Debian Project Does Not Care About Freedom Anymore, It Only Cares About Its Image and Elite Interests Inside the Project
AS a longtime Debian user myself, I'm deeply disgusted by what happened in Debian these past 2-3 days under the leadership of a new German DPL, who instead or changing course simply doubled down on a journey to nowhere, i.e. same as his two predecessors, covering up for a hungry Lion, not a sacrificial Lamb.
To be very clear, without feeding ad hominem attacks, the Debian Project now ATTACKS its UNPAID VOLUNTEERS. How's that for gratitude?
Why? Because they expose harassment (e.g. against women) by Debian and its affiliates, e.g. Google/GSoC. So, in effect, Debian 'elites' DO NOT WANT TO HEAR IT. They now ATTACK THE VICTIMS and those who speak for the victims. Defaming people whom they never even paid for their work. This is surreal. But this is really what's happening.
The way Debian's handlers (Google, Microsoft etc. - follow the money at SPI) are treating volunteers ought to be the subject of a very long book or multiple volumes of books. They would slander whatever author had a go at that though. They attack the messengers and even work to deplatform them - just to ensure they cannot be heard online.
What sort of project (or even company) does this? Not even Novell was that obscene.
As an aside, Debian has inside it some truly insipid people who constantly attack the very creators of Linux and GNU. The trolls and serial defamers want us to think Linus Torvalds is objectionable because he doesn't swallow every Microsoft patch. While it might be true that he can be rude (at times; usually when the recipients of this perceived rudeness deserve this), framing him as a sexist is a huge lie, it is dishonest to say the least. Similarly, Linux has security defects and real issues. Sometimes it is released with known issues. It is OK to criticise these, there's nothing wrong with it, but stick to the facts, do not resort to or invent false narratives. Finally, regarding RMS (founder of GNU and the FSF), yes, he stares at people. He can freeze for like 3 seconds (a few seconds without social cues absorbed), just staring at you. It is not something he can control. But that does not mean he should not run the organisation and the project he started 4 decades ago. It's not like he's grabbing women's boobs. He has no history of attacking women. Saying "I don't feel comfortable" is baloney. In the cases of Linus Torvalds and RMS, one can see the common theme - accusations of "sexism" if not something "rape" related. The same person who keeps spreading these false assertions (and whose spouse got sued for defaming people as "rapists") also targeted Theodore Ts'o. Guess who's still working at Google and who got relegated to forest life...
Does Debian not realise that the "D" now stands for defamation? It keeps recruiting and protecting serial defamers, harbouring the aggressors as if they're somehow the victims.
By the way, speaking of GSoC, the money spent on diversity programs could (or should) instead be spent on real, qualified security researchers who ascertain the security of critical software components, but this is not the goal of the NSA-connected companies controlling the "diversity" piggybank and SPI.
As an associate reminds us today: "DEI funding is a way of diverting money away from core activities and thus diminishing them, in this case weakening or delaying security. It also is a way to get projects to fight about non-technical activities and burn all the developer time and energy on stuff other than creating good software."
Is Debian looking for women? Or for dates? Or cult members?
Outsourcing to Microsoft is the exact opposite of security and we ought not accept this approach, certainly not compromise on it. "The appeasement goes deeper than just a fight against FOSS," the associate remarks, "but even a pushback against and distraction from open standards and formats." Or very fundamental security, i.e. privacy or dignity or human rights.
If Debian's founder (Ian Murdock) was still alive, he would be deeply rattled. What has his project turned into? A cult that attacks even insiders if those insiders utter uncomfortable truths?
Murdock the father (Lawrence L. Murdock) was a professor, a scientist. Good scientists can handle the truth rather than attack it. █