Bonum Certa Men Certa

Reality and Expectation: GNU/Linux Isn't Hiding Anything and That Makes It a Lot Stronger (No Embarrassing 'Leaks')

Subaru: Proprietary software marketing; Proprietary software reality



Summary: Our Debian transparency drive is yielding positive results; there's no real harm done and people nowadays understand things a lot better, capable of assessing the project's past and how it can be improved (for the present and future)

THE Free (libre, livre, freedom) software world is oftentimes a "PR-free zone" in which problems can't be concealed, nor is it a goal to conceal them. That's a positive thing because you generally know what you're getting.

More than 10 years ago E-mail surfaced in the courts showing how Microsoft had worked behind the scenes to bury the disaster of Vista, p[l]aying a bunch of so-called 'journalists' (more like Microsoft moles with media access/credentials) to manufacture a bunch of fake hype. That's typical Microsoft at 'work' -- lying, cheating, infiltrating. We can -- and clearly we should -- strive to do as well as to be better than that.

"More than 10 years ago E-mail surfaced in the courts showing how Microsoft had worked behind the scenes to bury the disaster of Vista, p[l]aying a bunch of so-called 'journalists' (more like Microsoft moles with media access/credentials) to manufacture a bunch of fake hype."We need not replace one evil with another or one brand€® with another (one could argue that Apple's marketing strategy isn't more ethical than Microsoft's).

Today we've carried on reading the archives of Debian-Private -- the first lump of which we published last Saturday, i.e. the end of August. In that installment alone there are over 8,000 E-mails, some technical in nature and some akin to gossip (we don't care much about the gossip, even if it's more 'juicy' in nature). Much is being said there about Richard Stallman, the FSF, Red Hat and so on. It is an important glimpse at the history of GNU/Linux through the lenses of the most important distribution (the base system for most distributions, with perhaps hundreds of millions installations 'out there', maybe over a billion if embedded devices are counted).

"Today we've carried on reading the archives of Debian-Private -- the first lump of which we published last Saturday, i.e. the end of August."Techrights wrote several articles before releasing that trove of old E-mails, expressing the purpose and intent, which wasn't to harm but to research and shed light. Right now, Free software is under attack and the patterns aren't unprecedented (the Halloween Documents were already seen in 1998); we need to understand them in order to respond effectively. We need not hide things and brush under the rug a bunch of old communications which prove we're all humans (and yes, everybody can have a temper tantrum sometimes).

It is expected that some time soon we'll publish another batch of E-mails (timeline unclear, dependent on leaks/leakers). Every now and then we find something relevant to the present; if not a 'smoking gun', then at least a cautionary tale. The modus operandi, so to speak, changes very little over time. The woes are alike.

Having just reviewed about 500 comments regarding our 'Linusgate' article, we've noticed an old distraction tactic, basically anonymous cowards saying things along the lines of, "this is old news" (even if the underlying E-mails were never published before and the general public could not see them until 8 days ago).

"In Techrights we publish full logs each morning, including most E-mails related to the site (albeit anonymised, for obvious reasons)."If we live in a free world with Free software and free speech, we ought not be afraid of transparency. Most of what I've seen so far is hardly controversial (I went through about 2,000 E-mails individually); there are no conspiracies against people but an open debate, mostly technical in nature, with a little gossip or disputes here and there. There's no reason to keep Debian-Private secret for nearly 25 years (some of these E-mails will be older than 25 years in a matter of months). Maybe at some point the Debian project itself will decide to publish these, gradually, instead of others doing it (imposed transparency). We sure hope so. It's well overdue.

When people install GNU/Linux (or some BSD distribution) they deserve to know what they're getting, including the nature of the developers/community/ies that pack together all those bits of software. We need not hide from who/what we are. In Techrights we publish full logs each morning, including most E-mails related to the site (albeit anonymised, for obvious reasons). We've been doing this since 2008 and it never really harmed us. Honestly, it hasn't!

We've admittedly neglected some European Patent Office (EPO) scandals lately. There's stuff we could cover, such as this new rant from lawyers. "The EPO should tell parties directly if the location of an oral hearing has been changed, in-house counsel say, but others believe this is unnecessary," says a report. The EPO remains very secretive, but then again it's a patent office, not a Free software community. It's trying to work in secret at its own peril as sooner or later people typically leak to us all/most of the documents of interest, whereupon the EPO fails to 'control the narrative' and is left red-faced.

Being transparent is generally a lot better; it helps avert scandals and outrage because people behave differently when they're seen (or there's perception of accountability). Now going back to Debian, one recurring theme or complaint is that gossip networks were created and even encouraged, emboldening a bunch of non-productive people to experiment on volunteers with unwarranted witch-hunts. Had there been more transparency, this would not be possible. Thus, our transparency drive carries on...

Recent Techrights' Posts

XBox is Rapidly Turned Into a Slopfarm by Microsoft
Slop isn't about efficiency and saving money
Reboots Should Never be Necessary
"BUT WHAT ABOUT SECURITY!!"
Microsoft's Halloween Documents and systemd, Wayland, Etc.
Maybe one day Wayland will be widespread. Or maybe not.
 
