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The FSF, Linux's Hit Men

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the they'd-had-to-be-called-that dept.

PrimeNumber writes "Forbes has this story about the Free Software Foundation and its quest for Cisco and Broadcom to release the source of GPL'ed linux source used in routers. Forewarning: The open source community is not portrayed in positive light so you might want to skip reading this. However it did help me gain insight into software from a PHB and suit perspective."

4 of 1,230 comments (clear)

  1. Good Article, Bad Publicity by EchoMirage · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    This article will be met with much dispute on Slashdot, and rightly so, to an extent. However, there are a few well-made points in the article, and there are some things that the FSF has clearly gone overboard (again) with. Take this quote from FSF Director Bradley Kuhn:

    "And if they [Cisco] balk? Kuhn raises the threat of legal action. 'We defend the rights protected by the GPL license,' he says. 'We have legal teeth, so if someone does not share and share alike, we can make them obey the rules.'"

    Make them obey the rules? Yes, technically that's what legal enforcement of a license does, but Brad could definetely have phrased it in a way that didn't make the FSF look like a schoolyard bully. A better way to say this would be: "We would, if necessary, defend the code-sharing clauses of the GPL, but we would of course want to work with Cisco before that to have them see the benefits of voluntarily sharing this code, as many other companies have done."

    I've met Brad before, and while he's a decent and friendly guy, he's pretty deeply into the free software zealotry. As has been hashed and rehashed multiple times, the zealotry that exists within certain wings of the free software movement is a prime reason why many businesses are still extremely skeptical about the whole free software/Linux thing. Making wild-eyed threats like this and having them appear in Forbes (which more than a few CFOs and CIOs read) is a pretty big black eye for the FSF and the free software movement...

  2. Re:Forbes is a Microsoft shill anyway by beady · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    +4 FlameBait... impressive!

  3. Re:Forbes is a Microsoft shill anyway by JediTrainer · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    It's +5, FlameBait now! Is that a first?

    --

    You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. The impossible just takes a little longer.
  4. Re:I'm a zealot by goldspider · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    How is that a troll, he's 100% correct!

    Zealots always prefer to ignore/silence an opposing opinion over understanding/refuting it. And there's no shortage of that here on Slashdot!

    --
    "Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy