Interesting quotes that emanate from BoycottNovell. All of these are by a single person, lest I be accused of picking what other people say and using it for nefarious purposes.
There is an undeniable element of schadenfreude here, I will admit. There are even lolcat references. But beyond that, the more serious objective is to document recurring themes and consistency of behavior in relation to certain topics. When you feel secure in the knowledge that the evidence to your true intentions and mindset are buried in a megatastic pile of text then it's easy to simply shrug away any criticism as "ad hominems", "shooting the messenger" and "nit-picking".
“ Linus has surrounded himself by some yes men
Just watch the response to GPLv3. They didn't read the bloody thing, but they said no just because Torvalds did.
[how much money does Linus make?]
I don't know. He has a nice villa though. 2009-01-07
Just watch the response to GPLv3. They didn't read the bloody thing, but they said no just because Torvalds did.
[how much money does Linus make?]
I don't know. He has a nice villa though. 2009-01-07
“ Linus had no beard
So GNU was suddenly OK
They groomed him and his name (Linus with an X)
IBM can't have a front man who says that Bush should be sentenced to prison 2009-01-24
So GNU was suddenly OK
They groomed him and his name (Linus with an X)
IBM can't have a front man who says that Bush should be sentenced to prison 2009-01-24
“ Watch Linus
Cowardice AFAICT
He fears talking about politics
So he snubs and alienates GNU and RMS
Then, he refuses to criticise Novell
He is being ‘diplomatic’ (meaning he puts money before personal believes and ethics)
Good fit for IBM and other moochers
That's why they call it 'Linux', to repeat what I wrote in Bn this morning 2009-04-03
Cowardice AFAICT
He fears talking about politics
So he snubs and alienates GNU and RMS
Then, he refuses to criticise Novell
He is being ‘diplomatic’ (meaning he puts money before personal believes and ethics)
Good fit for IBM and other moochers
That's why they call it 'Linux', to repeat what I wrote in Bn this morning 2009-04-03
Has anyone ever asked what Mr. Ethics does for a living? I wonder.
“ Linus wants market share ... RMS wants freedom
RMS's world domination: users dominate computers [...] Linus' world domination: market share 2009-05-19
RMS's world domination: users dominate computers [...] Linus' world domination: market share 2009-05-19
Just in case you didn't get it the first time.
“ People are taught that Ubuntu is Linux, so they inherit the Linus mindset 2008-11-17
“ I guess others have the same problem [with his blog]
Linus does not like it, either
He lives in a Hollywood-type home
So ethics scares him a [little] 2009-06-23
Linus does not like it, either
He lives in a Hollywood-type home
So ethics scares him a [little] 2009-06-23
Keep in mind who he's saying this to.
“ Linus starts reading instead of developing... ◊ Someone should pass him some RMS books 2009-05-30
“ [Torvalds] said something about "irrational hatred"
He just doesn't understand how much of a risk [Novell] are 2009-03-03
He just doesn't understand how much of a risk [Novell] are 2009-03-03
“ When you come to think of it, Linus wrote about 2% of Linux, which is only about 3% of the operating system you use [...] That's a total of 2/33 %, or less than 0.1% of a 'Linux' (distribution) 2009-07-26
The word Linux now officially needs to be surrounded in quotes.
“ [...] Linus seems to know very well what we're up to
He has colleagues in Novell though and they fund him 2009-04-20
He has colleagues in Novell though and they fund him 2009-04-20
He has what now? They what?
“ I sometimes wonder how much of a GNU Linus is. I mean, it's not as though he can deny his dad was a communist. Maybe he's just shy of certain things. 2009-03-16
“ Linus is like one of those 3 monkeys. He doesn't want to know.
Mark Shuttleworth values my opinion, so I hope he's watching closely ... he too is trying to be 'nice' to Microsoft so that he can get codecs and nonsense like 'innva~1'
Marc Fleury is the same as Linus 2009-02-11
Mark Shuttleworth values my opinion, so I hope he's watching closely ... he too is trying to be 'nice' to Microsoft so that he can get codecs and nonsense like 'innva~1'
Marc Fleury is the same as Linus 2009-02-11
“ [David Heinemeier Hansson] More vain than Linus 2009-07-26
“ [...] I came to Linux not knowing about GNU
A Finnish friend of mine told me it was invented by a guy in Finland [...]
It was only much later than I found out not just about GNU but also about RMS and the history of it all.
Now I get to confront the people who hijacked his movement and are proud of it.
Along with the thunder they took his funding too
And later they use cronies like MOG and Wolfe to attack RMS for daring to claim credit
I don't know how RMS keeps so calm, but he went through anger management 2008-12-19
A Finnish friend of mine told me it was invented by a guy in Finland [...]
It was only much later than I found out not just about GNU but also about RMS and the history of it all.
