Bonum Certa Men Certa

Reality and Expectation: GNU/Linux Isn't Hiding Anything and That Makes It a Lot Stronger (No Embarrassing 'Leaks')

Subaru: Proprietary software marketing; Proprietary software reality



Summary: Our Debian transparency drive is yielding positive results; there's no real harm done and people nowadays understand things a lot better, capable of assessing the project's past and how it can be improved (for the present and future)

THE Free (libre, livre, freedom) software world is oftentimes a "PR-free zone" in which problems can't be concealed, nor is it a goal to conceal them. That's a positive thing because you generally know what you're getting.

More than 10 years ago E-mail surfaced in the courts showing how Microsoft had worked behind the scenes to bury the disaster of Vista, p[l]aying a bunch of so-called 'journalists' (more like Microsoft moles with media access/credentials) to manufacture a bunch of fake hype. That's typical Microsoft at 'work' -- lying, cheating, infiltrating. We can -- and clearly we should -- strive to do as well as to be better than that.

"More than 10 years ago E-mail surfaced in the courts showing how Microsoft had worked behind the scenes to bury the disaster of Vista, p[l]aying a bunch of so-called 'journalists' (more like Microsoft moles with media access/credentials) to manufacture a bunch of fake hype."We need not replace one evil with another or one brand€® with another (one could argue that Apple's marketing strategy isn't more ethical than Microsoft's).

Today we've carried on reading the archives of Debian-Private -- the first lump of which we published last Saturday, i.e. the end of August. In that installment alone there are over 8,000 E-mails, some technical in nature and some akin to gossip (we don't care much about the gossip, even if it's more 'juicy' in nature). Much is being said there about Richard Stallman, the FSF, Red Hat and so on. It is an important glimpse at the history of GNU/Linux through the lenses of the most important distribution (the base system for most distributions, with perhaps hundreds of millions installations 'out there', maybe over a billion if embedded devices are counted).

"Today we've carried on reading the archives of Debian-Private -- the first lump of which we published last Saturday, i.e. the end of August."Techrights wrote several articles before releasing that trove of old E-mails, expressing the purpose and intent, which wasn't to harm but to research and shed light. Right now, Free software is under attack and the patterns aren't unprecedented (the Halloween Documents were already seen in 1998); we need to understand them in order to respond effectively. We need not hide things and brush under the rug a bunch of old communications which prove we're all humans (and yes, everybody can have a temper tantrum sometimes).

It is expected that some time soon we'll publish another batch of E-mails (timeline unclear, dependent on leaks/leakers). Every now and then we find something relevant to the present; if not a 'smoking gun', then at least a cautionary tale. The modus operandi, so to speak, changes very little over time. The woes are alike.

Having just reviewed about 500 comments regarding our 'Linusgate' article, we've noticed an old distraction tactic, basically anonymous cowards saying things along the lines of, "this is old news" (even if the underlying E-mails were never published before and the general public could not see them until 8 days ago).

"In Techrights we publish full logs each morning, including most E-mails related to the site (albeit anonymised, for obvious reasons)."If we live in a free world with Free software and free speech, we ought not be afraid of transparency. Most of what I've seen so far is hardly controversial (I went through about 2,000 E-mails individually); there are no conspiracies against people but an open debate, mostly technical in nature, with a little gossip or disputes here and there. There's no reason to keep Debian-Private secret for nearly 25 years (some of these E-mails will be older than 25 years in a matter of months). Maybe at some point the Debian project itself will decide to publish these, gradually, instead of others doing it (imposed transparency). We sure hope so. It's well overdue.

When people install GNU/Linux (or some BSD distribution) they deserve to know what they're getting, including the nature of the developers/community/ies that pack together all those bits of software. We need not hide from who/what we are. In Techrights we publish full logs each morning, including most E-mails related to the site (albeit anonymised, for obvious reasons). We've been doing this since 2008 and it never really harmed us. Honestly, it hasn't!

We've admittedly neglected some European Patent Office (EPO) scandals lately. There's stuff we could cover, such as this new rant from lawyers. "The EPO should tell parties directly if the location of an oral hearing has been changed, in-house counsel say, but others believe this is unnecessary," says a report. The EPO remains very secretive, but then again it's a patent office, not a Free software community. It's trying to work in secret at its own peril as sooner or later people typically leak to us all/most of the documents of interest, whereupon the EPO fails to 'control the narrative' and is left red-faced.

