Bonum Certa Men Certa

OSI Taken Over (Even More Than Before) by Microsoft, Whereas FSF Removes Troublemakers

Video download link | md5sum 81464650c130041e9d942408553f3cee Promising Changes in FSF Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0



Summary: The Open Source Initiative isn't what it's called; it's becoming more and more like a front group of proprietary software, offering sinister technology giants a bunch of openwashing services; contrary to that, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) fought to regain its identity and this week we saw evidence of that

THE video above concerns the appointment of Zoë Kooyman, which we mentioned two days ago. Since doing that video, based on this announcement, Kooyman herself wrote this statement, shown above in the video.



Microsoft and FSFSome people have been asking what it means to the FSF (and to GNU), so I wanted to respond in the form of a video ("No Derivative" so people cannot distort what I actually said). Kooyman was in fact selected (promoted) months ago.

It has meanwhile been advertised by the new chief of the OSI that, following his admission that half of the OSI's budget goes to Microsoft, there's now even more of Microsoft inside the management and steering team. "He is Director of Developer Policy and Counsel for" Microsoft. Now he's also a Director at the OSI. To quote: "Joining the board as a Director is Justin Colannino, who was appointed by the board in January. Justin joins us with a decade of experience representing clients at the intersection of free and open source software communities and for-profit enterprises. He is Director of Developer Policy and Counsel for GitHub where he advocates for developers' ability to innovate, collaborate, and have equal opportunity. Justin also serves as Senior Corporate Counsel, Open Source and Standards for Microsoft where he is part of a small team that oversees legal processes to enable open source engagement at massive scale, as well as maintaining an active pro-bono practice for free and open source software communities."

Microsoft and OSIWhen it comes to advocacy, the OSI has been dead for years. No wonder many have left. Drew DeVault thinks he can change OSI for the better, but the OSI is already thoroughly infiltrated and it'll resist any meaningful change. The board now has a Director who is clearly hostile; those are people who are attacking Open Source and Software Freedom (GitHub is an attack on both; it is also an attack on communities and on Git itself (EEE)).

The OSI isn't merely irrelevant. It's just dead. Or in the words of an associate, "OSI is more than dead, it is malignant." Don't waste even a single dollar on it. Microsoft already subsidises this front group, just like it does the Linux Foundation, which openly attacks Linux and even advocates/promotes the competition of Linux. Sure, it calls itself the "Linux Foundation", but that doesn't mean it really cares about Linux (look who runs it!) and similarly the Open Source Initiative is happy to promote Microsoft's proprietary software at the expense of Open Source.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news
The Myth of an Aging (or Dying) GNU/Linux Leadership
Self-fulfilling prophecies as a tactic?
 
Rumour: Major Finance Layoffs at Microsoft Next Week
If the rumour is true, we'll be hearing barely anything from the mainstream media next week
Links 07/12/2023: More EPO Patents Squashed, More Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine "Glitches" Found
Links for the day
Still Not 'Canceled'
Ted Ts'o, Jan Kara, Linus Torvalds last month
Google is Googlebombing the Term "Gemini"
Could Google not pick a name that's already "taken"?
Links 06/12/2023: Bitcoin Rebound, China Downgraded by American Firm, Yahoo! Layoffs Again
Links for the day
Shooting the Messenger Using Bribes and Secrecy Bonds
We seem to live in a world where accountability for the rich and well-connected barely exists anymore
Links 06/12/2023: Many More December Layoffs
Links for the day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, December 05, 2023
IRC logs for Tuesday, December 05, 2023
PipeWire 1.0: Linux audio comes of age
Once upon a time, serious audio users like musicians and audio engineers had real trouble with Linux
This is How 'Linux' Foundation Presents Linux to the World
Right now it even picks Windows over Linux in some cases
Links 05/12/2023: Microsoft's Chatbot as Health Hazard
Links for the day
There's Nothing "Funny" About Attacking Free Speech and Software Freedom
persistent focus on the principal issues is very important
Professor Eben Moglen Explained How Software Patent Threats Had Changed Around 2014 (Alice Case) and What Would Happen Till 2025
clip aged reasonably well
GNU/Linux Adoption in Africa, a Passageway Towards Freedom From Neo-Colonialism
Digi(tal)-Colonialism and/or Techolonialism are a thing. Can Africa flee the trap?
CNN Contributes to Demolition of the Open Web
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
Eben Moglen on Encryption and Anonymity
The alternate net we need, and how we can build it ourselves
Yet More Microsofters Inside the Board of Mozilla (Which Has Just Outsourced Firefox Development to Microsoft's Proprietary Prison)
Do you want a browser controlled (and spied on) by such a company?
IRC Proceedings: Monday, December 04, 2023
IRC logs for Monday, December 04, 2023
GNU/Linux Now Exceeds 3.6% Market Share on Desktops/Laptops, According to statCounter
things have changed for Windows in China
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news
Links 05/12/2023: Debt Brake in Germany and Layoffs at Condé Nast (Reddit, Wired, Ars Technica and More)
Links for the day