Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Linux Foundation Has Formally Changed Its Mission! (Based on IRS Files)

Summary: Rather than stick to its mission, which defines the name of the institution, we've witnessed an expansion to promotion of Microsoft GitHub and non-technical things that have nothing to do with Linux (this enables grifting, openwashing etc.)

LATELY we have been digging into this informal copy of the Linux Foundation IRS files, which the IRS appears to be suppressing (we wrote about this many times before). Jim Zemlin signed the 2019 IRS form in 2020 (November 12th to be precise) and yet the IRS isn't releasing the PDF yet. What's going on? It has been nearly 2 years already. This is not normal!



"Is this a legitimate way to raise money?"Looking at this suppressed document, we find that in less than five years the 'Linux' Foundation almost doubled the number of board seats. This might sound OK until people realise those seats are for sale (the Foundation itself admits as such, as we showed earlier this year and in 2020). Imagine if SCOTUS added more Justices... only for corporations that pay to plant their "Justice" (or even up to two per corporation). Since then Microsoft has bought two seats, not just one. Is this a legitimate way to raise money?

"Between 2018 and 2019 the non-salaries expenses of the 'Linux' Foundation went up by a stunning 20%."As we noted the other day, there are Linux Foundation layoffs while operating costs go up considerably for no good reason. It's costly showoff and graft. 2-3 years ago the "Linux" Foundation had already stockpiled about $60,000,000 in the bank, just sitting there. Nevertheless they decided to effectively kill Linux.com by firing all the workers there. "Salaries, other compensation, employee benefits" in the Linux Foundation increase by about 10% per year. Imagine inflation going up at this pace every year. This isn't about Linux but about people who don't even use Linux helping themselves to the bank account, just like in the corrupt EPO. It's a familiar pattern; they just use the name/brand and the good (past) reputation, not to mention goodwill of communities (volunteers). They monetise their own harm.

Between 2018 and 2019 the non-salaries expenses of the 'Linux' Foundation went up by a stunning 20%. That's aside from sky-rocketing salaries the managers deposited in their bank accounts. Remember: they don't even use Linux.

Last but not least, they've changed the mission of the Foundation. Here's when and how:

2015



Linux Foundation's mission in 2015

2016



Linux Foundation's mission in 2016

2017



Linux Foundation's mission in 2017

2018



Linux Foundation's mission in 2018

2019



Linux Foundation's mission in 2019

Who knows what it says now. The IRS releases copies for nothing later than the 2008 forms!

Recent Techrights' Posts

Getting Better After 20 Years
Exactly two months from now this site is turning 20
Gemini Links 07/09/2026: Music Composition, Free Stuff, and Self-hosting Git Repos
Links for the day
Silent Layoffs, Cool-down, and Cool-off: How GAFAM and IBM Operate (the Law Doesn't Apply to Them)
Laws? What laws?
 
Links 07/09/2026: Slop Trashes Memory of Parton, Flock Surveillance Infuriates Everyone
Links for the day
EPO Hiding Cocainegate and Abandoning Transparency (Even Access to Very Basic Information is Denied)
The EPO isn't just becoming like a private for-profit corporation. It's also becoming more secretive.
Richard Stallman Has Resurrected Lost Updates
We didn't ask about it
SLAPP Censorship - Part 174 Out of 200: Cascading Scandals and a Path Towards Much-Needed, Long-Awaited Reform
Reform the UK's law, not "Reform UK"
EPO's Gema Requena Sempere (PD People) Contacted Regarding Children With Disabilities
In the coming week we may be in fruitful contact with some media regarding EPO scandals
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 06, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, September 06, 2026
People Who Enforce the GPL Banned From Linux Foundation Board (After Bribes From Prolific GPL Violators), Now They're Banned From Giving Talks at Events
about the "LF" ('Linux' Foundation)
Gemini Links 06/09/2026: The Slop Plagiarism 'Holy War' (Hype, Scam, Scheme), Burning CD-Rs, and Hardcopy Mono
Links for the day
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Inaction and Incompetence - Part IV - Insufficient Resources in the Face of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) by Lawyers
it's about 120KG
OpenStreetMap is the Future, Dictatorship is the Past
OpenStreetMap helped us check maps for transport, various overlays with addresses, and there was 0% reliance on GAFAM or "Google" anything
How Strikes at the European Patent Office Are Seen by Striking Staff in Berlin, Germany
We have some more EPO scandals to cover later this year and next year
Association for Computing Machinery Cites Techrights in Relation to GemText and Gemini Protocol
published yesterday, Open Access
Links 06/09/2026: More XBox Trouble (Microsoft Unrest, Many Silent Layoffs This Month), John Duffy as Next USPTO General Counsel
Links for the day
Gemini Links 06/09/2026: Avoiding 'Smart' 'Phones' and Setting up Gemini for the First Time
Links for the day
Links 06/09/2026: Sabotage by Slop and "What Happens If 'Open' 'AI' Dies?"
Links for the day
How Back Doors Became the 'Normal' or 'Norm'
"We also allowed a lethal monoculture to fester"
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Inaction and Incompetence - Part III - The SRA is Vastly Worse Than Brits Realise, We Have a "Wild West" in London
In the next part we'll begin looking at correspondence with the SRA
SRA and Manslaughter: How the SRA Contributed to Agony in Proprietary Software Scandals With Clear Misuse of "Without Prejudice"
Trying to prevent the public from finding out the criminal stuff that went on, resulting in many deaths
Canonical (or Ubuntu) Rejecting IRC Isn't the Widespread Trend
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) adoption still growing by some yardsticks
SLAPP Censorship - Part 173 Out of 200: Two Years
It was exactly 2 years ago that we filed lawsuits against Garrett
Linux of America
We could not help but notice GNU/Linux in North America yesterday
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 05, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, September 05, 2026
Gemini Links 06/09/2026: Internet Limiting (Limited Time Allotted) and Solar MiniServer
Links for the day
Eight Months of Strikes in EPO, Organised by the Staff Union (SUEPO) Also in Berlin
In Berlin, only one member of staff voted against the action plan
Links 05/09/2026: "Let’s Stop Buying New Phone" and 'Open' 'AI' (Proprietary Slop) Drowning in Lawsuits
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/09/2026: Polarization, Warped Maps, and Emacs rectangle-number-lines
Links for the day
Software Freedom, Even If Difficult to Attain Due to Outside Pressure, Does Make You Happier
Peer pressure and opinionated employers can make friends and staff more miserable if they dictate bad software
You Can Run GNU/Linux on a Desktop/Laptop for 1,000+ Days Nonstop
To me, the long uptime is a way of "marketing" GNU/Linux as robust and stable
Profiting From Global Warming (and Making More Money the More You Cause Warming)
Unregulated bank and pyramid scheme
SLAPP Censorship - Part 172 Out of 200: The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Complicit in the SLAPPs by Inaction (Didn't Even Study Any Evidence, Only Wasted Time and Budget)
"SRA placed into special measures due to 'disappointing standard of leadership'"
China Does Not Need American (US) Products Like GAFAM's
China has abundance of technical things it can leverage to preserve its autonomy
RMS Didn't Make Enough Backups
Making backups is important
Refresher: Why EPO Staff is on Strike This Year (Aside From the EPO Acting Like a Corrupt, Above-the-Law, For-Profit Corporation That Violates Its Own Charter)
One core issue at the EPO is erosion of purchasing power
Gemini Links 05/09/2026: Fireflies, Shore Pine, and ASCII Art
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 04, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, September 04, 2026