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Russia Mulls Forking Linux in Response to Developer Exclusions
(cyberinsider.com)
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this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2024
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It was expected. This is how "free" development becomes a victim of not at all free dogmas. It is also how already fragmented Linux development becomes even more fragmented.
What “not at all free dogmas” are you referencing, and why is “free” in scare quotes?
What's free about delisting maintainers based on their country of residence?
First, you’re acting like the decision was made by Linus or another member of the team and that they weren’t following the law.
Second, even if that weren’t the case, it’s still completely free. Unless you can name one of the following freedoms that was impacted by those actions:
All of those freedoms were directly impacted bozo.
And as for "Linus didn't do it", not only did they choose to comply with an order that directly violated the GPL, but in doing so he then followed up by gloating about Russian maintainers who have worked diligently on the kernel for years for the betterment of open software AND Linus' paycheck.
Calling your former volunteer contributors bots and state assets because of their home country is just straight up racist, especially when the only evidence of state-sponsored tampering in the Kernel has come from American institutions (that we even know of).
Literally none of those freedoms were impacted. Everyone is still free to use the program as they wish, fork it, make changes, etc.. Linux doesn’t have a new license that says “anyone but Russians” can use it.
How did he gloat? He explained the change. If your complaint is that he was abrasive, I feel like you’re not familiar with Linus.
Sounds a lot more like he’s frustrated than delighted to me.
He didn’t call the contributors bots.
He called the people submitting reverts and complaining about those maintainers, who weren’t contributors themselves, “troll farm accounts.”
When did he call anyone a state asset? To be clear, being a troll or a paid actor doesn’t make you someone’s property.
He also explained that this was a legal matter:
Ok, I give up, I have no idea if you're doing a bit. Like I felt kinda confident you were serious, but this leaves me floundering. Purposely obtuse because you've talked yourself into such a stupid corner, or just that incredibly obtuse that you unironically think asset means property? Absolutely no way to tell which one it is.
Before I reply to your comment, I’d like to share this link. It didn’t change any of my existing understanding because Linus’s comment already made it clear that this was out of their hands, but maybe it’ll help clarify something for you.
I realize now that this comment on that post was made before this one (“What's free about delisting maintainers based on their country of residence?”) by the same person. It’s disingenuous for someone to act like this is about “country of residence” when they already engaged with a post clarifying that it’s because of sanctions against specific companies.
I unironically think that because it does mean that:
When I do a search for “state asset,” the results I get are all related to property, resources, etc., things that belong to and can be exploited by the state - for example https://www.epa.gov/dwcapacity/state-asset-management-initiatives-documents
Searching for “asset” specifically I see a tertiary definition reading “A spy working in his or her own country and controlled by the enemy” as well as the wikipedia definition, but that still means “spy,” not “paid lobbyist.”
I’d apologize for not being well versed enough in counter-intelligence lingo to properly interpret the comment, but even with a proper interpretation, the comment I replied to was still incoherent, so I’m not really sure what you expect here.
It feels weird to say that it was incredibly obtuse of me to not spend more time trying to figure out what someone meant when they were, as far as I can tell just mad that Linus and other Linux maintainers didn’t ignore what their attorneys advised, regardless of what impact that might have had on them personally, and spouting a bunch of nonsense as a result.
Maybe I’m wrong, though. If so, would you care to explain how this was a violation of the GPL and/or how all of the 4 freedoms I listed were violated?
Hey now, something strange is going on here - see, when I visit that page, there aren't just 3 items. Now, you wouldn't be selectively ignoring parts of your own source to paint a certain narrative, would you? Because the 4th item I see is
I'm sure you simply... overlooked it in your excitement. Now you're aware though, I'm sure you'll be happy to correct your comments.
You could try reading the rest of my comment first.
why would i fucking care about the rest of what you have to say, liar? You're not here arguing in good faith, why would I bother?
If anyone’s operating in bad faith, it’s you. Are you drunk? You’re being an intentionally obtuse pedant and a liar (by your own definition). Try replying once you’ve sobered up, clown. Once you reread and realize how much of a dick you were, I’m sure you’ll apologize - unless I’m right about you being too much of a coward to admit when you’re wrong about something.
That's a lot of cope babe, are you ok? & thanks for posting Linus' ravings to prove the other guy right
You do know that the maintainers delisted worked for russian companies that was sanctioned by the west? And if you feel somehow wronged by this, you are always more than welcome to emigrate to a country that aligns with your worldview.
First of all, saying "based on their country of residence" is either grossly uninformed or (most probably) plain dishonest.
Ignoring that, the GPL-freedoms of companies subject to sanctions are still preserved, so.... having established that your "free" is not the same "free" as in "free and open source software", what the hell are you talking about?
Check out the post history, this person is a Richard Stallman defender
It doesn’t. Russians are still free to use and contribute to Linux development. Just a few people lost their maintainer rights.
No point in contributing to a hostile organization.
Yeah... Russians lost rights. A bit of a catch-22 there, pal.
Right? It’s weird how so many people upset about the situation in this thread are incapable of explaining why it’s a problem without lying.
Like, I get that it sucks to be removed as a maintainer because of something outside your control. But being, or continuing to be, a maintainer of a project isn’t a right that’s integral to that project being free.