Bonum Certa Men Certa

Proprietary Software Giants Telling Us That “Open Source Has Won” Means That “Open Source” is Just Proprietary Software Giants

What they try to tell us is, monopolists have taken over “Open Source” (and hence "won")

OSI won



Summary: Don't fall for the deceitful illusion that monopolies hijacking what they've dubbed the "Open Source" 'movement' is somehow a 'win' or an accomplishment for society at large; the corporate media loves to perpetuate this script, at the expense of actual software freedom

LOOK no further than the Linux Foundation (the real foundation) to understand what a growing number of people have begrudgingly come to accept; we're not really "winning" but we're told that we've "won" in the same way Hippies were told they had won the antiwar cause. Yeah, like endless wars have stopped since...



"To a lot of people "Open Source" now means GitHub, which is actually proprietary and Microsoft-controlled."As we put it recently, we're being thrown a bone. Companies that bomb dark-skinned people tell us they're making progress by banning words that allude to dark-skinned people (if we're to assume that slavery is limited to one set of ethnicities). Anyway, we mean no disrespect to the cause of diversity and we welcome good conduct or even a Code of Conduct provided it's properly enforced, not just by companies that bomb and attack charities. In reality, as we've repeatedly witnessed, projects are being separated from their founders... by companies that literally profit from separating parents from their babies (yes, we're looking at you, Microsoft!) and they tell us it's for the better good... or something. They 'protect' us... from 'unruly' leaders.

"Let's talk about Free software and software freedom; nothing would piss them off more than the realisation that they blew countless billions trying to squash the 'wrong' thing..."Right now, as 2020 approaches winter (and the end of the year) we must come to realise that "Open Source" means nothing; if it means anything -- or if it ever meant anything to begin with -- it's an attack on or a distracting prop (diversion away from) software freedom. To a lot of people "Open Source" now means GitHub, which is actually proprietary and Microsoft-controlled. As if gifting Microsoft (outsourcing everything to Microsoft) is 'opening' or 'liberation' or 'goodwill'...

If we wish to make progress -- real progress -- we need to abandon this mirage of "Open Source" and let OSI die with it (look who controls the OSI this year).

For many years we used the term "Open Source" (since inception of this site), but that doesn't mean we should perpetually refuse to let it go. Even Bruce Perens, who came up with its definition, thinks it's time to move on. To Microsoft, with GitHub, the next phase is proprietary software spun as "open" ("Inner Source") -- in effect the "extinguish" phase. Let's abandon what Microsoft has in effect hijacked before the "extinguish" is completed. Let's talk about Free software and software freedom; nothing would piss them off more than the realisation that they blew countless billions trying to squash the 'wrong' thing...

Recent Techrights' Posts

Televisions Have Become Billboards
Bottom line: you get what you pay for
 
Links 13/09/2026: Scam Altman Admits Issues (Financial), Rival Says Stop Slop (Plagiarism)
Links for the day
Windows Down to New Lows as Switzerland's Federal Government Abandons Microsoft (Where Feasible for Now)
That's how it starts...
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 12, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, September 12, 2026
Mass Layoffs at Microsoft as "Voluntary Separation Agreement" (or PIP)
the man who kept lying about the layoffs has just left the company
The Cyber Show on Media Clickbait About Slop as 'Existential Threat' and Derek Thompson's Response to That
Ignore the hype, focus on real news
Links 12/09/2026: "Revolt Is Here" Against Slop and "Top Chinese Court" Cracks Down on Slop That's Fake/Misleading
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/09/2026: Rants About Slop, Switching From QWERTY, and Why TVs Are 'Cheap'
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 180 Out of 200: A Third Act, (Mis)Using Your Client's Application to the Court for Your Own Purposes as a Law Firm (Reputation Management and Censorship)
How much can a lawfare firm get away with?
Canonical Has Withdrawn Ubuntu 24.04.5 Installer Due to a Critical Bug Connected to Microsoft-Controlled Restricted Boot and TPM
already breaking systems running GNU/Linux [...] Who asked for TPM in Linux?
SLAPP Censorship - Part 179 Out of 200: Using One's Clients to Save Face at Their Expense
Who's being served really?
Switzerland's Software Freedom/Digital Sovereignty is Improving as People Move to GNU/Linux
Well done to them
Links 12/09/2026: "U.S. Debt Surpasses $40 Trillion" and "Trump Wants to [Illegally] Bribe Voters."
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/09/2026: Readjusting, Fighting Sleep, and FreeBSD bhyve
Links for the day
Matt Mullenweg Got the 'Linus Treatment' or 'RMS Treatment'
"back, but not in charge any more..."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 11, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, September 11, 2026
Earlier This Year Microsoft's Chief Liar Frank Shaw Lied About the Layoffs. Now He's Leaving.
he's nowhere near retirement age
Gemini Links 11/09/2026: Small Things and "Hitching Your Wagon"
Links for the day
Links 11/09/2026: Tristan Buckmaster Ripped Off by Slop, Social Control Media Spreads Hatred for Profit
Links for the day
Animals Smarter Than Chatbots
Quack quack goes the chatbot
Why Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) Won't Work
American companies don't follow laws, they work around them
IBM Isn't Reporting Layoffs, But It Removes Tens of Thousands of People From Its Workforce
Red Hat and IBM already mark people for removal
"A Tale of Two Antónios" Will Resume Soon
In November the site turns 20
Links 11/09/2026: Cyberattack in Berlin (Windows/Microsoft TCO) and Hype About Slop as 'Existential' Something; Scam Altman et al Caught Stealing/Plagiarising "Mathematical Breakthrough"
Links for the day
Microsoft/GNOME 9/11
Garrett and Graveley (Microsoft/GNOME) will have a lot to explain
Net Gain of 50 Gemini Capsules in Just One Month
a big jump in just one month
Keeping Linux Reliable
If Linux becomes a lot more reliable in the future, it'll be an "hey hi" miracle. If Linux becomes a lot less reliable in the future, we'll know why and who is responsible for it.
9/11 Was a National Event, Not an International Event
They insist that back doors will "save lives"
Very Sloppy PR From a Dying IBM, Company in Disarray and in Need of Distractions
IBM could really use distractions right now
Cyber Show on the Fallacy of Salary/Ego as a Function of Wisdom in the Era of Pyramid Schemes (Cheating People Using Buzzwords and Complicit Media)
"the remuneration fallacy and the role of reluctance as a negative feedback force."
What a Price-Fixing Cartel Can Look Like
If your prices increase five-fold or ten-fold and so do your revenues/income, what does that tell us?
SLAPP Censorship - Part 178 Out of 200: Explaining to Your American Clients That Spending 130,000+ United States Dollars on a Single Hearing in Another Continent Means the UK's National Archives Will Retain in Perpetuity What Your Spouse or Girlfriend Said
Balabhadra (Alex) Graveley should ask Garrett how much money he has lost so far
EPO's Local Staff Committee Munich Organises General Assembly Next Week, the Goal is to Oust the Corrupt President and Derail His Unlawful Agenda
They're aiming to show Campinos the door
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 10, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, September 10, 2026
Latest IBM Gossip is, Over 25,000 People to be PIPed (by Year's End)
That figure, 10%, is different from 15% (what we saw a lot). 10% is over 25,000 staff.
Solidarity at EPO
"Many colleagues have made personal and professional sacrifices by participating in the ongoing strike and work-to-rule action"
Gemini Links 11/09/2026: Culture Stuck, Robot Symphony, and Back to Geminispace
Links for the day