Notices by Dave Lane :flag_tino: 🇳🇿 (lightweight@mastodon.nzoss.nz), page 11

@hans ugh. As if I needed another reason to never use any Microsoft (or Apple) technologies.

@msw agreed. Nowadays, thanks to Google's and Microsoft's propaganda, 'open source' no longer includes Copyleft licenses. We now have to say Free(/Libre) and Open Source Software to cover the bases. I note that the corporates *never* say "FOSS", they're always OSS. Which shows where their loyalties/interests really lie. They're no friends of mine, for sure.

Over the years, I've heard many idealistic young (and no-so-much) tech folk say, after accepting roles at Microsoft or other predatory tech corporates, that they were going to "change the corporation from the inside". Initially, I thought that 'infiltration narrative' had some merit. 20 years later, however, I've seen how that's worked out for those folks. A couple quit & dropped out of tech entirely, but most stayed. And they had their idealistic edges knocked off by 'the machine'... 1/2

I just hope that people learn one thing from the Twitter debacle (especially those who consider themselves dependent on it): allowing yourself to become dependent on a tool that is centralised, corporate, for-profit, and proprietary is a perfect way to set yourselves up for a similar fall in future. Look for the same pattern in your other tech dependencies. I suspect most of us will feel some discomfort. That's good. It's also appropriate That's what leads to positive change.

Look at this: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/481441/what-amazon-wanted-from-new-zealand-s-prime-minister Amazon & Microsoft requesting that Aotearoa NZ's gov't give them special privileges (i.e. a market advantage, even over local providers) because they promise to make a big investment (which, of course, is just TrickleDown Economics, i.e. a myth.). The money they're investing *will not provide long term benefit for Aotearoa or NZers*. It will provide long term benefit for their shareholders. At the expense of local cloud providers.

@thamesynne the word 'viral', with very negative connotations, was adopted by corporate interests. It's not viral, it simply applies to derivative or dependent works. It's inherited. @edavies @clacke

@ocdtrekkie I can't understand why a developer would license their code with a permissive open source license, unless their goal is to maximise uptake, especially by corporate users, who'll incorporate their code into their proprietary products. If you're developing an end-user app, then it makes no sense to me at all. I tend to think those devs are either naive or planning to close their code in future (or use an 'open core' model). **spits** Got no time for that.

@ocdtrekkie ok, fair enough. The only downside to that approach is that you might end up having to buy back a future (slight or big) derivative of your original code. Which, to me, seems a bit on the nose. It's your call, of course.

When I see folks from organisations talking about #OSS (Open Source Software) rather than #FOSS, I assume they're aligned with Microsoft and 'corporate open source': software released under weak open source (not Copyleft) licenses that is amenable to being exploited by corporations who want to incorporate it (usually contributing little or nothing back to the dev community) into their proprietary services and sell it to their oblivious customers.

Those "#OSS-loving" corporations *hate* software that uses a Copyleft license (e.g. the GPL, AGPL and other licenses with inheritance clauses) because they can't treat it like gratis R&D they can exploit. I believe proprietary software is ethically tainted (https://davelane.nz/proprietary) and so I have zero respect for those corporations. I also have a substantially lower impression of institutions/orgs that align themselves with those corps by referring to OSS rather than #FOSS. Details matter.

Password managers are a *great* (essential!) thing. But folks using LastPass... don't. Similarly, all the other centralised, VC-funded proprietary corporate players (1Password, Dashlane, etc.). They're all an accident waiting to happen (or happen *again*, like this: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/lastpass-says-hackers-accessed-customer-data-in-new-breach/). This is the approach I recommend: https://tech.oeru.org/join-fediverse-installing-mastodon-40-ubuntu-2204-docker-compose If you're not up to building your own, find someone you know & trust to do it. If you build one, make it available to your family & social circles.

@mokturtle I wrote this because I was so frustrated with open communities imposing upon would-be collaborators, forcing them to sacrifice their rights/privacy/sovereignty to take part because collaboration was on proprietary platforms like Slack or Discord. Or even Github. https://davelane.nz/notslack

@mokturtle There're lots of Slack/Discord alternatives, all FOSS. Dozens. Here're a few mature ones: Matrix/Element (uses the Matrix open messaging standard), Rocket.Chat, Zulip, and newer ones: Rebel, FOSSCord,

Hello @conservancy - been spending a bit of time in the WordPress (GPLv2+) plugin/theme ecosystem & am amazed how most have "pro/premium licenses" (they use that term) on their code *in addition to the required GPL license*. They're all 'open core' rather than FOSS, from what I can see, contravening the GPL with an additional license. Is this something you're already aware of? Am I right that its a widespread contravention of the GPL? If so, is anything being done to redress it?

@alilly @conservancy given that WordPress plugins/themes are 100% dependent on WordPress core, which is GPL'd, their works are derivative works and therefore obliged to also be GPL'd... I would've thought that'd restrict their ability to offer a second license on the same code - expressly prohibited by the GPL... Am I mistaken?

@alilly ok - yeah, as a longtime Drupal developer (which, like WordPress is GPL'd) the idea is that plugins and modules which have no useful function without the platform core (Drupal or WordPress core respectively), they are derivative works and must adhere to the GPL.

@conservancy

@alilly Hmm - linked languages like C and levels of linking at, say, an API interaction level are much more loosely coupled. In PHP (in which both Drupal and WP are authored) plugins are, I believe, much more tightly integrated than that kernel-level integration, especially if some API-like linking is being employed to allow for the incompatibly licensed components to interact... @conservancy

Hmm - I'm starting to wonder if I should deprecated the two Gitlab "community edition" instances I run and migrate both to Gitea, which seems far more committed to being properly #FOSS (or "#FLO" Free, Libre, and Open as some are now labelling things that adhere to the principles of Free Software & Copyleft as well as the letter)...

@ilumium @ehashman as a self-hosting enthusiast, I host for lots of communities because I know it's unrealistic for everyone to know (or care) enough to do it for themselves...and it's no extra effort to host for others if I'm doing it for myself anyway. It's a natural, easy way for me to provide value for others - to give back to my community, that's given quite a lot to me.

Wow this is some vested interest bullshit: https://businessdesk.co.nz/sponsored/a-clearer-path-to-the-cloud we need to push back hard against these jackasses.