Bonum Certa Men Certa

What Happened to the Linux Foundation?

Jim Zemlin has gone as far as using LF events (not his personal platform) to promote his personal political agenda, e.g. praising the Clinton Foundation, which is close to (overlaps) the Gates Foundation

What Happened to the Linux Foundation?



Summary: The abject amorality/immorality and the loss of direction at the Linux Foundation -- a subject which attracted several media responses earlier this month -- can be traced back to personal interests; like in rogue charities, those who nowadays manage the Linux Foundation become millionaires by compromising the integrity of the entities they're entrusted to maintain

Since we started this series we have received a lot of additional input. There's also positive feedback. Nothing negative yet. Yesterday I saw a comment at FOSS Force which said, "The Linux Foundation is no friend to user freedom. They are a “corporations only” club looking out for the bottom line. I’m very interested in the attention they are now receiving from techrights.org." Our articles have already become a catalyst of several other articles in the media (although they do not explicitly acknowledge that).



We seem to have struck a nerve; as a result, people get in touch. They open up. Whether there's any progress on this or not, we have a lot to say ourselves. But it would be better to present a more diverse set of opinions, from different people and groups. They have a lot to say about Zemlin's PAC -- something they're too timid to say out loud for understandable reasons. Reprisal is the primary reason.

To me, personally, the structure of the Linux Foundation resembles that of a corporation or a mainstream political party (groupthink). The Zemlin PAC has a Board of patent maximalists; it's a rather major problem as some aren't just proponents of software patents but also aggressors who use patents against Linux. They're opponents not only of Linux but of Free/Open Source software (FOSS) in general as these patents are inherently incompatible with FOSS. Is "Linux" a company now? Like Mozilla Corporation? They already have a dotcom domain, linux.com. It often mirrors what's on the LF's site. They're almost indistinguishable. The LF also has its own "news sites" (selling access/articles/PR), which it links to. LF staff are at their Board/editorial team. They hire journalists and give them PR assignments, thereby corrupting them.

It's all about money. All. About. Money.

It's not true that since this PAC attracts more money than the FSF or the OSI this PAC someone "won" the battle. It is cheating in the sense that it monetises the sellout or the handover of volunteers' code to the hands of few wealthy corporations -- those that can afford to "buy access" at the PAC (e.g. Board seats).

Look for a moment at the events of the PAC (many advertised in recent days -- a subject of a future article). It's a hefty tax to attendees -- a tax that is imposed to limit participation. Law firms do exactly the same thing in events about patents which they prefer to be dominated by patent maximalists. Same thing, different domain. Community members, who are already relatively poor, must pay a duty (fee) to participate, only to be added to the coffers of LF (the PAC), whose key members actively rob this community.

Corporate actors don't really pay anything substantial; it's usually the employer which pays for it (the money goes around in circles, in circulation), so it's a form of gatekeeper, wherein only the big corporations with deep pockets can participate but, in theory, anyone can attend. Speaking especially in keynote positions/slots requires big sponsorship only big businesses can afford. This is a very convenient institutional structure -- convenient to those looking to dominate with money.

On Zemlin himself, one reader told us, "it's seldom his actions and the interests of the kernel line up. They did so more when he first started though but not completely. What is the governance structure of LF and to whom is Zemlin officially answerable?"

"The Board," I told the reader. "Members [are] listed in the LF's site."

"It's like a rogue's gallery with Oracle, VMware, and Microsoft present," the reader responded after checking, echoing words we had heard before. As we shall show in EUIPO/EPO corruption stories (coming soon), there's also an element of nepotism there. Once a single proprietary vendor is allowed inside, it then invites others like it. It's a gradual takeover of the Board and thus the direction.

But thankfully it seems like some high-profile people (outside LF) are becoming fed up with Zemlin. They think he corrupted the LF, but dare not say so in public. He's just enriching himself and his close friends (again, there's an element of nepotism) by straining the "Linux" trademark. People don't want to say so out loud. It's similar to what Battistelli and nowadays António Campinos do at the European Patent Office (EPO). Millions in fees end up landing in their personal bank accounts (and their friends' accounts, too). We know where the money comes from and how it can be seen as a form of reciprocity if not corruption/bribery. Several times in the past few weeks the LF's Web site linked to (promoted) very old Oracle articles. Here's the latest example, linking to this (there are more such examples for Oracle and some for Microsoft too).