Now I get to confront the people who hijacked his movement and are proud of it.
Along with the thunder they took his funding too
And later they use cronies like MOG and Wolfe to attack RMS for daring to claim credit
I don't know how RMS keeps so calm, but he went through anger management 2008-12-19
Just so we're clear, the proud hijacker is Linus Torvalds.
“ Torvalds hates FSF IMHO 2009-04-27
“ I'm not sure RMS is bothered by flying coach. [...] Had he flown first class, then what preacher would he be? 2009-02-06
I recommend reading through the whole exchange for context. It doesn't get any better than that.
After you've read all these, consider this in context. Let me pull a quote from it:
Surely it's just a typo or a Freudian slip, not a matter of ego. But to repeat an old joke, Linus said he named two projects after himself (the second one being git, which actually means something in British English).
Suddenly this clever and playful post doesn't seem so clever or playful. But imagine if you will that someone had shown up on that post and said "This is nothing but a barely concealed insult. Your animosity towards Linus is fueled by your bizarre adoration of Richard Stallman and your belief that Torvalds somehow screwed him". Without evidence or context, the reply to that can easily be "yawn, let me know when you have evidence of that". Well say hello to my little friend!
“ Shuttleworth
Wow! The hero
He.. he he flew to space
What heroism
He's like a man given by God from another planet :-) 2009-01-24
Wow! The hero
He.. he he flew to space
What heroism
He's like a man given by God from another planet :-) 2009-01-24
“ Canonical wants to quiet me down, methinks 2009-06-23
“ [re:Glyn Moody] I try to push him off blogger (proprietary) and twitter (likewise)
It’s hypocritical for him to blog under proprietary platform 2009-03-06
It’s hypocritical for him to blog under proprietary platform 2009-03-06
“ [...] Yeah, that's because of lackeys like these and that's why "open source" is a stupid term... Thanks to ESR and ORLY. 2009-03-06
“ Those who oppose us are usually the very same people whose interests they know are harmful to the advancement of Freedom 2009-06-23
“ [BoycottNovell] is now bigger than Groklaw 2009-03-05
“ azerthoth hates freedom;.. attacking not just me but RMS too in a way: ◊ 2009-02-24
That article is recommended reading, if only to grasp the insanity of the quote.
“ Actually, one of [RedHat's] execs mailed me some days ago
[what did he say?]
Nothing of significance 2009-03-03
[what did he say?]
Nothing of significance 2009-03-03
That's OK, as long as it impresses the bois.
“ I've just contacted IBM re SVG ... They should tell Bill and Steve: stop fighting the Web or face prison 2009-06-05
...hello, Mr. Palmisano? Hello?
“ Many headlines with question marks are trolling ... Like Fox 2009-06-04
“ [...] One of those let's troll/provoke headlines but add quuestion mark. 2009-04-23
“ [...] question mark indicates trolling 2009-04-27
“ Call this a grey area if you like. That's why I put a question mark in the title. [Is YouTube's NovellVideo a Novell AstroTurfer?] 2008-10-07
“ I put a question mark in the headline for a reason. [Does Microsoft Silence Dissent Against Vista 7?] 2009-04-12
“ [...] One of those let's troll/provoke headlines but add quuestion mark. 2009-04-23
“ [...] question mark indicates trolling 2009-04-27
“ Call this a grey area if you like. That's why I put a question mark in the title. [Is YouTube's NovellVideo a Novell AstroTurfer?] 2008-10-07
“ I put a question mark in the headline for a reason. [Does Microsoft Silence Dissent Against Vista 7?] 2009-04-12
And have you stopped beating your wife?
“ This lad asked MS to give him a job (in public): ◊ ... So I keep an eye on what he writes about Linux (provocations and the like) 2009-02-02
Gotta catch'em all.
“ [...] Digg effect coming [...] 5 hours, 60 Diggs. Never happened to me before and on a SUNDAY 2009-02-09
“ Digg is also seriously [fucked] because it’s gamed pretty badly. 2009-03-06
“ Digg is also seriously [fucked] because it’s gamed pretty badly. 2009-03-06
Except when you make the front page!
“ Propagate the mythology that Microsoft won't be there some years from now, so betting one's business on Microsoft is dangerous. Microsoft is trying hard to counter this perception, which is true. 2009-01-26
Propagating mythologies is OK if you're with the "good" guys.
“ [Chrome being hard to port] Google should have thought about their code prior to hastily throwing this browser out there [...] Maybe Microsofters on staff 2009-03-06
Someone call Eric Schmidt.
“ [Mozilla] also got rid of the Microsofter.. Window Snyder 2009-02-11
“ Mozilla detoxicated itself from Windows Snyder ... MS employee ... No longer will Mozilla people praise Microsoft e.g. for security 2009-03-19
“ Mozilla detoxicated itself from Windows Snyder ... MS employee ... No longer will Mozilla people praise Microsoft e.g. for security 2009-03-19
I really, really tried to find mindless praise for Microsoft about security from Mozilla or Snyder.