Gemini Links 15/07/2025: Smolweb and Alhena 5.1.7
Links for the day
The Danes Want GNU/Linux
David Heinemeier Hansson recently moved to GNU/Linux
Cory Doctorow Explains Why Software Freedom Matters, Whereas "Open Source" Misses the Point and Helps Monopolies
It's a very long article
BillPR (EpsteinGate-Bribed NPR) is Turning Into a Partial Slopfarm that Promotes Slop
"I went on a date with a chatbot!"
Two Weeks Passed Since Latest Large Wave of Microsoft Layoffs, More Expected Next Month
Blaming the debt on "AI" is just self-serving storytelling
There's Still Hope for the World Wide Web
Let's hope that the trajectory of the Web won't be leading us to over-reliance on Google, nor will it reward worthless slopfarms
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 14, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, July 14, 2025
Gemini Links 15/07/2025: Gemini "Style Sheets" and Switching From Microsoft GitHub to Codeberg
Links for the day
Coming Soon: Another OSI Scandal, This One Implicating Molly de Blanc
OSI has been fairly quiet lately
Outreachy & Debian pregnancy cluster, Meike Reichle evidence
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Again, "Lunduke is Actually Sending His Audience to Attack People"
Microsoft Lunduke is not trying to "protect" Linux
One of the Most Hilarious Things About the Microsoft SLAPPs
It's so ridiculous
Financial Support for the Free Software Foundation or the GNU Project
The FSF has extended until Friday its fund-raising campaign
Illegally Hiding (or Demanding Secrecy Around) Illegal Requests or Attempts at Extortion
unlawful communications like threats
Gemini Links 14/07/2025: BOFH Archive, Updating Old Palm PDAS, and Nginx vs Slop Bots
Links for the day
Ubuntu is Becoming GAFAM-Like
What does that say about Canonical and Ubuntu?
Slopfarms Which Take Real Articles About GNU/Linux and Turn Them Into Copycats Which Are False
Even before the LLM hype those were quite common
The Firm That Picks on Techrights is Accustomed to Working With Criminals
Techrights never did anything illegal. So why is it being picked on by people who work with criminals?
Microsoft Said the Mass Layoffs Were for "Investment" in "AI", But It's Also Laying Off the "AI" and "Copilot" Staff
Months ago we showed many so-called "AI" people were getting the boot and this time it's the same
DryDeadFish is Dead, Long Live DryDeadFish
We kept checking, hoping it can recover from some temporary technical issue
For Quite Some Time Already Microsoft Attracts Crackpots, Scams, and More
Occasionally we talk about the situation at IBM as there are many parallels
Links 14/07/2025: Chatbots Broken Again, McHire LLM Shows Limits of the Hype
Links for the day
Changing One's Name Won't Change One's Past
People who have earned a bad reputation are not magically "entitled" to reset
People Who Assault Women Are Not Victims of "Distress"
It seems like an American tradition. In a country with almost 50 presidents, not even one was a female.
Slashdot Media Turned Linux Journal Into a Slopfarm and Now Slashdot Actively Promotes Anti-Linux Slopfarms
Yes, "no-nonsense" apparently means actual nonsense
Adoption of Gemini Protocol Still Growing
Gemini Protocol is being obscured by the media - it doesn't help that Google 'hijacked' the word "Gemini" - but people still manage to find out about it, download a client, and use it
Links 14/07/2025: Arresting Photographers, Threats to Revoke US Citizenship Over Criticism
Links for the day
More EPO Leaks on the Way
We hope that Mr. Rowan will actually try to refute what we say and show, not merely point the finger at the messengers
Decommodification is a Corporate Strategy Against Communities
systemd is led by Microsoft and hosted by Microsoft
copyleft.org 'Hijacked' by the People Who Attack the Person Who Created Copyleft
So far there's nothing "tasteless" in copyleft.org, but that can change at any time in the future
Asking People to Take Down Articles and Videos Only Makes These More Popular and "Viral"
If you do something bad, one of the worst things you can possibly do it try to silence those who speak about it
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 13, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 13, 2025
Two-Thirds Towards FSF Goal, Richard Stallman to Give Talks in Europe
There are 67 left before reaching the target
Brett Wilson LLP "Takes it Personal" (Character Assassination, Not Professionalism). Everybody Can See That.
On behalf of violent men
Gemini Links 14/07/2025: Politicised Tech and "Leaving GitHub"
Links for the day
Pissing Contests and Pissing Off Everyone
people who came from Microsoft are trying to vex and divide the community
Microsoft Repeats the Mistakes Made by the EPO After We Exposed a Major Microsoft/EPO Scandal 10 Years Ago
That scandal was all over the media, not just in English
The Demise of LLMs
We've just checked BetaNews again. They've dropped all the slop and went back to human authors.
Gemini Links 13/07/2025: Sonpo Museum of Art and FCEUX
Links for the day
Links 13/07/2025: UnitedHealth's Censorship Campaign, Australia Wary of China
Links for the day
Firing Away With Nonsense
Or fighting fire with fire
Links 13/07/2025: Climate Crisis, GAFAM Poisoning the Water
Links for the day
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