Bonum Certa Men Certa

What Freedom of Software Actually Means to Us

Liberty



Summary: Liberty or libre (freedom) is about more than brands or personalities, as names or institutions or individuals can change or completely perish; but concepts outlast superficialities

THE concepts put forth by rms (Richard Stallman) more than 35 years ago are more relevant than ever. Back then computers rarely had network connections (the Internet was immature and the World Wide Web was still waiting a decade in the future). The concept of back doors wasn't quite the same in the 1980s; remote access through back doors is meaningless unless there's a network. Maybe back doors as a concept made sense in the forensics sense (when physical access to the machine is possible, albeit data rather than packets may be encrypted).



Techrights started by dealing with the issue of software patents and standards almost 14 years ago. Prior to Techrights I had already written about patents elsewhere, including in my personal blog. The subject wasn't new to me at all. About a week ago the FSF finally issued a press release on the matter, berating the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for what it called the "virus" of software patents.

"The concept of back doors wasn't quite the same in the 1980s; remote access through back doors is meaningless unless there's a network."This gave me hope; is the FSF recognising the big picture and the big issues? Without elimination of software patents (35 U.S.C. €§ 101 got us closer to it, but IBM lobbies against 35 U.S.C. €§ 101 and it also pays the FSF) there's no software freedom. Such patents impede the dissemination of free/libre code.

As per our latest Daily Links with an editorial comment, the IBM-connected OIN is still pushing software patents, this time disguised as "hey hi" (the EPO loves this term as a loophole for granting software patents in Europe). It makes one wonder if IBM, the 'old' big bad monopolist, is compatible with Free software (and by extension Red Hat as well). Why does the FSF allow itself to become financially dependent on the company that lobbies for software patents in India, in Europe and in the US? In other countries too of course... (but it takes more work to show this)

The author figosdev, who used to support the FSF financially, has pretty much given up on the FSF. To me, one key issue is the FSF's silence on systemd (modularity under attack, probably for vendor lock-in) and IBM's lobbying for software patents. How can the FSF reconcile all this?

figosdev wrote to me some hours ago to say: "By the way Roy, who else has pointed out that OIN is the GitHub of software patents?

"The latest moves into OIN and the latest moves into GitHub aren't coincidental. The assimilation and annexation continues.

"Ultimately whoever owns OIN will own free software. Of course you can't own OIN, can you? Wait, that's like saying you can't own the FSF or the GNU project."

Sarcasm noted.

"I think rms made a mistake by embarking on that trip to Microsoft (a few weeks before he was 'canceled') and it's clear that Microsoft/GitHub took none of his suggestions seriously."My interpretation of Free software is somewhat personal; the concept itself is impersonal, but each can have a different interpretation of it. The advocacy of rms is still as lucid as ever, even if the FSF doesn't give rms the limelight he deserves. I think rms made a mistake by embarking on that trip to Microsoft (a few weeks before he was 'canceled') and it's clear that Microsoft/GitHub took none of his suggestions seriously. GitHub is a mess, full of JavaScript and lock-in. It's totally proprietary.

To me, software freedom is about more than "GNU" or "Linux" or "GNU/Linux". Seeing so-called 'digitalisation' of society (that's what EPO calls it) and seeing software patents and secret code and clown computing and listening devices connected to these clowns makes me growingly concerned. Recently, in the United States, the drones of the police were taken up another notch. These combine surveillance with strategic response (violence). It may only be a matter of time before these Orwellian 'machines' (military gear) do to US citizens what's already done to Somalis. What can we, as producers of code, do about this?

"To me, software freedom is about more than "GNU" or "Linux" or "GNU/Linux"."The so-called 'ethical' licences mostly serve to distract from software freedom itself. They're based upon the assumption that limiting access to software or restricting who can run it (a bit like UEFI 'secure boot') would somehow enhance freedom. It's worse than misguided, it's not enforceable (good luck getting military contractors to obey copyright laws, especially as some impoverished programmer with no lawyers), and it's strategically weak.

I used to say that OSI and OIN and the Linux Foundation and whatnot are useless front groups beholden to corporate interests. The FSF is beholden to IBM, which in itself is a growing concern. The FSF should never have accepted corporate patrons at all.

