Bonum Certa Men Certa

Meet the People Behind ClearlyDefined (Mostly or Clearly 'Microsoft Proxy'), Where Most of the OSI's Budget Nowadays Goes and Flows

Clearly Microsoft? Hosted by proprietary platform of Microsoft (GitHub) and managed by Microsoft staff.

Clearly Microsoft

Let's examine each person in turn:

Daniel Butvinik

Fossygirl

Ignacio Rodríguez

Jeff Mcaffer

Jeff Mendoza

Jacob Peddicord

Manny Martinez

One can see the pattern... the obfuscation has been too sloppy or shallow.

Summary: Instead of combating Microsoft's monopoly (proprietary software monopoly), the OSI now helps Microsoft cement its proprietary software monopoly over Free software projects; this is the same thing the Linux Foundation nowadays does and it's the very definition of "sellout" (selling oneself to one's enemy)

TWENTY TWO years ago, with the partial goal of 'cancelling' the FSF and RMS (Richard Stallman, father of GNU and Free software), the Open Source Initiative (OSI) was founded. At least one of the founders viewed that as an opportunity or ploy to 'cancel' Free software; it's that same person (ESR) who now spreads nonsensical theories about Windows and Linux (which Microsoft-friendly media absolutely adores and still amplifies almost a week later!).



"Twenty two years ago, with the partial goal of 'cancelling' the FSF and RMS (Richard Stallman, father of GNU and Free software), the Open Source Initiative (OSI) was founded."The OSI used to be a force against Microsoft monopoly; it even hosted Microsoft's leaked documents (Halloween Documents, released by ESR to show Microsoft's attack plans against Free software). Nowadays OSI seems to be doing the exact opposite; it helps Microsoft build and cement a monopoly over Free software. This is classic entryism.

As a little bit of necessary background, readers may wish to revisit or catch up with our latest posts regarding OSI (see page 1, page 2 and page 3 of our latest articles about the Open Source Initiative). Plenty of recent explanations of OSI going rogue (lots happened to it so far this year) are included there. Assuming that's more or less clear for everyone to understand, let's get to the 'meat' of the subject.

A couple of years ago the OSI got connected to ClearlyDefined, not too long after it had taken Microsoft bribes. The OSI tried introducing it as a multi-party and vendor-neutral thing in its official press release. One reader asked us a few days ago: "What is ClearlyDefined?"

"The OSI used to be a force against Microsoft monopoly; it even hosted Microsoft's leaked documents (Halloween Documents, released by ESR to show Microsoft's attack plans against Free software). Nowadays OSI seems to be doing the exact opposite; it helps Microsoft build and cement a monopoly over Free software. This is classic entryism.""As we explained some days ago," I responded, "ClearlyDefined is itself a bit enigmatic and it's not easy to find the complete chain of ownership using whois. ClearlyDefined helps track licensing information of code and projects."

Especially those that Microsoft controls inside its proprietary prison (GitHub), as even the press release shows (it's a dead giveaway).

The reader also asked: "Is it a program, or a service?"

"I believe it is both," I said, and it's developed/managed on Microsoft servers. Who does the coding? See above.

The reader asked: "What are the criticisms against it?"

"ClearlyDefined is closely controlled by Microsoft," I replied, as "it's biased towards GitHub (obviously), and one might expect it to be copyleft-hostile. Like Black Duck, whose purpose was to discourage businesses from touching copyleft-licensed code..."

And then it got back to the OSI.

"Who is the president of the OSI?"

"Mr. Josh Simmons," I replied. "Briefly," I was then asked, "what bad things does he do outside of OSI?"

"A Salesforce employee," I said. "The OSI does not pay his salary. The OSI only pays the GM's salary."

"A couple of years ago the OSI got connected to ClearlyDefined, not too long after it had taken Microsoft bribes."This reader took note of the part where we said that OSI "staff left a couple of months ago, only months after one OSI co-founder quit in protest and another OSI co-founder was banned from the mailing list (for confronting a threat to the OSI’s mission)."

The reader asked: "Who are these two co-founders?"

I said those are ESR and Bruce Perens. It's actually well known.

"No wonder the OSI's blog quickly became a Microsoft marketing tool," the reader quoted us as saying.

The reader asked: "What are the specific facts that support that claim?"

"Techrights wrote a number of articles with examples," I responded, "ranging from Microsoft job ads to ClearlyDefined promotion. It's as if Microsoft requested that favourable blog posts are written in exchange for something."

"So most of the OSI's budget goes to a programme that's mostly Microsoft staff and is controlled by Microsoft, hosted on its servers etc."It was only today (a quiet weekend) that I decided to go through the names of ClearlyDefined people one by one (some don't name their employer) and show the pattern above. It's rather revealing, is it not?

So most of the OSI's budget goes to a programme that's mostly Microsoft staff and is controlled by Microsoft, hosted on its servers etc.

Take another leap and maybe consider the conclusion that today's OSI mostly exists to help Microsoft/GitHub, which is neither Free/libre nor Open Source. It's all rogue. And proprietary software monopolies stand to gain the most.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Reboots Should Never be Necessary
"BUT WHAT ABOUT SECURITY!!"
Microsoft's Halloween Documents and systemd, Wayland, Etc.
Maybe one day Wayland will be widespread. Or maybe not.
Changing One's Name Won't Change One's Past
People who have earned a bad reputation are not magically "entitled" to reset
People Who Assault Women Are Not Victims of "Distress"
It seems like an American tradition. In a country with almost 50 presidents, not even one was a female.
Adoption of Gemini Protocol Still Growing
Gemini Protocol is being obscured by the media - it doesn't help that Google 'hijacked' the word "Gemini" - but people still manage to find out about it, download a client, and use it
Brett Wilson LLP "Takes it Personal" (Character Assassination, Not Professionalism). Everybody Can See That.
On behalf of violent men
 
