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Are You Ready for the SCO Blitz?
eibhear writes "Over on Groklaw, PJ has a theory that SCO is about to embark on an astroturfing campaign, based somewhat on Darl McBride's repeated comparison of the Slashdot and Groklaw styles of blogging at the recent SCOForum conference. PJ reckons: 'an astroturf campaign depends upon a non-moderated site, which explains McBride's sudden fondness for Slashdot.' '" The whole thing is really fishy, but the story is really worth reading just to see the weird battle occurring between SCO and Groklaw now.
SCO in the house! What! What! I'll post again shortly, after I mail off my first invoice to Darl.
It looks convincing.
No matter how good it looks, astroturf is NOT the real thing.
Which is why I assume that anyone saying anything good about my enemy is just my enemy in disguise.
Always remember:
SCO is BAD.
Linux is GOOD.
The GPL is life.
Darl McBride is EVIL.
There's nothing new.
main(0)
SCO doesn't have to realize anything. The investors that keep pumping money into SCO are the ones that need to realize it and pull the fuck out.
Common tatic of wimps. Act like a bully; and if you get beat up with problems too difficulty (IBM, The Economy) find someone smaller than you and start beating on them.
I think Groklaw is the biggest thorn in SCO's side. The media has been pretty content to just print whatever random press release SCO throws at them without doing much (if any) verification at all. Groklaw has been consistenly documenting SCO's actions, court filings, and contradictory statements to the press, which makes it much harder for SCO to try their case in the media rather than a courtroom.
Groklaw is also something that SCO could never have forseen because it's never been done before. Hundreds of volunteers donating their time to get court procedings and transcribe them, research and debunk questionable claims to the press, and write thoughtful articles explaining the technology being used so those who don't have the background can understand what's going on. It's the power of the open source model applied to law. It's anti-FUD, and it's been the worst possible thing for SCO's media campaigns. Go PJ!
"Seek first to understand." - Socrates
As in politics, corporations do not like it when they fail to control the "message" and public discourse on the message. The fact that sites like Groklaw exist and flourish is one of the few things that gives me hope these days. Sure, Groklaw has a point-of-view. But it is also chock full of raw legal documentation of a lawsuit that is near and dear to us all. I don't need to read SCO's "spin" on their latest court filing. I can read it in all of its raw legalese and see directly that it's full of sh*t...
Wish I had a mod point for you. Your view may not be shared, but it definitely was informative.
:)
So, take a raised glass and some karma instead.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
And they have 6 figure revenues from licenses for something WE own.. ..shouldn't WE get all the money?!
Seriously, if SCO looses all thier court battles, all the money from SCOSource should go to OSDL or something.
They have $61 million in cash, no debt, and a market cap of $62 million. Think about that. If they just shut down and paid out their cash, stockholders would be right where they are now. The stock price is so low that it indicates the market assumes management will blow the cash doing something stupid. Given management's behavior over the last year, that's a reasonable assumption.
Does anyone have any ideas on how SCO can hope to create the impression of grass-roots support for them? I don't see any feasible ways that someone could come along and post something which would make me, or any informed person see SCO as anything but a company exploiting IP and the legal process to extort companies out of money.
It's amazing to me that it's even legal for them to offer Linux licenses before establishing in a court that Linux in fact contains their IP. It's like selling the Brooklyn Bridge.. and having it be legal, because the buyer didn't bother to find out if you owned it.
"'Yrch!' said Legolas, falling into his own tongue."
She starts off with this self-referential, circular narative about "blows != violence", but then brings up "sending Enderle over the top" and then she mentions guns and how she really wants to keep Enderle calm, and then she comes full circle and no that's not what she means and suddenly she's *really* talking about "blowhards" and "step-by-step".
Why bother with the entire prologue, except that it makes good "press" when written by someone who's now a "journalist".
And she ends up with a long monologue about how poor Groklaw (center of the known universe) is about to be astroturfed (the latest "attack!" "attack!") by that dreadful SCO.
All this angst really comes from the ongoing facts that:
So, Pamela's got issues, and a lot of people have issues with Pamela, but to hear her tell it it's all Enderle's and McBride's and SCO's fault.
Pamela's backed herself into a corner. Period.
As for SCO itself, fuck 'em.
SCO clearly isn't going to get anything past anyone here, and anyone (Pamela included..) who thinks that /. is going to be fooled by any such BS from SCO is smoking something I don't want any part of...
Finally, no, I'm not an SCO astroturfer:
http://www.finchhaven.com/TSCOG/index.html
I've done my work in the trenches; have you?
t_t_b
I'm on PJ's "enemies" list! Are you?
Somehow, I think that a sudden SURRGE in satisfied SCO users would be an anomaly attracting attention...
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
Community-driven news sites like Groklaw and Slashdot are where a lot of his FUD gets shredded.
I suspect he's trying to drive a wedge between them, to get them to focus and fight each other. He probably doesn't realize that, in terms of a registered user base and commonality of views, they're tied together pretty tight.
tasks(723) drafts(105) languages(484) examples(29106)
Unfortunately, any post starting with `I know I will be modded down for this, but ...' will be modded +5, insightful in no time.
And if you want to lose karma just as fast, post a liberal viewpoint on a hot button political issue. The same thing happens. Or try posting *any* political viewpoint. Sometimes it gets modded up, usually it gets modded down. There is no grand conspiracy. Large numbers of people mod political posts up or down. It only takes a few negatives in succession to drop a post below the radar of those who would mod it up. Of course, it is more hip to complain that you are being persecuted because of your beliefs.
Is that so? Let's put it to the test.
I know I will be modded down for this, but:
1. Windows XP is quite a good operating system, and '95 release A wasn't that bad.
2. Apple are going to collapse within 18 months. Fact! You heard it here first!
3. 2004 won't be the year of the Linux desktop. There will never be a year of the Linux desktop because (insert spurious reason here). This is in spite of the fact that I work for a company which, at one time, had probably the largest desktop Linux rollout in Europe.
That's not a proper test. Try in a different thread, so it's out of this particular context. Start the comment with `I know I'll be modded down for this, but' and add a UUEncoded mp3-file with fart jokes or perhaps even just farts. Voila! Free karma!
/. moderation system into +5 isn't difficult, you just have to post early, be somewhat resonable, and add the magic words.
Well, maybe not. But trolling the
If you really want to lose some Karma fast, just post a conservative viewpoint on a hot button political issue. That post, along with several other posts of yours, will be modded -1 Overrated continuously.
Hmm, I don't think that well-defended conservative viewpoints get down-modded. However, moronic conservative viewpoints definitely get nailed.
BTM
That was the turning point of my life--I went from negative zero to positive zero.
I think it's time they added a "-1 Just Plain Wrong".
Slackware, what else when it must be secure, stable, and easy?
The editors don't give a shit if they're getting played. They know every SCO article generates thousands of page hits and hundreds of posts of discussion from loyal Slashdotters, which means more advertising revenue for OSDN.
That's right. Slashdot is a corporate-owned site. That very fact when placed alongside the various philosophies Slashdot typically espouses is very amusing and contradictory. It is the users here who are getting played, every time they excitedly click "Read more" on an SCO article so they can post their knee-jerk response and see another ad in the process, they add another hit to the site logs for Rob Malda to report back to OSDN, so they can use them when shopping for more advertisers. This site is a business now making money off a lot of gullible people. Why should they care if they're getting played by SCO's media schemes?
Note--if you disagree, fine, but reply and tell me. Don't mod me down for it.
Yeah.. it has to be that.
I mean, it couldn't possibly be that your posts were somehow lacking?
Say offensive, stupid, rude, redundant, poorly formulated, poorly formatted or just plain offtopic?
Get over yourself. If you don't like Groklaw or Slashdot or whatever, go start your own blog. Nothing is stopping you. If you really do have something of value to say, you'll get readers.
I'm not quite clear why critiques of SCO's actions should be prefaced with what schism of the Christian (or other) faith one belongs to. No one, as far as I'm aware have asked Bill Gates fellow church goers to speak out a criticise him. BTW I belong to no faith but am just confused by this constant call for Mormons to stand up.
Please explain?
-- Free software on every PC on every desk
Considering that M$ has recently started doing this on Slashdot, I don't see why SCO wouldn't be taken lessons from them. Notice, how anybody who criticises M$, now gets a barage of Anonymous Cowards trying to drown him out?
"PJ has a theory that SCO is about to embark on an astroturfing campaign"
I hate to poke fun at Pj, but with the Astroturding campain we have heard from the likes of Didio, Endearlie and the other MS shills and "Brown Trollings" in book and newsprint form.
Do you think there might be an Astroturf campain going on?
PJ where have you been?
You really spend too much time keeping up Groklaw.
The Astroturf is way past knee high!
The turfmaster are finding the real grassroots are growing so fast they are scared, real grass acually grows. (In Florida it grows real fast this time of year)
The Microsoft/SCO Astroturfing has been going one for months!