So who to trust? Well, rms seems to have not been compromised. He's still out there (or indoors; the coronavirus doesn't help one who travels to give speeches). He'll be out there for years to come. I predict that I too will be out there, hopefully for decades to come. Techrights will never take money from corporations and depending on how the Web evolves (or collapses) it may stick around for a couple more decades. Contingencies and successions are already in place. The site is in good hands, strong hands, technical hands. It can outlive all sorts of perils.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Datamation, Where I Used to Publish Articles, Appears to Have Been Sold to TechnologyAdvice Only to Become a Slopfarm
I'd prefer to not associate with that site anymore
 
How Software Patents Were Viewed or Their General Status Changed Over Time
A rough summary
We Are Turning 19 in One Month, FSF Turns 40 in 3 Hours (CET)
For our anniversary next month we still have no concrete plans
Patent Docs (or PatentDocs) Learned the Wrong Lessons From the Death of TypePad
Had they gone ahead with an SSG, they'd become a lot more future-proof
USPTO Patent Bubble Already Imploding, After Decades of Artificial Inflation, Entire Offices Close for Good
we can deduce that financial pressures (lack of "demand" for monopolies) play a role
TikTok is Not Harmless (Being CheeTok in the US Will Advance Orange Agenda)
Social control media isn't "fun and games"; it's a digital weapon that lets hostile groups or nations infiltrate others, then turn them against themselves
Andy Farnell and Helen Plews Explain What "Modern" Tech Does to Old People
Imposing terrible tech "religion" on people is not helping them
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For an advocacy group, uptime is important (for its message to remain accessible)
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Google News is really bad
Links 03/10/2025: "NPR’s Economics Lessons Come With Neoliberal Spin" and Canada Post at Risk
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Links 03/10/2025: Lawyers Caught Using LLM Slop Explain Why They Did It, LibreSSL 4.1.1 and 4.0.1 Released
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It's a good move for the FSF and - by extension - for software freedom
Links 03/10/2025: Conflicts, Death of TypePad, and TikTok/CheeTok Gives a Boost to Far Right Groups in Europe
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Over at Tux Machines...
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IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 02, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 02, 2025
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The other co-founder of MySQL is a bit notorious for confronting RMS rather viciously
For the Second Time in a Few Weeks Microsoft Lunduke Makes False Accusations Against Senior Red Hat Staff to Incite a Despicable 'Troll Army'
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su lisa && rm -rf /home/ibm/power
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What we're witnessing is a very ungraceful destruction of XBox
Microsoft is Losing Europe
Hence all the "support" and "discount" offers that are limited to Europe
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New pop-up 2-3 days ahead of the 40th anniversary event
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Over at Tux Machines...
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IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 01, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 01, 2025
What the End of XBox Will Look Like: a Fiery Crash
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A day later he speaks in Sweden
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Slopwatch: Plagiarism, Fake Articles, and FUD About Linux
not a day goes by without Google News feeding FUD from slopfarms
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Links 01/10/2025: Long Covid Risk Reiterated, "Bitcoin Queen" Caught
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Links 01/10/2025: EA $55 Billion Deal is Debt and Slop "Raises Vishing Risks"
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Bluewashing at Red Hat Means Redundancies
The man who sold Red Hat to IBM meanwhile became a Microsoft Mono booster
After Killing OpenSource.com, IBM ('Red Hat') and OSI Told Us OpenSource.net Would Replace It (But That Didn't Happen)
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Linux is Not a Community Project, It's a Wall Street Product
The core goal should be freedom
Bad Actors Abusing the Free Software Community, Vandalising It Using Rogue Politics and Old Tactics
Oil giants have long attempted to do this; now, the digital equivalent of Big Oil does this in technology
Social Control Media Isn't the Future, The Federation or Fediverse Isn't Growing, People's Accounts Vanish for Good
users' accounts will get deleted, not just become inactive
IBM is Failing, This Helps Show Wall Street is Entirely Detached From Actual Commercial Performance
IBM is unable to grow, it's just constantly shrinking
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, September 30, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, September 30, 2025
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Slopwatch: Fake Articles and Google News Promoting "Linux" Spam or Bot-Generated Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD)
These slopfarms help misplace blame
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