Bonum Certa Men Certa

Status Update: DDoS, Traffic, Interns

The liberty statue



Summary: Times are difficult for liberty/freedom; but we're trying to stay on top of it all in spite of attempts to derail us

THIS past month we've managed to produce more stories, short posts, memes and feature articles than usual. Our goal is to return to the dozen or so per day (as we did a decade ago).



"DDoS attacks of various forms have been attempted for 2-3 weeks, on and off..."Over at Tux Machines, which over the past week saw an all-time traffic record for the second week in a row, DDoS attacks have spread (it started about 5 days ago), causing the site to be unavailable or unbearably slow at times. Here in Techrights attacks were attempted as recently as less than 24 hours ago. DDoS attacks of various forms have been attempted for 2-3 weeks, on and off...

We're aware that some people are sometimes not able -- or barely able -- to access Techrights. We're improving our defenses over time. We're ready to file complaints and reports if those attacks persist and intensify; it usually takes far more time than it's worth.

We've meanwhile been training someone from South Africa to help with Tux Machines. The situation there is grim (access to basic resources, especially at times of crises like this terrible pandemic), so it has taken up a lot of time with little to show for it. Internships can be extremely time-consuming with no guarantee of any output whatsoever.

We've meanwhile been looking deeper and deeper into the events some dubbed "Free software 9/11"; the European Patent Office (EPO) still interests us, but not much is happening there and the USPTO we've mostly relegated to Daily Links (with focus on 35 U.S.C. €§ 101 cases). So we write more about GNU/Linux...

"Internships can be extremely time-consuming with no guarantee of any output whatsoever."There are all sorts of ways people can help Techrights. Any help can lead to improved productivity, hence more articles. The best way to communicate about ways to help is our IRC channels. We pick E-mail less regularly and we don't do "social control media" (it's more of a noise machine, designed to provoke and reward for emotional impact rather than accuracy or quality; "likes" don't represent objective value but sometimes just sheer anger or a measure like "celebrity status").

We love hearing from readers and it motivates us to carry on. Our workflow is improving over time, even if it can be a tad slow (e.g. overhead in picking up mail). Our accuracy is still of utmost interest and memes are for entertainment value, albeit they're based on underlying facts (presented with some humour).

"Our accuracy is still of utmost interest and memes are for entertainment value, albeit they're based on underlying facts (presented with some humour)."The riots in the US are manifesting or replicating themselves as protests in the UK (I've seen no concrete evidence of violence, sabotage or arson; the state media calls it "UK anti-racism protests" and celebrities get involved). The economy isn't really recovering; people being forced to go back to work (despite health risk) is merely evidence of systemic failure, putting financial interests ahead of basic safety. The American oligarchs earned an additional 60 billion dollars (or something in that region) since the riots began, so you know who stands to gain and who stands to lose...

As a 'remote' worker (I don't consider home to be "remote" per se) I'm still hanging in there, managing to pay the bills. That limits the amount of time I can spend on Techrights, but at least it keeps Techrights going.

Stay safe, stay home if possible (the oligarchs want you back at work, working for them) and don't forget the value of solidarity, as well as the power of reconciliation. Vandalism helps make a point; but it creates nothing.

"Forgiveness is not an occasional act: it is a permanent attitude." --Martin Luther King Jr.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Using SLAPPs to Cover Up Sexual Abuse and Strangulation
The exact same legal team of the Serial Strangler from Microsoft and Garrett already has a history fighting against "metoo"
 
