Bonum Certa Men Certa

Inside the Free Software Foundation (FSF) - Part II: The Majority of the Board Supports Richard Stallman



Free Speech and Free software



Summary: It seems to have become somewhat fashionable separating high-profile projects and institutions from their founders; at the FSF, thankfully (at least for now), the founder still has a foothold

IN PART ONE and the introduction we highlighted a number of things we had heard from numerous sources and had experienced ourselves even before Alex started writing about it [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].



Alex is not associated with Techrights, but some of the things he wrote over the past week resemble stories we occasionally hear. Last year we wrote a number of stories about censorship at LibrePlanet. Even back then Stallman was being silenced or threatened somewhat (even months before what some in the Free software community call "Free software 9/11"). Rejecting one's founder? The OSI has just done that too. As for the Linux Foundation, we're being told that Torvalds (Linux founder) is "sexist" or "rude" and therefore he should have no control over his own project (let Microsoft, Oracle and others control it through their foundation).

"People who oppose corporate takeovers are being spun as racist, sexist and so on."LibrePlanet was a sign of things to come. This year the conference offers corporate sponsors "thank yous" (it's in the brochure) and there's understandably some anger. There's a perception that control is being passed (of the FSF and by extension GNU) from the founder to corporations which exploit the work. It's being "sold" to the public as a matter of "ethics" as if there's something inherently moral about for-profit corporations. Even those that predominantly profit from non-free software...

People who oppose corporate takeovers are being spun as racist, sexist and so on. This strategy isn't novel or unprecedented. If they happen to be right wing-leaning, then tough luck -- in all likelihood they also fit such labeling and get banned without appeal rights. No need to even take anything out of context, only to go further and further back in time (ask Mr. Eich why he's no longer Mozilla's CEO).

Months ago J. Gay from "Defective By Design" (DBD) fame, among other FSF campaigns, routinely came to our IRC channels, which are publicly logged (no secrets necessary there). Seeing his stance on Stallman and a variety of other topics, I began to get a clearer picture and a better understanding of what had been happening and who was pushing for what outcome (and why). This series is based on a large number of discussions and conversations. It will be based only on facts, not hearsay.

"Based on our understanding -- and again without mentioning any names -- the Board of the FSF is still mostly trustworthy. Mostly."It does not seem like anyone at the higher ranks of the FSF genuinely hates Stallman, although that much can be said about former people and 'lower-level' people. We'll try to name nobody. It would be counter-productive to make it seem personal.

Based on our understanding -- and again without mentioning any names -- the Board of the FSF is still mostly trustworthy. Mostly.

"It's not that the board is compromised," one person noted. There's only one or at most two people there who strive to have an FSF without Stallman (without even his mentioning), wrongly believing that he is more of a liability than an asset.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Banned evidence: Ars Technica forums censored email predicting DebConf23 death, Abraham Raji & Debian cover-up
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Intimidation, Threats, and Bullying Not Tolerated by Techrights
When it comes to our reporting, safety always comes first
 
IBM's BS (Bait, Switch) Regarding Ways to Stay Onboard
PIPs, RTOs, and forced relocations are just an illusion of choice (or ability to recover)
Costa Rica Almost Bankrupt Because of Microsoft
the incidents in Costa Rica are Windows incidents
Gemini Links 29/03/2025: Art of Looking, Wireguard, EMacs
Links for the day
Links 29/03/2025: Attacks on Social Security and War Updates
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, March 28, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, March 28, 2025
A World Without Rules
We're long insisted on better laws and actual enforcement of them (applicable to all, not selectively applied)
statCounter Sees Microsoft Windows Falling to New, Unprecedented Lows in Palau
Taking Android into account, Windows is now down to an all-time low of 14%
Google News Lost the Fight to LLM Slop (While Google Itself Sells Slop, Nowadays Under the Name "Gemini")
Many people say that "Google is getting worse"; that's almost an understatement
Links 28/03/2025: AirAsia Trouble Again, UMich Culls All DEI Programs
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/03/2025: Alexa is for Gullible People, Rant About Feature Overload
Links for the day
The SLAPPs From the Microsoft Strangler (and Sidekick) No Better Than Patent Trolling
one must never settle with trolls
Something to Celebrate in Gemini Protocol
More capsules and users join in
Links 28/03/2025: Last Reminder "to Delete Your 23andMe Data", "UK's First Permanent Facial Recognition Cameras Installed"
Links for the day
Microsoft Canonical Continues Its FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) Campaign, Reveals Google Too Sponsored It
They're paid-for lies from a Chinese company that takes GAFAM money to write puff pieces about them
Android Rises Above 76% in Mozambique, Leaving Windows in the Dust
Windows may soon be measured as smaller than Apple's iOS
IBM, Red Hat and Microsoft Probably Also Manipulate Metrics (It Helps Con the Shareholders)
Wall Street's credibility will depend on enforcement of "checks and balances"
Slopwatch: trendhunter.com and Other Pure Junk From "Google News"
The need to vet sources is hardly new; anyone can spew out anything, anywhere. There's a need for vetting.
Gemini Links 28/03/2025: Rewatching The X-Files, Slop Concerns, and NOSTR Censorship
Links for the day
Links 28/03/2025: Australia at Risk, EPO Grants Illegal Patents With Illegal Effect
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, March 27, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, March 27, 2025
Links 27/03/2025: Obituary to a Shop, Russia Trying to Buy Time
Links for the day
Links 27/03/2025: Slop, Autosuggestions, and Nostr
Links for the day
Apparently Confirmed: IBM Layoffs in Canada Today, Hundreds Affected
Impacting "177 people", says one person, "in Ottawa"
When Windows Was Dominant (1990s) Browser Monopoly Meant MSIE, But Now Google Android is Dominant and the Web in a 'Webapps' Era Works With (or Is Designed for) Chrome-isms
We've been there before
Slopwatch: BetaNews, LinuxSecurity.com, and the Attack on Web Search Using Fake and Likely Plagiarised Pages
Changing a few words here and there won't change the fact that it's not properly authored
Links 27/03/2025: U.S. Honeybee Deaths Reach Record High, Legal Occupation Next in Line After War on Science
Links for the day
Using Courts for 'Revenge' is Always a Losing Strategy
Trying to cause someone you dislike to spend a lot of money
IBM CFO James Kavanaugh Refers to Firing of Almost 10,000 Americans as "Workforce Rebalancing" (Shifting IBM's Centre of Balance to Low-salary Contracts/Countries)
The scale of IBM layoffs is getting too large to evade WARN Notices
[Video] Dr. Richard Stallman's Keynote Speech in Kerala Finally Uploaded
In non-free format and proprietary YouTube, but perhaps that's better than nothing
Islands Are Leaving Microsoft Behind, According to statCounter
Android has had a very strong year
EPO Management Fails to Deny That the Office is Discriminating Against Women
Europe's second-largest institution isn't just exceedingly corrupt but also immoral
In Some Countries the Market Share of Vista 11 is Going Down, Not Up
despite being released in 2021
Rumour: Mass Layoffs in IBM Canada Today
Maybe later today some people from Canada will say something firmer and maybe some media will even talk about that
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, March 26, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Gemini Links 27/03/2025: X-Files' "Kill Switch", Orlando, and ASN (Autonomous System Number) 'Hack'
Links for the day