Remember that Oracle attacks FOSS (e.g. Oracle v Google). Somehow it also has a seat at the Zemlin PAC Board. That is apparently fine, but a few people expressing controversial opinions may run afoul of the Code of Conduct (CoC). Remember that this CoC is a firing/expulsion facility that breeds obedience/conformity. Jim Zemlin is bossed by the Board i.e. Microsoft, Oracle et al. Torvalds is in turn bossed by Zemlin, whom Microsoft bosses (it paid for this position). So don't expect Torvalds to speak out against Microsoft anymore. Money buys speech. It also buys silence.

The Linux Foundation is not about Linux anymore. It is the "Vegetarian Meat Society". People notice that, but few say anything (certainly among the high tier, i.e. people who have the most to lose by voicing their opinion).

"And one more for today," wrote to us a reader this morning, linking to this old Information Age article titled "Linux Foundation causes uproar by quietly removing community representation from its board" (that was several years ago).

Things have only gotten worse since. People must talk about it.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Coping With the Site Going More Mainstream
Fame is no laughing matter
21 Pages in Less Than 7 Hours is No Joking Matter
We've become a lot more effective and efficient
Generation Chaff - Phase V: Censorship of Dissent (Painted as Harassment or Terrorism)
Censorship is all around us now
Generation Chaff - Phase IV: Apps Only Few Companies Decide On
Tools are being collectively confiscated, under the premise or false prospect of "security"
 
