Bonum Certa Men Certa

The OSI's Defunct Elections (Privacy Breach), Conflict of Interest (Nicholson), and Other Lingering Problems

OSI privacy issue
OSI privacy issues. I don't think we're supposed to see the voters' data (publicly accessible here as the front end or the corresponding .json file).



Summary: The above, together with an email from the OSI below, serves to show they're re-running a bad election and -- yet worse! -- there appears to be a conflict of interest implicating the OSI's sole member of staff!

THE OSI is in a state of disarray following the abrupt departure of its sole member of staff one year ago. Coordination is poor, the agenda has shifted in a negative way/direction (like attacks on the FSF), and this is what its interim manager said in a message:



As an Individual Member of the Open Source Initiative who joined by March 4th, you are eligible to vote in the re-run Open Source Initiative's 2021 Board of Directors election. This email includes important information about the election and voting process.

CANDIDATES:

This year TWO (2) Individual Member seats are open. You may view the candidate profiles/bios here:

https://wiki.opensource.org/bin/Main/OSI%20Board%20of%20Directors/Board%20Member%20Elections/2021%20Individual%20and%20Affiliate%20Elections/

VOTING:

Elections for OSI Directors are held according to Approval Voting - see Wikipedia for more information on Approval Voting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Approval_voting

Each voter may "approve of" (i.e., "vote for") any number of candidates, from none (0) to all eleven (11). The winners of the election will be the two candidates who receive the most votes from the voting Individual Members

IMPORTANT!!!

To cast a vote, you will be led through the following steps.

1. Log into Helios (your credentials are included below).

2. Select ("approve") your preferred candidate(s).

3. Review/Confirm your ballot (i.e. who you voted for), then "Submit" your ballot.

4. CAST YOUR BALLOT: PLEASE NOTE, YOU MUST ALSO "CAST YOUR BALLOT" on the screen appearing after you submit your ballot.

IF YOU FAIL TO CLICK THE "CAST YOUR BALLOT" BUTTON YOUR VOTE WILL NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE FINAL TALLY.

IMPORTANT DATES: * July 26, 2021 (11:00 am PDT): Elections open * August 6, 2021 (4:59 pm PDT): Elections close * August 9, 2021 (11:00 am PDT): : Run-off elections open (if needed) * August 13, 2021 (5:00 pm PDT): Run-off elections close * August 23, 2021: New Board Directors seated * First meeting August 24 and 25, 2021

QUESTIONS:

If you have any questions feel free to contact Deb Nicholson at d.nicholson@opensource.org

Election URL: https://vote.heliosvoting.org/helios/e/JulyIndividual2021/vote


Have lessons been learned from the last time around?

We're not too sure.

The OSI elections... again seem to have a security/privacy issue, compromising the integrity of the whole process. As one source told us (see screenshot, links etc. at the top), issues linger on "and then there's this privacy concern."

"The OSI elections... again seem to have a security/privacy issue, compromising the integrity of the whole process.""sjvn hasn't voted yet," the source noted. Are we supposed to even know that? "Shows all members and whether they voted or not to the general public..."

This is bad enough in its own right, especially given prior events and context (compromised election).

"However," our source added, "I saw the OSI elections are currently being... reheld. So, not sure because I did not document who was going for elections but... I noticed Salt there. He has a long standing relationship with Nicholson, the Interim General Manager. So, Salt running for a position where he has history with the "manager" is odd, but we are well aware of the cronyism in the past. What really struck me was his bio, where he discusses paid positions for Executive Director and staff."

To quote:

Why I am running

The OSI is a leading voice when it comes to the conversation surrounding free/libre/open culture and values. It is currently at a point of inflection, transitioning from an (almost) entirely volunteer-driven organization, to one with an Executive Director and paid staff.


Yes, "paid staff." Like a company. That would more or less confirm what the OSI has become. It diverts more than half of its funds into Microsoft GitHub promotion, i.e. proprietary software. Is this the future of OSI?

"That would more or less confirm what the OSI has become. It diverts more than half of its funds into Microsoft GitHub promotion, i.e. proprietary software."As our source noted: "This could get interesting!"

The cronyism at the EPO comes to mind (Benoît Battistelli and António Campinos stuffing or staffing up the management with friends of theirs, not qualified people).