I am the unwilling control for my Origin.
"Groklaw turned into this orgy of groupthink with respect to issues of Linux technical and usability merit."
Really? Every time I go there, it's entirely about the law and how stupid SCO is. I don't think I've ever read anything about "Linux usability" there. Maybe I didn't look hard enough, since I don't read *every* post.
"Let's not turn Slashdot into that."
Not likely. Too many Windows trolls post here. Especially the ones that act like they really like Linux, "it's just that Linux [fill in the blanks about usability, installs, and other ruminant evacuation.]" Sorry, these morons fool no one.
Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
Everyone already understands what's going on. SCO, the RIAA, the MPAA, and a number of other old businesses are led by executive management who just don't get the new service-based models, can't adapt, and just can't accept that if they don't adapt, their business is dead.
So instead they try to plead, whine, and use barratry to protect their pathetic, outdated business models.
What they forget is the problem is the socio-economic market shifts are to blame, not their competitors. If it weren't their "enemies" such as Linux, it would be BSD or some other "product."
Ah well, at this point maybe Darl could at least interest some execs in the media industry. After all, Darl's and SCO's viewpoints on "reality" are about as honest and truthful as "Survivor" or "Big Brother".
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
"Really? Every time I go there, it's entirely about the law and how stupid SCO is. I don't think I've ever read anything about "Linux usability" there. Maybe I didn't look hard enough, since I don't read *every* post."
One of the other replies to my post said it better. They're not willing to engage in self-criticism. Thus, when anything at all gets said about Linux itself, it's positive.
Perhaps things have changed. I haven't read Groklaw (except for the odd linked article) for almost a year.
It was sufficiently annoying that I'm not going to be giving it another shot.
"Not likely. Too many Windows trolls post here. Especially the ones that act like they really like Linux, "it's just that Linux [fill in the blanks about usability, installs, and other ruminant evacuation.]" Sorry, these morons fool no one."
See, this is the attitude I'm talking about. Your attitude is that these criticisms are necessarily false. Anyone who disagrees must be a troll. They must have an agenda.
I rarely criticize things I don't care about.
PJ does censor most discussions about her employer, OSRM. I speak from personal experience, and one who thinks Darl and SCO should be squashed like the cockroaches they are.
If you want a rational discussion of software liability insurance, you won't find it on Groklaw.
For anything other than OSRM, you should stay with Groklaw.
(Is this astroturfing?)
Don't forget that any pro-SCO post is liable to be moderated "Troll" or "Off Topic" in a heartbeat, so astroturfing won't work too well.
What a long, strange trip it's been.
Yes, SCO is sooo cool, in over one year, they have raised the profile of Linux, got untold number of normal (read NON-TECHIES) interested in Open, and Free software.
They have raised the issues of copyright and brought it to a point where people are genuinely discussing it, and rationalising it by finding a middleground from the RIAA style "all bases belong.." and the typical anti RIAA "screw copyright"...
They have shown a great example on how NOT to run a business.. (hint hint, Billy Boy, you do a SCO, and watch it..)
It has shown the Linux crowd is not just a rabid mob of disassociated developers, but can motivate and rally together in a constructive manner. It has shown the accountability of Open Source development and its advantages over proprietary methods, and where faults did exist, it has been clearly highlighted, and resolved.
It has show the commercial viability of Linux. Remember, if there was no Linux users in a commercial environment, how would SCO even be able to sue? How many of you knew that Autozone actually used Linux?
The Issue with EV1 and their payment of licenses, followed by the public apology of the Director, shows how clients are demanding Linux, and the upset and anger expressed shows other business, don't mess with the community. What the community giveth, it may take away.
SCO have raised the profile of Linux beyond our dreams. Those of you who have bosses saying "erm, Linux, doesn't it have issues?", remember a year ago, they may have not even known what Linux is in the first place. If the community can show a lot of maturity, and ride the publicity well, it would again be a gain for Linux.
Talking about community, there is another myth, SCO helped to dispel. Before SCO, the Linux community was seen as a bunch of geeks, loosely associated with relatively new businesses like Red Hat and Suse. Since SCO, the linux community is now seen as a bunch of focussed geeks, strongly associated with large companies such as IBM, Novell, and even none tech people (such as PJ from Groklaw).
It looks like SCO (and their puppetmasters, MS) have done more to raise Linux, than harm it. Those of you who say that their bosses are concerned about Linux
THANK YOU SCO!
Have a nice day!