Bonum Certa Men Certa

Proprietary Software Giants Telling Us That “Open Source Has Won” Means That “Open Source” is Just Proprietary Software Giants

What they try to tell us is, monopolists have taken over “Open Source” (and hence "won")

OSI won



Summary: Don't fall for the deceitful illusion that monopolies hijacking what they've dubbed the "Open Source" 'movement' is somehow a 'win' or an accomplishment for society at large; the corporate media loves to perpetuate this script, at the expense of actual software freedom

LOOK no further than the Linux Foundation (the real foundation) to understand what a growing number of people have begrudgingly come to accept; we're not really "winning" but we're told that we've "won" in the same way Hippies were told they had won the antiwar cause. Yeah, like endless wars have stopped since...



"To a lot of people "Open Source" now means GitHub, which is actually proprietary and Microsoft-controlled."As we put it recently, we're being thrown a bone. Companies that bomb dark-skinned people tell us they're making progress by banning words that allude to dark-skinned people (if we're to assume that slavery is limited to one set of ethnicities). Anyway, we mean no disrespect to the cause of diversity and we welcome good conduct or even a Code of Conduct provided it's properly enforced, not just by companies that bomb and attack charities. In reality, as we've repeatedly witnessed, projects are being separated from their founders... by companies that literally profit from separating parents from their babies (yes, we're looking at you, Microsoft!) and they tell us it's for the better good... or something. They 'protect' us... from 'unruly' leaders.

"Let's talk about Free software and software freedom; nothing would piss them off more than the realisation that they blew countless billions trying to squash the 'wrong' thing..."Right now, as 2020 approaches winter (and the end of the year) we must come to realise that "Open Source" means nothing; if it means anything -- or if it ever meant anything to begin with -- it's an attack on or a distracting prop (diversion away from) software freedom. To a lot of people "Open Source" now means GitHub, which is actually proprietary and Microsoft-controlled. As if gifting Microsoft (outsourcing everything to Microsoft) is 'opening' or 'liberation' or 'goodwill'...

If we wish to make progress -- real progress -- we need to abandon this mirage of "Open Source" and let OSI die with it (look who controls the OSI this year).

For many years we used the term "Open Source" (since inception of this site), but that doesn't mean we should perpetually refuse to let it go. Even Bruce Perens, who came up with its definition, thinks it's time to move on. To Microsoft, with GitHub, the next phase is proprietary software spun as "open" ("Inner Source") -- in effect the "extinguish" phase. Let's abandon what Microsoft has in effect hijacked before the "extinguish" is completed. Let's talk about Free software and software freedom; nothing would piss them off more than the realisation that they blew countless billions trying to squash the 'wrong' thing... ⬆

Recent Techrights' Posts

NVIDIA Turns Out to be Serial Cheater, Stock Plunges 33% in 5 Weeks
The "slop bros" have long relied on patience and blind faith
 
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXXXIX - We Didn't Start the Fire
It started in 2012
Photo Ops Are Liabilities
NVIDIA is not a "family business" and its CEO isn't some modest genius
NVIDIA’s Total Debt Trebled in Three Months!
Not the hallmark of a rich company unless its accounting is fraudulent
Adopting LLM Slop is Still Suicide
Suicide (in the literal sense) is also linked to adoption of chatbots
On Laundering Licences and Code
A "Second SCO" waiting to happen
The Cyber Show on Slop and the Ministry Of Truth in "Nineteen Eighty Four"
"cultural erasure" by slop
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXXXVIII - Keeping Both Eyes on the Ball
One upside of these disputes is that they raise at least two very important issues concerning the law
Gemini Links 12/11/2026: Encryption is Easy, Human Emacs, and Legislation in Italy
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, November 11, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Links 11/11/2026: End of Novaya Gazeta (Assassinated by Putin) and North Koreans Too Poor to Buy Rice
Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/11/2026: The Tyrant’s Moat and Rants About Slop Causing Problems
Links for the day
Links 11/11/2026: Skydance Games and Boeing Hit By Layoffs, "Time Out for Timeouts"
Links for the day
IRC is for Communities, Social Control Networks Are for Broligarchs (by Broligarchs)
Unlike Reddit, it's not a company
JavaScript is the Problem, Not the Answer
Making the Web better is about making things better, not slapping more JavaScript 'walls' at it
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXXXVII - "Making a False Complaint to Police is a Crime." (British Cops Aren't American Mercenaries)
"In the United Kingdom, the Foreign Enlistment Act 1819 and the Foreign Enlistment Act 1870 make it unlawful for British subjects to join the armed forces of any state warring with another state at peace with Britain."
The Label 'Anti-AI'
They make it sound like opposing plagiarism or cheating is an act of intolerance or hatred
Intolerance and Violence
Intolerance in the software world is not a new problem
António Campinos Hiding From Staff Amid Strikes, Won't Participate in Dialogue
They voted to continue striking until Christmas
Silent Layoffs at IBM (Rolling Layoffs), Now Curbs on H1B (Mostly Indian Applicants)
Little will change at IBM except the gravity (global distribution) of its workforce will go east
Links 11/11/2026: Moving from Proton to Posteo and "Floating in Space"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, November 10, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXXXVI - Attempts to Kill Critics
"Epstein contacted Cambridge academics about research funding"
Gemini Links 10/11/2026: Running, Tektronix, and "Smallnet Information Services Zig Port"
Links for the day
Corporations Don't Lose 2 Trillion Dollars in 'Value' Over a 'Dick Story', This is an Overvaluation and Belated Correction
Nvidia is down, down, down again
Links 10/11/2026: "50 Years of Project Censored" and NVIDIA's Collapse Continues
Links for the day
NVIDIA Down About 30% in 5 Weeks, When Does the Media Call It "Bubble" Rather Than Frame It as Sex Scandal?
they'll find a way to blame "China"
Surreal Times
NVIDIA's shares fell 27% in 5 weeks
Links 10/11/2026: "Jensen Huang Could Face $81 Billion Divorce Bill" and "Nvidia Shareholders sue Jensen Huang"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, November 09, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, November 09, 2026
Gemini Links 10/11/2026: Open Problem in Computer Science Due to Bloat and "Queueing Nine Hours for an iPhone"
Links for the day