One of the Most Hilarious Things About the Microsoft SLAPPs
It's so ridiculous
Financial Support for the Free Software Foundation or the GNU Project
The FSF has extended until Friday its fund-raising campaign
Illegally Hiding (or Demanding Secrecy Around) Illegal Requests or Attempts at Extortion
unlawful communications like threats
Gemini Links 14/07/2025: BOFH Archive, Updating Old Palm PDAS, and Nginx vs Slop Bots
Links for the day
Ubuntu is Becoming GAFAM-Like
What does that say about Canonical and Ubuntu?
Slopfarms Which Take Real Articles About GNU/Linux and Turn Them Into Copycats Which Are False
Even before the LLM hype those were quite common
The Firm That Picks on Techrights is Accustomed to Working With Criminals
Techrights never did anything illegal. So why is it being picked on by people who work with criminals?
Microsoft Said the Mass Layoffs Were for "Investment" in "AI", But It's Also Laying Off the "AI" and "Copilot" Staff
Months ago we showed many so-called "AI" people were getting the boot and this time it's the same
DryDeadFish is Dead, Long Live DryDeadFish
We kept checking, hoping it can recover from some temporary technical issue
For Quite Some Time Already Microsoft Attracts Crackpots, Scams, and More
Occasionally we talk about the situation at IBM as there are many parallels
Links 14/07/2025: Chatbots Broken Again, McHire LLM Shows Limits of the Hype
Links for the day
Slashdot Media Turned Linux Journal Into a Slopfarm and Now Slashdot Actively Promotes Anti-Linux Slopfarms
Yes, "no-nonsense" apparently means actual nonsense
Links 14/07/2025: Arresting Photographers, Threats to Revoke US Citizenship Over Criticism
Links for the day
More EPO Leaks on the Way
We hope that Mr. Rowan will actually try to refute what we say and show, not merely point the finger at the messengers
Decommodification is a Corporate Strategy Against Communities
systemd is led by Microsoft and hosted by Microsoft
copyleft.org 'Hijacked' by the People Who Attack the Person Who Created Copyleft
So far there's nothing "tasteless" in copyleft.org, but that can change at any time in the future
Asking People to Take Down Articles and Videos Only Makes These More Popular and "Viral"
If you do something bad, one of the worst things you can possibly do it try to silence those who speak about it
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 13, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 13, 2025
Two-Thirds Towards FSF Goal, Richard Stallman to Give Talks in Europe
There are 67 left before reaching the target
Gemini Links 14/07/2025: Politicised Tech and "Leaving GitHub"
Links for the day
Pissing Contests and Pissing Off Everyone
people who came from Microsoft are trying to vex and divide the community
Microsoft Repeats the Mistakes Made by the EPO After We Exposed a Major Microsoft/EPO Scandal 10 Years Ago
That scandal was all over the media, not just in English
The Demise of LLMs
We've just checked BetaNews again. They've dropped all the slop and went back to human authors.
Gemini Links 13/07/2025: Sonpo Museum of Art and FCEUX
Links for the day
Links 13/07/2025: UnitedHealth's Censorship Campaign, Australia Wary of China
Links for the day
Firing Away With Nonsense
Or fighting fire with fire
Links 13/07/2025: Climate Crisis, GAFAM Poisoning the Water
Links for the day
Turns Out LLMs for Code Don't Save Time and Don't Improve Quality
Neither legal nor useful
The Microsofters Will Have an Obligation to Compensate Us
This story isn't just about Microsoft. It's also about corruption, there are many women victims, there is abject "abuse of process", and many more scandals to be illuminated in years to come.
Reproducing at the EPO Instead of Producing Monopolies for Foreign Monopolies With Their Price-Fixing Cartels
Does the EPO recognise the need of well-educated Europeans to bear kids?
Valnet Inc. Dominates Real (Not LLM Slop) GNU/Linux Coverage in 2025
And likely in prior years, too
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Fund Raiser Goes on
Later this month we'll expose another OSI scandal
EPO Staff Representatives Issue a Warning About Staff's Health and Inadequate Care
Even the EPO's own stakeholders (money sources) are openly protesting against what the EPO became
Links 13/07/2025: Partly Assorted News From Deutsche Welle and CBC
Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/07/2025: Board Games and Battle Styles
Gemini Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 12, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, July 12, 2025
Plunder at the Second-Largest Institution in Europe
cuts, neglect, health problems, even early deaths
Links 12/07/2025: Political Developments, Attack on Opposition, Climate Actions
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/07/2025: Melodic Musings and Small Web July
Links for the day
Links 12/07/2025: Jail in China for Homoerotica, South Korea Discriminates Against Old Workers
Links for the day
If Only Everything Was Rewritten in Rust, We'd Have No More Security Issues?
Nope.
Links 12/07/2025: Birdwatching and Fake/Misleading Wall Street 'Valuation' Figures
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/07/2025: How to Avoid Writing, Apps for Android
Links for the day
Using SLAPPs to Cover Up Sexual Abuse and Strangulation
The exact same legal team of the Serial Strangler from Microsoft and Garrett already has a history fighting against "metoo"
EPO Staff Committee on Harassment in the Workplace
slides
Adding the Voice of Writers to UK SLAPP Reform
The journey to repair antiquated (monarchy era) laws will likely be long
EPO Takes More Money From Staff for Speculation (Pensions), Actuarial Study Explains the Impact
"The key change in this year’s Actuarial Study, due to cascading the new “risk appetite” from the financial study, is a significant increase of the total pension contribution rate of 5.7 percentage points, up to a total of 37.8%. This is driven by an unprecedented decrease in the discount rate of 105 bps down to 2.2%."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 11, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, July 11, 2025