Bonum Certa Men Certa

Year 16

Techrights Year 16



Summary: And just like that, in the quiet of the night, ends our anniversary; we have a lot in store (coming soon)

Today we did not produce many articles; we rested a bit, as it's both a Sunday and a birthday. Tomorrow, as in about an hour from now, our 16th year commences, and then we'll release Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part V (part of a long series that will explain some internal affairs -- mostly scandals -- at GitHub). For those who missed the first 4 parts (we estimate about 20 to come, in total):

  1. Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part I — Inside a Den of Corruption and Misogynists
  2. Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part II — The Campaign Against GPL Compliance and War on Copyleft Enforcement
  3. Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part III — A Story of Plagiarism and Likely Securities Fraud
  4. Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part IV — Mr. MobileCoin: From Mono to Plagiarism... and to Unprecedented GPL Violations at GitHub (Microsoft)


The past year has been exceptionally rewarding. We exposed a lot of EPO corruption and published important revelations about the Free software community. We actually foresaw and foretold some of the Freenode/IRC wars, having become aware of them about a month in advance (we attempted to ameliorate/defuse things). At the end, Libera Chat basically replaced Freenode, but it not growing much after the collapse of Freenode... it got 'stuck' at around 45,000-49,000 users, compared to 80,000-90,000+ in Freenode. Based on the latest figure that we've reproduced below, it's OFTC gaining a bit and hopefully many people have since then moved to self-hosted IRC networks (folks should quit relying on centralised IRC giants -- they themselves are part of the problem!).

IRC top 10

Our writing style has not changed much since 2006. I'm still the principal editor, but there are many of us involved in researching and writing. It's a group effort. Techrights is a real community and it is thriving because people who care about software freedom trust us, based on our track record.

"Over in our Gemini capsule we're archiving important documents, leaks, and books."Now that the CEO of GitHub is leaving we don't expect the main series to yield results in the expulsion/resignation sense. But we still hope it'll illuminate reasons for people to drop GitHub like a hot plate and move somewhere else. At a later stage in the series we plan to name some of the alternatives/replacements, having assessed them for our own use over the past year or so. We ended up rolling out our own with Gemini.

As far as I'm concerned, GitHub is the next CodePlex or the old Freenode. Without the trust, which erodes rapidly, people will flee. The exodus started years ago, but Microsoft presents false/fake numbers that include deleted accounts. We discussed this in IRC the other day (more direct link).

Over in our Gemini capsule we're archiving important documents, leaks, and books. We need to preserve such material for decades to come. We'll have further announcements to that effort in the coming days.

Recent Techrights' Posts

How We Do Techrights (and What's Changing Next Week)
Many former news sites no longer yield much non-meaningless news (not anymore); there's a gap to be filled
Links 12/07/2026: Palantir Unrest and Wireshark 4.6.7
Links for the day
Links 12/07/2026: New Instrument Time and PalmOS Experiences in 2026
Links for the day
Red Hat Staff Says IBM Policy Has Stigmatised Him as a Tool and a Slopper With Plagiarism Tools
IBM is killing Red Hat with slop
Freedom of Choice or Freedom Versus Choice (or When All Choices Are Incompatible With Freedom)
When some business asserts that it gives people different options, then it can rightly argue that it offers some choices, but that is not the same as freedom
Techrights IRC Turns 5 Without a “Code of Conduct”, “Code of Conduct Committee”, and All Those Bureaucratic Nightmares
18+ years if one counts our time in Freenode as well
Why U No Use AI???
Many hype waves come and go
There Are Still Slopfarms in Google News
Google is trying to participate in if not lead this pyramid scheme
The Cyber Show Explains How Slop and Promotion of Slop is About Taking Control Away From Computer Users
"On making a trustworthy machine"
Keeping Available the Site at All Times
Informal arrangements and crowdfunding keep our work available despite resistance (including from people who break the law)
What If "Era of AI" and "AI Revolution" (Fake News) Never Happened?
So how much longer before the bust (or bubble-burst)?
GNU/Linux Approaches 5% in Australia
5% by year's end?
Europe/EU is Moving Towards Independence, Fast to Adopt Free Software
More and more states (governments, public sector) in Germany are dumping Microsoft
GNU/Linux Grows at the Expense of Windows
People who want to get work done already left Windows
Tux Machines Growing as a Volunteers-Run Site
Historically the site did not have many original stories, but this changed as the audience grew and the site gained more recognition
Links 12/07/2026: European Commission Versus ‘Addictive Design’, "Google Loses Final Appeal Over $4.7 Billion EU Android Antitrust Fine"
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Market Share Increases Some More Today, statCounter Measures It at 7.3%
Will more such thresholds and records be broken?
Gemini Links 12/07/2026: Studying Languages and 2026 Old Computer Challenge (OCC)
Links for the day
EPO "Cocaine Communication Manager" - Part XIII - At the EPO, Cocaine Addicts and Their Friends Are "Protected Class"
What does that tell us about the EPO?
Increasing Output by Focusing on Originals
It's probably more important to carry on with these than it is to keep abreast of non-crucial news
Amid Strikes and Industrial Actions, Young Professionals at the European Patent Office (EPO) Kept on 'Short Leash', According to the Local Staff Committee The Hague
Issues affecting Young Professionals
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 11, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, July 11, 2026
Blogs May be Making a Comeback (They're Not Fediverse, They Are Joined by RSS Feeds)
Don't fake expansion where none existed
ChromeOS and GNU/Linux in the United Kingdom Reach 11%
the UK shows signs of digital maturity
Corporate Media: Blame the People Who Enter the Abandoned IBM Buildings, Not IBM for Abandoning Workers in Pursuit of IT Sweatshops
When the media spreads falsehoods stocks can go up (a lot higher), but at whose expense and how long for?
Canonical is Selling Microsoft, It Pays The Register MS to Sell Microsoft
It's all about money to them. And they call this journalism.
When Red Hat's HR Becomes the Same as IBM's HR (Bluewashing)
Red Hat keeps sacking very experienced engineers and adding temporary interns
GNU/Linux Growing in East Asia
Assuming this is more or less accurate, we could use a plausible explanation
SUEPO Munich Report on the Recent EPO Demonstration and Rolling Strikes That Continue to Grow
"increasing registrations for the 'rolling strikes' running until autumn"
Over a Week After Microsoft Discontinued Some XBox Models It Apparently Exits Some Markets Altogether
We seem to be witnessing the end of XBox
Gemini Links 11/07/2026: Old Computer challenge, Poems, Antenna, and More
Links for the day
Links 11/07/2026: "Trademark wars of Influencer Culture", Xinuos Uses Copyrights Versus UNIX
Links for the day
North America: GNU/Linux Measured at 10%
To better understand what contributes to the gains
Following Corrections and Adjustments statCounter Sees GNU/Linux at 7.1%, an All-Time High
There is a lot of layoffs at Microsoft this month
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 10, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, July 10, 2026
Links 11/07/2026: Wednesday-Saturday News Catch-up
Links for the day
Prioritising High-Importance News
In order to fully catch up with news we'll not publish many new articles until next week