Bonum Certa Men Certa

Speaking Out for the Many (Against the Few Who Control Most of the Mass Media)

Mass media
Mass media



Summary: A look back at (almost) 15 years of Techrights and the function it has been serving since its genesis in 2006

THE Web site Techrights will have turned 15 later in 2021 (when Tux Machines turned 15 we threw a little party). We've actually made it that long/far. Not many sites remain active and also stay online for that long. The site is vast and we're soon migrating to a new container-based setup (today we enhanced speed/performance). Days ago we moved to a different datecentre due to a death of someone 4 years my junior (tragic car accident). In IPFS and WWW we have lots of information (originating in Techrights IRC and other sources), but sometimes it's intentionally unclear who said what, especially when it comes to EPO articles. Techrights is not authored by a single person; there are also leakers and whistleblowers. It's important to ensure the site stays online; Groklaw perished (offline for good apparently) this past October, along with lots of valuable information and important articles/comments/timelines (history of UNIX for instance). History will be distorted if honest sites perish, only to be replaced by PR campaigns of the 'victors' (oppressors such as Benoît Battistelli and António Campinos).



At the moment, many authors rely on the site to highlight things not addressed/exposed anywhere else. We're a bit of a 'censorship resistance machine'. People come to us with suppressed information or information that, if published, puts them at risk.

"At the moment, many authors rely on the site to highlight things not addressed/exposed anywhere else. We're a bit of a 'censorship resistance machine'."It's the information that's important (even if crudely put at times). We'll publish a lot more EPO leaks some time soon. The site is widely respected among EPO workers, who still recall speeches Richard Stallman (RMS) gave at their protests and strikes. Some EPO insiders tell me that they learn about Free software in Techrights and agree on almost everything... though they read the site for the EPO articles (at least originally). Until a year or two ago we focused on patents. Focus shifted because of the slow-progressing coup (Linux Foundation, OSI, FSF and more), accelerated a great deal at the FSF/GNOME/SFC after the August 2019 'Gates-gate' at MIT (which I had warned Stallman about, privately, even BEFORE the aggressive push to resign; in hindsight I was correct). Many people lost sight of the original scandals, including Bill Gates crimes; I know a thing or two about how PR agencies think and methods for shifting public attention (EPO management does this a lot and it's so shallow that EPO workers can see it; the EPO autocrats flooded the media before the December 15th strike, organised by SUEPO, their staff union).

What unifies many people who follow Techrights is interest in the human rights aspects of technology and science. Mainstream media doesn't cover that often enough. It boils down mostly to ideology and philosophy, I suspect way beyond technology itself (as technology relates to many other things in life/the world). The 'hacker culture' has some political and scientific roots to it. I think equivalents existed before Enlightenment (Dark Ages restricted practice and thinking). But I digress...

Techrights is a multi-author site. Not everything in there is endorsed by either myself or the site (unless my name is shown on the right, in which case I wrote it myself). Shockingly enough the site was being portrayed as the very opposite of what it is. I say "shockingly", but actually I often joke with people (I've joked about this for years now!) and explain that whatever I say can be totally twisted. M. Garrett (now at Google; Torvalds hates his guts for his coup attempts) has been 'parking' in our IRC channels for months now, having publicly described the site as pro-rape or something ludicrous like that (Microsoft propagandists "liked" those tweets of his). I guess it's unsurprising; such distortions should be expected. Anyone who defends the views of RMS (never mind RMS himself) is a target. We have seen a certain someone from Salesforce saying so more explicitly. The 'coup' won't be complete until the message/ideas die...

"What unifies many people who follow Techrights is interest in the human rights aspects of technology and science."And no... it's not about women. It's about the perceptions which have been spreading online about monopolies, proprietary software etc. (think of #RMSWasRight and foresight along those lines)

About 15 years ago I think I read about CompTIA attacking RMS over his views (something he had said about proprietary software being malicious). We know who sponsors CompTIA. These attacks from CompTIA were counterproductive as they only caused me to pay closer attention to the message they were attacking.

The articles posted here are still relatively diverse (in the opinion sense). If we only ever published things everyone can agree with, we'd be useless. If we suppressed legitimate views -- however controversial (but still true) -- people would accuse me of being somewhat of a tyrant. Even independent newspapers occasionally publish things they neither agree with nor wrote.

"We need to get accustomed to this simple idea that good people who blow the whistle (or simply say the truth about the status quo) will come under attack."Planet Debian Uncensored (and its sister sites) may have a tone different from mine and many Nazi analogies I never wrapped my head around (cannot; I think too many things in this world are being compared to Nazis). Some articles from there I did not repost and in some cases I left out images that were not suitable for our audience. Techrights tries to help combat censorship; all who are longtime contributors to Free software and have facts on their side deserve a voice. Daniel Pocock is a good guy. He was betrayed in a very major way. He has many legitimate grievances and good reasons to be upset. He's very supportive of Free software (more than most posers who only claim to support it, possibly while doing the opposite). A lot of what's said about him is patently false.