Turns Out LLMs for Code Don't Save Time and Don't Improve Quality
Neither legal nor useful
The Microsofters Will Have an Obligation to Compensate Us
This story isn't just about Microsoft. It's also about corruption, there are many women victims, there is abject "abuse of process", and many more scandals to be illuminated in years to come.
Reproducing at the EPO Instead of Producing Monopolies for Foreign Monopolies With Their Price-Fixing Cartels
Does the EPO recognise the need of well-educated Europeans to bear kids?
Valnet Inc. Dominates Real (Not LLM Slop) GNU/Linux Coverage in 2025
And likely in prior years, too
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Fund Raiser Goes on
Later this month we'll expose another OSI scandal
EPO Staff Representatives Issue a Warning About Staff's Health and Inadequate Care
Even the EPO's own stakeholders (money sources) are openly protesting against what the EPO became
Links 13/07/2025: Partly Assorted News From Deutsche Welle and CBC
Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/07/2025: Board Games and Battle Styles
Gemini Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 12, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, July 12, 2025
Plunder at the Second-Largest Institution in Europe
cuts, neglect, health problems, even early deaths
Links 12/07/2025: Political Developments, Attack on Opposition, Climate Actions
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/07/2025: Melodic Musings and Small Web July
Links for the day
Links 12/07/2025: Jail in China for Homoerotica, South Korea Discriminates Against Old Workers
Links for the day
If Only Everything Was Rewritten in Rust, We'd Have No More Security Issues?
Nope.
Links 12/07/2025: Birdwatching and Fake/Misleading Wall Street 'Valuation' Figures
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/07/2025: How to Avoid Writing, Apps for Android
Links for the day
EPO Staff Committee on Harassment in the Workplace
slides
Adding the Voice of Writers to UK SLAPP Reform
The journey to repair antiquated (monarchy era) laws will likely be long
EPO Takes More Money From Staff for Speculation (Pensions), Actuarial Study Explains the Impact
"The key change in this year’s Actuarial Study, due to cascading the new “risk appetite” from the financial study, is a significant increase of the total pension contribution rate of 5.7 percentage points, up to a total of 37.8%. This is driven by an unprecedented decrease in the discount rate of 105 bps down to 2.2%."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 11, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, July 11, 2025
Microsoft - Like IBM - Does the "Relocation" Tricks (Start Over Elsewhere, Then Get Sacked by Microsoft)
It is a "low blow" or a "dick move"
After the Free Software Foundation's Campaign to Raise Money Let's See Campaigns to Finish Off Microsoft (Vista 11, GitHub etc.)
Microsoft is in effect collapsing
Your Publications Have No Major Impact Unless or Until You "Get Some Heat"
we're on the right track
Slopwatch: A Cause for Hope, the Hype is Dying
For about a month we showed that becoming a slopfarm - for several weeks - resulted in utter failure and ruin for BetaNews
Links 11/07/2025: Censorship Worsening, 3D Printing Success Stories, UK and France Unite Around Nukes
Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/07/2025: Zorin OS and Scriptonite Updates
Links for the day
Links 11/07/2025: Hardware, Russia, and China
Links for the day
Links 11/07/2025: Intel Collapsing and Microsoft Resorts to Bribery to Push Slop Via Obligatory Education
Links for the day
The EFF Sided With the Team That Strangles Women and Tells Women to Kill Themselves
They say that apathy and inaction are a form of a "stance"
"Nat [Friedman] and [the Serial Strangler From Microsoft] Were Always Exceptionally Close," Says Former Housemate and Colleague
Now Alex (hiding behind another name when that suits him) not only attacks women but also people who merely report what he did to women
Exemplary List of Things That Are Not Artificial Intelligence or Even Intelligence
The "age of AI" or "era of AI" or "AI revolution" mostly boils down to rebranding, just like "the cloud"
New Letter From the European Patent Office Explains How the Office Plots to Grant Many Illegal Patents, a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of 'Growth'
Open letter to Mr Rowan (VP1) and Mr Aledo Lopez (COO)
Abuse of Process
5RB is employing people who help violent men
What Microsoft's Nat Friedman and Microsoft Lunduke Have in Common
"Get in da car; No time to explain, loser"
Microsoft and IBM Don't Have Much of a Future (They Mostly Pretend at This Point)
IBM and Microsoft are in some ways alike but in many ways different
It's Not Just Twitter (or X.com) That's Dying, Microsoft's Equivalent is Dying Also
Unable to find a business model
GitHub Copilot Can Cause the Bankruptcy of GitHub to Come Sooner and GitHub to be Shut Down Just Like Skype
Some publicly available information suggests that even for each paid subscriber for plagiarism (LLM 'coding') GitHub Copilot still loses more money than it makes
Wayland is Bad for the Planet
If you use Wayland, it'll take you longer to accomplish tasks and you will consume more energy (or battery life)
Legitimising Those Who Sabotage You
Microsoft is a very malicious company
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 10, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, July 10, 2025
On Microsoft Layoffs
we might be looking at about 60,000 Microsoft layoffs since 2023
EPO Management Already Breaks Its Own Promise (Lie) on "Bringing Teams Together"
This gut-punching move happened just 2 days ago
Gemini Links 11/07/2025: Occupation of 2025 and "Old Man Yells At Soundcloud"
Links for the day
Our Lawsuits Against the 'Cancel Mob' (Ringleaders) Helped Reduce Anti-Free Software Online Abuse
That's not to say that lawsuits are the best way to handle terrible people. But that can help.