We shall patiently watch the next steps.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Comparing U.E.F.I. to B.I.O.S. (Bloat and Insecurity to K.I.S.S.)
By Sami Tikkanen
New 'Slides' From Stallman Support (stallmansupport.org) Site
"In celebration of RMS's birthday, we've been playing a bit. We extracted some quotes from the various articles, comments, letters, writings, etc. and put them in the form of a slideshow in the home page."
Thailand: GNU/Linux Up to 6% of Desktops/Laptops, According to statCounter
Desktop Operating System Market Share Thailand
António Campinos is Still 'The Fucking President' (in His Own Words) After a Fake 'Election' in 2022 (He Bribed All the Voters to Keep His Seat)
António Campinos and the Administrative Council, whose delegates he clearly bribed with EPO budget in exchange for votes
Adrian von Bidder, homeworking & Debian unexplained deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Sainsbury’s Epic Downtime Seems to be Microsoft's Fault and Might Even Constitute a Data Breach (Legal Liability)
one of Britain's largest groceries (and beyond) chains
 
People Don't Just Kill Themselves (Same for Other Animals)
And recent reports about Boeing whistleblower John Barnett
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 18, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, March 18, 2024
Suicide Cluster Cover-up tactics & Debian exposed
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 19/03/2024: A Society That Lost Focus and Abandoning Social Control Media
Links for the day
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE: Plagiarism & Child labour in YH4F
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Linux Foundation Boasting About Being Connected to Bill Gates
Examples of boasting about the association
Alexandre Oliva's Article on Monstering Cults
"I'm told an earlier draft version of this post got published elsewhere. Please consider this IMHO improved version instead."
[Meme] 'Russian' Elections in Munich (Bavaria, Germany)
fake elections
Sainsbury's to Techrights: Yes, Our Web Site Broke Down, But We Cannot Say Which Part or Why
Windows TCO?
Plagiarism: Axel Beckert (ETH Zurich) & Debian Developer list hacking
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 18/03/2024: Putin Cements Power
Links for the day
Flashback 2003: Debian has always had a toxic culture
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
[Meme] You Know You're Winning the Argument When...
EPO management starts cursing at everybody (which is what's happening)
Catspaw With Attitude
The posts "they" complain about merely point out the facts about this harassment and doxing
'Clown Computing' Businesses Are Waning and the Same Will Happen to 'G.A.I.' Businesses (the 'Hey Hi' Fame)
decrease in "HEY HI" (AI) hype
Free Software Needs Watchdogs, Too
Gentle lapdogs prevent self-regulation and transparency
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE analogous to identity fraud
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 18/03/2024: LLM Inference and Can We Survive Technology?
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 17, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, March 17, 2024
Links 17/03/2024: Microsoft Windows Shoves Ads Into Third-Party Software, More Countries Explore TikTok Ban
Links for the day
Molly Russell suicide & Debian Frans Pop, Lucy Wayland, social media deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Our Plans for Spring
Later this year we turn 18 and a few months from now our IRC community turns 16
Open Invention Network (OIN) Fails to Explain If Linux is Safe From Microsoft's Software Patent Royalties (Charges)
Keith Bergelt has not replied to queries on this very important matter
RedHat.com, Brought to You by Microsoft Staff
This is totally normal, right?
USPTO Corruption: People Who Don't Use Microsoft Will Be Penalised ~$400 for Each Patent Filing
Not joking!
The Hobbyists of Mozilla, Where the CEO is a Bigger Liability Than All Liabilities Combined
the hobbyist in chief earns much more than colleagues, to say the least; the number quadrupled in a matter of years
Jim Zemlin Says Linux Foundation Should Combat Fraud Together With the Gates Foundation. Maybe They Should Start With Jim's Wife.
There's a class action lawsuit for securities fraud
Not About Linux at All!
nobody bothers with the site anymore; it's marketing, and now even Linux
Links 17/03/2024: Abuses Against Human Rights, Tesla Settlement (and Crash)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 16, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, March 16, 2024
Under Taliban, GNU/Linux Share Nearly Doubled in Afghanistan, Windows Sank From About 90% to 68.5%
Suffice to say, we're not meaning to imply Taliban is "good"
Debian aggression: woman asked about her profession
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 17/03/2024: Winter Can't Hurt Us Anymore and Playstation Plus
Links for the day