Being transparent is generally a lot better; it helps avert scandals and outrage because people behave differently when they're seen (or there's perception of accountability). Now going back to Debian, one recurring theme or complaint is that gossip networks were created and even encouraged, emboldening a bunch of non-productive people to experiment on volunteers with unwarranted witch-hunts. Had there been more transparency, this would not be possible. Thus, our transparency drive carries on...

Recent Techrights' Posts

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Hijacked Again by Patent Litigation Industry, as President Cheeto Prioritises Aggressors
The "mafia" has taken over the "industry" and the Federal system (justice and constitutions trampled upon)
Ubuntu Slop and FUD Manufactured With LLMs and Funded (by Oneself) 'Studies'
Slop and FUD are ruining the Web
 
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: Books and Cold Tea
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Links 02/04/2025: More Layoffs, Nokia Again Takes Advantage of Illegal and Unconstitutional Patent Court With Nokia Staff as 'Judges'
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Links 02/04/2025: Seizures and Returns to Windows of 24 Years Ago
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LLM Slop Helps Obscure and Distort News About Layoffs (IBM, GAFAM)
It's hard to find accurate information
Links 02/04/2025: Microsoft Developers Are Threatening to Go on Strike, World Backup Day Noted
Links for the day
Gemini Protocol Has Growing Appeal (the Web Got Too Bloated and Full of LLM Slop)
For any "data plan" with bandwidth limits or "tiers" it would be cheaper to use/browse Geminispace
The Web Can Survive LLM Slop, But Only If We Collectively Shun and Discourage Serial Sloppers
Doing nothing ought not be a possibility
Amid Secret Shut-downs and Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (4 Waves of Layoffs in 3 Months of 2025) Some Microsoft Staff Expected to Go On Strike
workers going on strike
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: No more on Mastodon and Gemini Mention Script in Go
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Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 01, 2025
My Motion Disbarring or “Striking Off” Brett Wilson LLP for Enabling Violent Americans Who Try to Crush Microsoft Critics in the United Kingdom by Multiple SLAPPs
"Guns for hire" (for Microsoft people who received Microsoft salaries)
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: Games and More
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Links 01/04/2025: Apple Fined $162M for Privacy Abuses, Disinformation Online a Growing Concern
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Why We're Reporting Brett Wilson LLP for Apparently Misusing Their Licence to Protect American Microsofters Who Attack Women
For those who have not been keeping abreast
Newer Press Reports Confirm That Microsoft Shuts Down 'Hey Hi' (AI) Labs Despite All the Hype
The "hey hi" (AI) bubble is not sustainable
Links 01/04/2025: Mass Layoffs at Eidos and "Microsoft Pulls Back on Data Centers" (Demand Lacking); "Racist and Sexist" Slop From Microsoft
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Stefano Maffulli and His Microsoft-Funded OSI Staff Are Killing the OSI and Killing "Open Source" (All for Money!)
This is far from over
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: XKCDpunk and worldclock.py
Links for the day
50 Years of Sabotage and a Gut Punch to Computer Science (and Science in General)
Will we get back to science-based computing rather than cult-like following?
Techrights Headlines as Semaphore
"If you are hearing this, thank you"
3 Months in 2025, 4 Waves of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft, Now Offices Shut Down Permanently
"A recent visit by the South China Morning Post confirmed that the office was dark, unoccupied, and had its logo removed."
Over at Tux Machines...
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Links 31/03/2025: China Tensions, Bombs Falling in Myanmar After Earthquake
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R.T.O. at IBM in Texas and Atlanta (State of Georgia) Expected as "Soft Layoffs" Catalyst This Coming Year
It also sounds like more IBM layoffs are in the making
Law Firms Can Also Lose Their Licence for Clearly Misusing It
The bottom line is, never made the false assumption that because you can pile up SLAPPs in a docket you will not suffer from bad reputation or even get disbarred
Link between institutional abuse, Swiss jurists, Debianism and FSFE
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
LLM Slop Piggybacking News About GNU/Linux and Distorting It
new examples
Links 31/03/2025: Press and Democracy Under Further Attacks in the US, Attitudes Towards Slop Sour
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Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: The OSI Does Not Respect Anybody's Privacy
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Gemini Links 31/03/2025: More X-Filesposting and Dreaming in Emacs
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Over at Tux Machines...
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IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 30, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, March 30, 2025