A LOT of people argued that it was "no big deal" GNU was being called "Linux" and RMS being canceled, demonised, treated as some radical "has been"...
"Remember when people spoke about "Free software" and "Open Source" was just some military/intelligence thing?"But what many people realised in 2018 is that Linux Foundation types were also replacing Linux with Microsoft (or GitHub) and Linus with Microsoft employees. It's still happening; it's work in progress, so to speak...
We, however, haven't been ignoring it or downplaying it (let alone justifying these regressive changes). Maybe we just write about the "LINUX" aspect somewhat belatedly, seeing how rapidly the coup advanced over the past few months. It's alarmingly fast.
Linus and Richard (RMS) may not be realising just to what degree their problems are shared (as in sharing). There's clearly an attempt to create leadership vacuums, possibly to fill up those newly-created gaps with more Zemlins, replacing "LINUX" with "GAFAM" and telling us that "Open Source" is also an old thing and now we have "Clown Computing" (no source available, it's also permissively licensed, i.e. free labour for proprietary software and surveillance).
"Linus and Richard (RMS) may not be realising just to what degree their problems are shared (as in sharing)."We urge backers of Torvalds' pragmatism to understand (maybe not immediately, maybe overnight or over longer periods of time) that the patterns we see used -- strategically and media-wise -- repeat themselves in GNU and in Linux. They call our leaders "Rude" and "Sexist" and then, if they fail to 'domesticate' (i.e. silence) those leaders, they impose a replacement. One that suits them better...
They just need time and perseverance. Financially they're well equipped and they have the media in their back pockets.
My personal belief has long been that Zemlin was classic and somewhat of a "useful idiot"; knowing that he's barely qualified for the job (his accomplishments are few to none), he'd do anything to keep his position and it's also possible to exploit his technical ignorance to manipulate him. "Open Source loves Microsoft," he said (when people assessed the GitHub takeover). Years prior he compared Microsoft critics to people who kick puppies.
"Remember Yahoo, Nokia and Novell? Yes, Microsoft "loved" those too..."Zemlin isn't the problem (if he went away, another 'Zemlin' would replace him); the problem is his type and his role. He doesn't even use GNU/Linux, so obviously he'd see no problem outsourcing everything to a Microsoft monopoly (GitHub) and promoting Microsoft employees in the Board, the management team, even top kernel roles.
Those who think we're exaggerating... just wait and watch. "Microsoft loves Linux," they say...
Remember Yahoo, Nokia and Novell? Yes, Microsoft "loved" those too... ⬆
"We need to slaughter Novell before they get stronger….If you’re going to kill someone, there isn’t much reason to get all worked up about it and angry. You just pull the trigger. Any discussions beforehand are a waste of time. We need to smile at Novell while we pull the trigger."
--Jim Allchin, Microsoft's Platform Group Vice President