Boycott Novell: Defenders of Freedom, or Offenders of Freedom?

[DeadSuperHero]

Read here. (http://****ertwashington.blogspot.com/2008/06/boycott-novell-defenders-of-freedom-or.html)

Ladies and gentlemen, sit down. You have all been taken advantage of in the worst manipulative mental carnival imagineable.

FUD. We all know the term. Wikipedia states it as: "Fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) is a tactic of rhetoric used in sales, marketing, public relations, and illiberal democracies. FUD is generally a strategic attempt to influence public perception by disseminating negative (and vague) information."

For the longest time, this tactic has been largely connected with Microsoft. Free Software advocates have lashed out against these unfair statements, in an attempt to maintain a fair playing field.
There is one site, however, that tries to "play dirty" with Microsoft, and Novell. Enter the era of double-standards and ********. BoyCott Novell is the unsatisfied FUD-mongerer's answer to corporations.


I thought this was an excellent article. Saw it on Linsux.org, believe it or not. But, it really strikes true this time, something that can't be ignored.

Digg (http://digg.com/linux_unix/Boycott_Novell_Defenders_of_Freedom_or_Offenders_o f_Freedo)

FS Daily (http://www.fsdaily.com/Community/Boycott_Novell_Defenders_of_Freedom_or_Offenders_o f_Freedom)

[shadylookin]

Novell actually made money from Microsoft when they "caved" and they make up ~9% of kernel contributions http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-9907485-16.html

If you boycott everything Novell then you have to boycott the kernel as well:lolflag:

[cardinals_fan]

Boycott Novell is only for those with WAY too much spare time.

[DeadSuperHero]

Boycott Novell is only for those with WAY too much spare time.

Those who write for it have twice as much then.

Think how many amazing developments can be done in the time it takes to write FUD articles.

[Luke has no name]

Radicals, as long as they only talk, can be good monitors of the unlikely. Like Ubuntu getting bought by Microsoft.

[DeadSuperHero]

So, in theory, if we just go with the opposite of whatever the radicals are saying, we'll be fine?

[karellen]

Boycott Novell is only for those with WAY too much spare time.

I second this

[Catharina]

There is a call for a boycott on boycottnovell now on FS Daily. Please give your votes:
http://www.fsdaily.com/Community/Boycott_Boycott_Novell

[alternatealias]

It's obvious if you read the comments on the boycottnovell article regarding the codec issue, that these guys think they are better than everyone else - anyone who doesn't subscribe to their views is, in their mind, unwelcome in Linux.

These guys are whack-jobs.

[bruce89]

The people who run Boycott Novell needed something to do after people got bored of their President Kennedy conspiracies.

[JEDIDIAH]

:lolflag:

Talk of boycotts is a bit senseless here. Without the controversy
of Novell getting in bed with Microsoft, a lot of these people
would have little if any awareness of Novell to begin with.

It's hard to boycott something you're not really paying attention to to begin with...

[bufsabre666]

/me proud user of a novell sponsored os

honestly, this isnt the worst deal thing that has ever happened to opensource as all of these people would have you believe. honestly look at all that novell has done for opensource and you can see theyre a good company, their agreement with microsoft is hardly a bad thing, the number one big issue i take out of the agreement is theyre not ganna sue each other over patents, honestly that patent crap is getting old, i like the agreement.

im an open source kinda guy but i have nothing against proprietary things, i just dont use them if i can avoid doing it

[userid]

"What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist" Rosa Luxemburg, murdered by fascists in 1919

I am grateful to Boycott Novell for doing some critical journalism on this important issue. They're not going to please everybody with their work, but that's the very nature of critical reporting. The blog responses posted on fsdaily (promoted there by the very same "psychopath" who reposted the articles here) were all rather weak ad-hominem attacks on one of the site's founder. I could not find a single valid argument in there.

I do boycott Suse. I think its a shame that this well-established distribution sold out to a near-bankrupt company, Novell, which in turn sold out to MS. Desktop linux is the wave of the future, and MS will fight by any means it can now. It seems as though it is looking to survive solely on legacy licensing fees and patents, like SCO. It won't work. Sell MS shares now!

[aysiu]

:lolflag:

Talk of boycotts is a bit senseless here. Without the controversy
of Novell getting in bed with Microsoft, a lot of these people
would have little if any awareness of Novell to begin with.

It's hard to boycott something you're not really paying attention to to begin with...
I agree. I don't see the point. Boycotting Wal-Mart means something because people shop there. Boycotting McDonald's means something because people eat there. Boycotting Novell means nothing. Who uses Novell products apart from a handful of people who probably aren't going to ever boycott them anyway? I was "boycotting" Novell even before there was a call to boycott. I never had any reason to use their products.

[cardinals_fan]

After spending a few unpleasant minutes on the BoycottNovell site, I was unable to find any clear reasons why Novell's Microsoft pact is so evil. Would anyone who likes that site care to enlighten me?

[Xanatos Craven]

Novell may have done some things that I don't agree with on principle, but I find it very counterproductive and stupid to hate a company that contributes a lot to open source software just because of that. If you're going to judge someone at all, you've got to look at every detail of their being that you can see, not just a few things.


I do boycott Suse. I think its a shame that this well-established distribution sold out to a near-bankrupt company, Novell, which in turn sold out to MS.
Just how much of the Microsoft deal effected openSuSE, anyway?