Links 24/10/2025: "Independent Media in Cambodia is Collapsing" and Serious F5 Breach
Links for the day
They Never 'Put Down' Corporations
There are "pests" that are traded in Wall Street
Correct Information is a Valued Asset in the Age of Slopfarms and Public Relations (PR) or Spin
Publishing suppressed facts is never easy
The Register MS Continues to Bag Money to Promote a Ponzi Scheme, Even Money From China
Today in the front page
analytics.usa.gov: The Only Supported Version of Windows (This Past Week) is Only Used by About 13.9% of People in the US, the Home Base of Windows
Even Vista 7 is still used more
Rust is Very Secure
If only Rust itself is secure
Who Will be Held Accountable for Breaking Ubuntu by Imposing Rust on Otherwise-Functional Programs, in Effect Replacing GNU With Proprietary Microsoft (GitHub)?
they're practical people who merely point out that a bunch of buffoons not only ruin Ubuntu but also every future distro based on Ubuntu
Generation Chaff - Phase VIII: In Summary
Like "Science" with a capital "S", what we see here commercial interests usurping everything
Generation Chaff - Phase VII: Curtailing Alternative Media
There was always an obligation - a collective duty of sorts - to uphold independent journalism
Generation Chaff - Phase VI: Centralisation of Information (X, Cheetok/Fentanylware)
Would you trust information when controlled by such people?
Generation Chaff - Phase III: Slop and Plagiarism
A lot of the current so-called 'economy' is built upon false valuations
Generation Chaff - Phase II: "Cloud", Blockchains and Other Hype
For those of us who turned down those propositions there was a struggle; we needed to justify not having skinnerboxes or "social" accounts in some site run by a private company
Generation Chaff - Phase I: Social Control Media
IRC predates the Web
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 23, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 23, 2025
More Clues Shed on Collapse of Microsoft XBox
XBox is basically circling down the drain as Microsoft implements 2-3 waves of layoffs each month
'Vibe Coding' Doesn't Work
In a lot of ways, so-called 'Vibe Coding' is already considered vapourware or a passing fad promoted in the media by managers who try to justify mass layoffs, especially ridding companies of "very expensive" software engineers
Links 24/10/2025: Microsoft's Killing of XBox Connected to Revenue/Profit Problems, "How Elon Musk Ruined Twitter"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/10/2025: 86,400 Seconds and "Society's Task"
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Google News and Slopfarms That Relay Nonsense From LLMs
Google News, which once prioritised or used to care about provenance and quality, is feeding slopfarms
Links 23/10/2025: More Health Concerns Over Dumb Chatbots (LLMs) and "Talking Cars" as Latest Buzz
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/10/2025: Daylight Savings Time and Duration Shorthand
Links for the day
Links 23/10/2025: LLM 'Hallucinations' (Defects) in Practical Code 'Generation', China Becomes More Economically and Technologically Independent
Links for the day
Why We Support Richard Stallman and You Probably Should Too
It's not about being "Richard Stallman fan", it is about maintaining the right to hold positions (on technology) like his
Linux Foundation Uses LLM Slop to Promote Microsoft in Linux.com (Again), Rendering It a Linux-Hostile Slopfarm
Openwashing with slop by "Linux.com Editorial Staff", which basically seems to be a bot
Some Large German Media Covers Richard Stallman's Talks in Germany Earlier This Week
LLM-based chatbots are just "bullshit generators" (as he has long called them)
Links 23/10/2025: Windows TCO Galore and "The Internet Is Going to Break Again"
Links for the day
Trouble in Red Hat/IBM and a Retreat to Ponzi Economics in Search of Wall Street Market Heist
Would you invest your life savings in this kind of crap?
Who Asked Software in the Public Interest (SPI) for a Refund? ($100,000, Resulting in Losses of $267,201 in 12 Months, Highest-Ever Losses)
The IRS does not reveal who or what's tied to this refund (or the cause/reason)
Social engineering attack: Debian voted to trick you on binary blobs
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Techrights Will Always Stand for Women's Rights
We even invest money - personal savings that it - in our principles
Certified Lawyers Should Know Better (Than to Intimidate Us With Man Who Drives on Motorcycle Through a Really Bad Storm Between Distant Cities, Then Collects Photos of Our Home)
Mentioning someone was in prison for bad things isn't a crime, it's a public service
The "AI" (Slop) Bubble is Already Imploding
"ChatGPT Usage Has Peaked and Is Now Declining, New Data Finds"
The So-called "Sexy" Buckets (AI, Quantum) Cannot Save IBM From Reality, Shares Tank
"No matter how much financial hocus-pocus they use to reclassify revenues to land in the "sexy" buckets (AI, Quantum), it still smells old and musty - just like this company."
Paul Krugman is Wrong About the Scope of Mass Layoffs in the United States
A few years ago society was accelerating its journey towards feudalism, boosted by COVID-19
Links 23/10/2025: Proprietary Blunders and CISA's Latest Disclosure of Holes
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/10/2025: Fast Past (F1), 99.9% Uptime
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 22, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Slopwatch: Google News is Promoting Fake 'Articles' About Fake Xubuntu, Fake Articles About Replacing Windows With GNU/Linux
The quality of the Web deteriorates and unless someone cleans up the mess, real sites will lose an incentive to produce anything
When "AI Layoffs" Mean Layoffs Due to the "AI" Bubble Popping
many people that are laid off by Microsoft claim to be specialists in "AI"
Mysterious grant forfeited, $100,000 from Software in the Public Interest accounts 2023
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Evidence: bullying, student union behaviour: Armijn Hemel's FSFE resignation
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Evidence: psychological abuse, stalking, Galia Mancheva, Susanne Eiswirt ignored by FSFE judgment for Matthias Kirschner
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Helping FSFE scam victims and conference organisers
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Nigerian fraud in FSFE constitution
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Worrying and Amusing Stories of "Clown Computing" Gone Awry
Many of these disasters could be avoided
Links 22/10/2025: Amazon Plans to Replace Workers With Robotics, AWS and Clown Computing in General Ridiculed
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/10/2025: Niri Completely Changes Multitasking and Overview of Diff-ers
Links for the day
Links 22/10/2025: Study on Misinformation by Slop and Heavily Debt-Sabbled Microsoft OpenAI (ClosedSlop) Uses "Browser" as Gimmick/Distraction
Links for the day
They've Already Spent Close to a Million Dollars on Lawyers and Sent Us About 50 KG of Legal Papers (Sponsored by Mysterious Third Party) to Try to Censor Techrights, Without Success
They try to overcompensate with sheer volume for a lack of solid, clear arguments (we are the victims here)
12 Months Ago the 'Hulk Hogan of UEFI' Officially Went 'Tag-Team'
We're actually sort of flattered or proud that such despicable people are so desperate to censor us
"Cloud Computing" Was Always a Joke, But This Week Was the Punchline
Maybe stop following tech trends and fashions
"Cloud Computing" Does Not Mean Safety
Fault tolerance is related to the notion of software freedom
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, October 21, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, October 21, 2025
The Fall of Windows: From Something to Nothing
Of course Microsoft will pretend everything is fine and "just trust the hey hi" (AI)