Bonum Certa Men Certa

The C in CNX Software is Not “Community”

Video download link | md5sum 3fb555ab9eedd368b6a913d46047b006 What Happened to CNX? Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0



CNX SoftwareSummary: The GNU/Linux userbase and the Free software “community” (as in, people who do it for ideological reasons, principles such as altruism, fun and sharing rather than purely for money) are being abandoned by the media that used to cover news of interest rather than paid-for junk (like "sponsored" placements), wrapped inside an extensive barbwire of surveillance

THERE is a high degree of skulduggery in the GNU/Linux world, as people drift away from the community (yes, there is actually such a thing!) and sell out to cash-rich corporate masters. In an principled society with money-centric upbringing it's bound to get worse over the generations. One recent example of that is Phoronix -- a heart-breaking 'defection' which left us unable to even link to it anymore (it would help interests hostile to our movement). Techrights and/or Tux Machines were the biggest sources of traffic to Phoronix, according to Alexa (we linked to that site around 40,000-60,000 times over the years).



"This week we mentioned what had happened to Linux.com and over the years we gave many other examples."There are other kinds of betrayals which come about more in the form of "takeover" rather than sellout. In other words, it's a misuse of power or change of ownership. This week we mentioned what had happened to Linux.com and over the years we gave many other examples. The Linux Foundation is, in general, a big anti-community force and it corrupts some "Linux" blogs (named specifically in the video above) with its ads-as-articles webspam. Softpedia, for instance, pretty much collapsed after it had mistreated its author whose section, the "Linux" section, brought the most traffic to Softpedia (in fact, earlier this month Google News added his site to the index, which he was exceptionally excited about).

"...the video above focuses on CNX Software as a cautionary tale..."It ought to be mentioned that we're not 'slagging off' every site other than us. For instance, 9 years ago we commended LinuxGizmos (formerly LinuxDevices), which is mentioned at the beginning of the video above. The focus of the video is actually none of the sites above; the video above focuses on CNX Software as a cautionary tale (and borderline sellout). I spoke to its founder and chief over the years and I think he's sincere and well-meaning in general; but like Michael Larabel, in a desperate pursuit of money he's making big compromises, which in turn ruin the site and put off many readers (at least two of whom I've heard from; I won't mention names here). They don't want Windows spam (paid-for placements) and they worry that it has been getting worse over time.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Rust People: Drain the Swap, You're Holding It Wrong
Does Rust make sense?
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, linuxconfig.org, and Plagiarised Phoronix
Many articles out there are nowadays fake
 
Links 20/09/2025: Hardware Projects in View, Some Independent Publishers About Russia Prosper After Cheeto Cuts Funding
Links for the day
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Options and TV Time Machine
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Retrocomputer, Antique Phone Experience, and More
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Internet Shutdowns, Media Censorship, and Climate Worries
Links for the day
About 700 New Gemini Capsules in 13 Months (or 54 Per Month)
4.8K would represent a 20% increase
Techrights the Name Turns 15
About 6 weeks from now we turn 19
Microsoft is Running Out of Time and Floating Fake Figures, Fake Projects, Fake Narratives, Fake Excuses
Also, a lot of Microsoft's "revenue" claims are circular financing (i.e. Microsoft buying from itself, which means Ponzi-like fraud)
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 19, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Navigating the Pressures of Modern Life and SpellBinding Accidentally Wrote Another Gemini Server
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Press Freedom Dying in US, Anti-Austerity Strikes in France, and Alan Rusbridger to Leave 'Prospect'
Links for the day
European Patent Office Illegally Gutting and Outsourcing Its Functions, Acting Like an Above-the-Law Commercial Business (It Won't Stop at Formalities Officers (FOs) and Classification Slop at the EPO)
breaking/violating laws and conventions
Offloading to the Sister Site
In the interest of not overwhelming readers
Links 19/09/2025: Coffee Club and "SpellBinding is Now Absurdly Fast"
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Lobbyist of American GAFAM Becomes Data Protection Commissioner in Europe
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Media Freedom Ceases to Exist in US, "Consider Dropping Twitter/X"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/09/2025: Thinking and Insect Bites
Links for the day
Microsoft E.E.E.: Git Will Now (or Very Soon) Fully Depend on Rust, Which is Controlled by Microsoft
Microsoft now makes Git dependent on Rust, or making Git dependent on GitHub, which is proprietary
The Right to Punch People (Apparently)
At Brett Wilson, Brett's job title is "Head of Crime" and Wilson normalises calls for violence
Slop or Fake Articles Have Turned Linux Journal From a Pioneering/Trailblazing "Linux" Magazine Into a Nuisance
some sites with former reputation - good reputation - turn into cesspools
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 18, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, September 18, 2025
Brett Wilson LLP Seem to Have Had Only One Litigation Client in 2025, He Was Previously Charged, Just Like the Serial Strangler From Microsoft (Whom They Now Represent)
Karma is superstition, regulators are not
Project 2030 to Cover How "Project 2025"-Styled Anti-Media Zealots From America Targeted Techrights and Tux Machines
The common denominator is also their attacks on women
Brett Wilson LLP Failed to Meet Deadlines Set by Judge 7 Months Earlier, Tried to Ruin Our Holiday, Then Had the Audacity to Ask Us for Over 3,000 Pounds for Its Own Lateness
As a matter of principle we will never respond to assassin while we are on holiday
On Claims That After Bluewashing Red Hat Will Increasingly Become an Indian Company
Discussed this week (long and detailed)
Americans Attacking British Sites Only Months After They Leave America
We find it kind of funny if not ironic that this site, originally an American site, got legal harassment only from Americans and only months after it had moved to the UK
Despite Losing Over a Quarter Million Dollars a Year Software in the Public Interest (SPI) Gives Helping Hand to Libreboot
SPI's financial state depends a lot on its public image or its reputation
Slopwatch: Google Helps Plagiarism and Sends Traffic to Ripoff Artists
That Google as a company helps spamfarms is noteworthy
If You Want to Know the Future, Listen to the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and Andy Farnell
We're sure the FSF will have plenty of its own output
Links 18/09/2025: A Taliban Ban on Internet Access and Troubled US Job Market
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/09/2025: Computer Literacy and Accessing Alhena's Database
Links for the day
Links 18/09/2025: US War on Media (Truth Banned, Cancel Culture by the Hard Right), NYT Chief Executive Warns Cheeto is Deploying ‘Anti-press Playbook'
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, September 17, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, September 17, 2025