[Kernel Sanders]

This is nothing more than zealotry. Buried. Oh wait, this isn't digg! :lol:

[userid]

"What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist" -> One cannot offend freedom


After spending a few unpleasant minutes on the BoycottNovell site, I was unable to find any clear reasons why Novell's Microsoft pact is so evil. Would anyone who likes that site care to enlighten me?

This isn't just Boycott Novell, the whole free software community are up in arms about it, and the new GPL3 was released just to counteract these deals with the monopolist.

Please refer to Richard Stallman's/the Free Software Foundation's comments regarding this issue for clarification.


"Microsoft is trying to deny that their contract with Novell means what it says," Stallman argues. "This shows that our efforts in GPLv3 to make their contract backfire against Microsoft are working." @wired (http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/09/richard-stallma.html)

NB: Stallman, for those who aren't aware of this, is the guy who had the IDEA to bring you the ethics of free software and thus this "open source" operating system, it wasn't Shuttleworth, it wasn't Linus, and it certainly wasn't Novell, who just purchased Suse to enter the Linux market when they ran out of options!

[nexxus07]

I read boycottnovel sometimes with amusement if I have nothing better to do with the full understanding that this is the most radical left wing anticoperative opinion one could get. If people want to inform themselves they should go over to groklaw.net. I think sites like this in general are important however Roy could improve on the way he brings his message accross. It does not surprise me that strong opinions have strong reactions however the site seems not really attract people to participate in open discussion as groklaw does. For examples with each groklaw article the comments page is always bigger than the initial article, boycotnovell is the opposite.


Just want to bring in my own personal (hopefully constructive) critisism since I would like boycotnovell to improve. Generally I don`t think anyone gets framed who did not at least deserve some more critical public eyeballs.

[DigitalDuality]

yudkm

[bruce89]

I'll defend my freedom by resigning as an MP. Oh wait...

[saulgoode]

After spending a few unpleasant minutes on the BoycottNovell site, I was unable to find any clear reasons why Novell's Microsoft pact is so evil. Would anyone who likes that site care to enlighten me?

The purpose of the GPL is to provide the users of software the freedom to use it however they wish. When it first appeared in 1989, there were no provisions mentioning patents because patents weren't really being granted for software (not many, anyway).

Once software patents started being granted, they were seen as a way to restrict the user's freedom -- I could take a GPLed program, add some patented code, and prohibit anyone from sharing or using "my" program unless they licensed the patents from me.

To prevent this, Version 2 of the GPL added a restriction that if I included patented technology in GPL code, I had to grant a license that guaranteed others had just as much right to use the code as I had. If I held the patent, I had to grant a free license for its use with that code. If I obtained a license for the patent from someone else, I had to pass that license along, or not distribute the GPL code.

The Microsoft/Novell Patent Covenant circumvented this GPLv2 restriction in a manner which most people consider to violate the spirit of the GPL, if not the precise wording. Novell did not negotiate a license for themselves and therefore was not required by the GPL to pass that license on to everyone. What they did was negotiate a license that was valid only for Novell customers.

This means that GPLed software from Novell could be encumbered by Microsoft patents for all GNU/Linux users except Novell's own customers. It is the exclusivity of this arrangement, that takes GPLed software intended by its authors for everyone to share on an equal basis and makes it solely available to Novell customers, that is considered so reprehensible.

[xArv3nx]

Here's a good one:

Who cares?

[karellen]

as long as it increasing interoperability and Novell keeps making nice and useful apps I couldn't care less. I'm not a big fan of "software must be open-source/free from the evil" stuff

[userid]

You don't believe in ethics??

[FyreBrand]

"What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist" -> One cannot offend freedomWhat about freedom from offense? It's interesting that freedom of speech is so often used as a context to be offensive and that those speaking somehow have an inalienable right to offend everyone else around them. Freedom is based in the idea of being free from institutional (government or religious) persecution from holding a view and voicing that opinion. That freedom of expression is used as a leverage to be offensive is as vulgar as the oppression of expression.


You don't believe in ethics??Whos ethics? Who is defining ethical behavior in this debate and who made them the arbiter of that definition?

When technological devotion starts taking on religious institutional qualities I find that worrisome.

[neighborlee]

What about freedom from offense? It's interesting that freedom of speech is so often used as a context to be offensive and that those speaking somehow have an inalienable right to offend everyone else around them. Freedom is based in the idea of being free from institutional (government or religious) persecution from holding a view and voicing that opinion. That freedom of expression is used as a leverage to be offensive is as vulgar as the oppression of expression.

Whos ethics? Who is defining ethical behavior in this debate and who made them the arbiter of that definition?

When technological devotion starts taking on religious institutional qualities I find that worrisome.

'Old' thread, but I wanted to at least concur with your definition of 'freedom of speech', as I think your intending it .

I agree, that while freedom of speech IS important for obvious reasons, we still have the responsibility to utilze that freedom in ways that respect the foundation its built on. To do less imo and we fall back into the dark ages :)

As a side note, I think its clear that if we fall into lethargy regarding issues we think we dont need to 'care' about, then we deserve the outcome.

cheers
nl

[ssam]

there seem to be people who just want to start fights. at least boycott novell keeps them off the streets.

[neighborlee]

there seem to be people who just want to start fights. at least boycott novell keeps them off the streets.

Yes , they do a great service to the community indeed, by keeping us informed of things we might not otherwise know about.

Thanks for reiterating that :)

cheers
nl

[Vadi]

Offenders imho.

[Delever]

Fud?

[klange]

Bump?
Seriously, old and completely FUD.