We need to get accustomed to this simple idea that good people who blow the whistle (or simply say the truth about the status quo) will come under attack. We need to prepare to reject pointless and baseless attacks on their characters/names.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft Uses LLM Slop to Defraud (or Rob) Shareholders
Microsoft is basically defrauding its shareholders by LLM slop
 
Why the Microsoft People Who Started SLAPPs Against Techrights Could Very Well be Sent Back to Prison
White-collar crime is also a crime
The Company Run by Former (and Last Proper) Red Hat CEO, Promoting Microsoft Mono, Faces Shock as Senior Partner Jailed for 33 Sexual Offenses Including Pedophilia
"As reported by The Oxford Mail in April 2025, the offenses include rape, sexual assault, engaging in non-penetrative activity with a child, and more."
Microsoft Lost 29% of Windows Users, Based on Microsoft, Now Come Massive Layoffs
Microsoft collapse is today
Slopwatch: Google Serves to People Linux Slop and Linux FUD (Made by Bots)
"Slopwatch" finds it difficult to ignore Google's role in encouraging LLM slop
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 01, 2025
"Wayland People" Behave Like the Googles and Microsofts of This World
Published yesterday by Igor Ljubuncic
Gemini Links 02/07/2025: Arch Linux and Fulfillment in Gemini
Links for the day
Links 01/07/2025: "Independence Day in Taiwan", Bounties on Software Patents
Links for the day
What Happens When Your Law Firm is Preoccupied With Harassing and Trying to Extort a Humble Couple in Manchester, Even on Behalf of Violent Microsoft Staff From Another Continent
It's good to see that law firms which operate in bad faith are perishing
Lawyer X, Law Firm X and Elon Musk's X: scandals linked by Old Xaverian
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 01/07/2025: Distraction-Free Writing and Hytale Mismanagement
Links for the day
Links 01/07/2025: "Beauty of Blogging" and "Etiquette of Collapse"
Links for the day
The Web is a Dead End
We need to adopt alternatives
When Words Lose Their Intended Meaning
examples of words that, at least in the technical spheres, don't mean what they sound like
People Who Disagree With You on Technical Matters May or May Not Agree With You on Political Things (But Usually They Do)
What bothers me a great deal is seeing left-leaning people accusing other left-leaning people of being "nazis"
"Too Much Choice" and "Too Many Programming Languages"
What IBM and its apologists aim for was attempted in the 1930s and it failed
Microsoft Lost 400,000,000 Windows Users, According to Microsoft
more people adopt smaller computers and many people replace Windows with GNU/Linux, as they don't really need a new computer
The "Davos Effect": Tarnishing the Reputation of Places Not by Overtourism But by Oligarch Infestation
The last Venice needs is an affiliation with Venetian oligarchs
Half a Year Gone, What's to Come Next
In the second half of 2025 we expect to be done with the Microsoft SLAPPs
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 30, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 30, 2025
People at the Very Top of Microsoft Know How Bad Things Really Are
There's no product that can replace the former profitability of Windows licensing and stuff that went on top of Windows
Gemini Links 01/07/2025: Mid Year and a Tour of Old Languages
Links for the day
EPO Presentation Bemoans Misuse of Slop in Decision-Making on Patents and in Classification (Which is Likely Illegal Too)
We habitually mention failed use cases of LLMs on the Web
Mass Layoffs at Microsoft Confirmed, "XBox Hardware Is Dead"
It's possible that over 20% of the staff will be laid off
Links 30/06/2025: Kyrgyzstan vs Media Freedom, Dalai Lama Succession
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/06/2025: Backend Programs in Gemini and Dynamic Content Without The Scripting
Links for the day
Links 30/06/2025: Zuckerberg’s Tax-Evading Scheme Harms Kids, US Copyright Office Lacks Leadership
Links for the day
Microsoft Isn't Laying Off Tens of Thousands to 'Invest' in Slop ('Hey Hi'), It's Laying Off Tens of Thousands Because It's Running Out of Money (and Willing Lenders)
the layoffs are a sign of the business failing, not "hey hi" (whatever that is) replacing staff
Intel Lays Off 20% of Its Workforce, Microsoft is Doing the Same This Year
Like a yoyo, whatever goes up will come back down
Microsoft XBox Layoffs: Almost 2,000 Layoffs Became "Over 2,000"? (Over 20% of the Staff)
over 20% of staff will be let go, not counting staff that leaves voluntarily
GNU/Linux Rises to New Highs in Angola, Africa in General is Abandoning Windows
Western media barely covers Microsoft layoffs in Africa, but in recent years Microsoft culled the workforce and even shut down entire operations
Summer Plans in Techrights and Elsewhere
massive layoffs at Microsoft
Destination Geminispace (in the Age of LLM Slop and Slop Images That Infest the Web and Social Control Media)
Geminispace isn't vast, but at least it is - on average - a lot "cleaner"
GNU/Linux Growing in Sierra Leone This Year
Based on what statCounter is seeing, this year there are more and more people there who adopt GNU/Linux
Serial Sloppers Gonna Slop
More sites out there ought to call out the cheaters
Quartz (qz.com) is Spam and a Slopfarm
It used to be OK. Then they fired the staff.
Links 30/06/2025: US Economic Woes, Extreme Heat
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 29, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 29, 2025
Gemini Links 30/06/2025: "The AI Hype" and New AuraGem Ask
Links for the day