (Yield Falsehoods) Cited as Credible Sources and Microsoft Media Gaslighting Everybody
Part of the problem is, Google News
More Media Coverage and Photos From Richard Stallman's Presentation in Liberec (Czech Republic)
Here are some photos
The Microsofter Who Kept Sending Threatening Post and E-mail to My Wife Has Been Spooking Women for at Least Two Decades
censorship was the ultimate goal
Links 22/05/2025: Openwashing, Dumping Microsoft's Entrapment (Microsoft GitHub), and New Climate Disasters
Links for the day
Richard Stallman's Next Public Talk is in Milan, Italy Next Week
Happy hacking
Gemini Links 22/05/2025: Crimson Pro Font and CGI in Bash
Links for the day
IBM Goes to India, Fires People in the United States (Under the Guise of "Relocation" or Similar), Accusation of Bribery in the Company
LLM slop sites (some are pure slopfarms) from India say the IBM layoffs result in hiring "AI" (the "I" stands for India)
Why We'll Continue Covering EPO Abuses (Other Patent Offices as Well, as the Need Arises) for Many Years to Come
We're basically becoming Russia
Links 22/05/2025: TikTok Laying Off Again, Microsoft-Backed Builder.ai Set for Bankruptcy, Scam Altman Uses 'Funny Money' to 'Buy' (Hire) Company
Links for the day
These Feet Are Made for Walking
Humans are apparently so very clever that they decided to form a "progressive" consensus: feet no more
The Evolution of Microsoft's War on GNU/Linux
13 sins
OFTC Has Just Culled About a Third of Its Online Users
It's not the first time they purge or force offline many people/bots
My New Desk Arrangement (and More Breaks From the Keyboard)
all in all yesterday I devoted 4-5 hours to redoing and shuffling stuff
Central Staff Committee of the EPO Opposes Abuses Against EPO Staff, Challenging SuccessFactors Stunts
Europe became institutionally colonised
Gemini Links 22/05/2025: "Conspirituality" and Visiting One's Old University
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, May 21, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, May 21, 2025