As reported a few months before they sacked all the Linux.com people (both editors and writers, without as much as a warning or any consultation) whilst overspending on nonsense and ludicrous salaries, plus bonuses of all sorts (no oversight, no justification needed). Text continues below the 51 pages (as JPEG files).





































































































Summary: The Linux 'fat cats' who never even use Linux (they love Linux only as a brand that helps them become millionaires) aren't doing a good enough job at the Linux Foundation (LF) and instead it's starting to look like a shell where dozens of people 'eat up' tens of millions of dollars (Jim Zemlin gave himself a very big raise again) and sell influence to proprietary software giants, outsource all code to Microsoft/GitHub, and muzzle opinionated developers and actual communities (too many managers/crooks, not enough chefs/cooks)

The above filing from one year ago, now fully available as a PDF as well (latest available on public record), reveals quite a lot. We're likely to look back at it some time in the near future, depending on the aspect we focus on. I'm already very familiar with their past filings, which I covered here before, so I can quickly compare (telling the difference between the years). The salary (plus compensation) of Linus Torvalds increased to a million and a half dollars in 2018, some external partners of the Foundation were dropped, about a quarter of this money is spent on salaries (not for actual developers but 'suits') and a lot gets spent on events that help LF shape narratives and set the agenda for LF sponsors. Overall, the Foundation managed to operate at a loss that year and they still pay "Former VP of Finance" (almost half a million dollars) even though "Lisbeth McNabb" is now "Chief Finance and Operating Officer". Why they are still paying past staff? Who knows...

"Overall, the Foundation managed to operate at a loss that year and they still pay "Former VP of Finance" (almost half a million dollars) even though "Lisbeth McNabb" is now "Chief Finance and Operating Officer"."One sure thing is, their accounting doesn't add up too nicely and there was no reason to kill Linux.com. They could instead settle for more modest salaries and stop overstretching. They've been overstretching to the point of feeding and working for enemies of Linux and of Free software.

For comparison's sake, the SFC's latest finances/disclosures [PDF] reveal that a single Bitcoin donation covered the salaries of all SFC employees (about 120-150k each, in USD, for two individuals based in Brooklyn area). Never mind that notorious Microsoft money; their reported revenue in 2011 was $911,564, then $1,768,095 (the following year), $617,134, $867,704, $680,815 (2015), $1,926,082, $2,125,670 and $2,680,081 (2018). They would be operating at a loss if they paid themselves as much as LF staff receives. We'll probably come back to this when time permits. ⬆