“ Dana [Blankenhorn] = Windows user ... Writes about FOSS, which he doesn't even use 2009-02-05
“ [...] people who don't use FOSS but sure write blogs about it [...] 2009-03-19
“ I don't use IE or Windows 2009-06-22
“ I ditched the last morsel of Windows in 2005 2009-01-22
“ I have no Windows at work 2009-07-24
“ [...] people who don't use FOSS but sure write blogs about it [...] 2009-03-19
“ I don't use IE or Windows 2009-06-22
“ I ditched the last morsel of Windows in 2005 2009-01-22
“ I have no Windows at work 2009-07-24
Sometimes is just damn hard to be qualified for certain things.
“ [articles from disliked pubs] These always involve collecting comments from Digg, [Slashdot] and LXer, then stringing them together and have some extra text to weave them 2009-02-09
“ [propaganda] I just parrot it, collect and organise the information 2009-06-06
“ [propaganda] I just parrot it, collect and organise the information 2009-06-06
Journalist who runs not a blog.
“ Alan Cox Joins the Company That Sabotaged OLPC 2008-12-24
No one is safe.
“ [Google Chrome] Why are Linux users waiting for this rubbish anyway? 2009-03-19
“ Microsoft is old, clumsy and very [violent]
And like a child molester, no-one trust it anymore [...] 2009-03-19
“ [There is] a nasty new breed of vermin out there [....] They post nasty things under my name [...] I had people post nasty things under my name claiming that I was a child molester [...] 2009-05-17
And like a child molester, no-one trust it anymore [...] 2009-03-19
“ [There is] a nasty new breed of vermin out there [....] They post nasty things under my name [...] I had people post nasty things under my name claiming that I was a child molester [...] 2009-05-17
“ [SuSE "used" to be great] And it was ALL KDE ... No [fucking] de Icazaism 2009-03-11
“ [ESR] not only promotes "open source" and slams RMS but now he attacks the GPL: http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=928
[nice article, do you agree with its assessment on the current situation with GPL/GNU?]
I haven't read it yet
I won't cite ESR, either 2009-04-28
[nice article, do you agree with its assessment on the current situation with GPL/GNU?]
I haven't read it yet
I won't cite ESR, either 2009-04-28
He... hadn't read it yet. And it's a good thing he doesn't cite Raymond. Well, except on every single page of his blog.
“ Hehe. I've been invited to Las Vegas for a conference.
Flights and all covered but I have to pass.
"I don't feel as though I would be safe among a crowd that I have been criticising, but I appreciate your offer enormously and will continue to cover you in a friendly fashion."
[you should, like, totally go]
No, I can't ... Novell people would be there. 2008-12-20
Flights and all covered but I have to pass.
"I don't feel as though I would be safe among a crowd that I have been criticising, but I appreciate your offer enormously and will continue to cover you in a friendly fashion."
[you should, like, totally go]
No, I can't ... Novell people would be there. 2008-12-20
He must have heard the story about the Linux user that showed up at DevDays and was murdered with a bag-o-schwag.
“ Boycott Novell is now stuck at about 22,000 pageviews a day. This may be the first month when there's no climb in traffic. [...] Are you aware of similar scandals that are not explored as much as they should? 2008-12-24
Uncle Rupert would be proud.
“ In [comp.os.linux.advocacy], I say nothing about SUSE
Keeping it invisible is the best one can do so that people don't consider it as an option 2008-12-28
Keeping it invisible is the best one can do so that people don't consider it as an option 2008-12-28
“ Monsters befriend monsters
Then they perfume it to themselves
"I'm just writing code"
"I'm just carrying an artillery shell"
"I'm just flying CIA sharpshooters in a helicopter"
"I'm just annoying people with telemarketing call so that I can feed my baby" 2008-12-28
Then they perfume it to themselves
"I'm just writing code"
"I'm just carrying an artillery shell"
"I'm just flying CIA sharpshooters in a helicopter"
"I'm just annoying people with telemarketing call so that I can feed my baby" 2008-12-28
No, I'm not making this up.
“ It ought to be added that the RIAA and Microsoft do hold secret meetings. I have record of this and yes... they are secret meetings. [...] 2008-02-28
“ The guy who mailed me earlier has MI5 connections 2009-03-17
“ The guy who mailed me earlier has MI5 connections 2009-03-17
International man of mystery.
“ [some article] Sensationalist from what I can gather overstating his case to support exaggerated hypothesis(headline) 2009-01-21
“ Replies are not indicative of readership. Troll blogs like Beranger [or] LinuxHaters get many replies becausse they aggravate [...] In BN I know I do well when people don't reply much. They usually agree when they don'r reply or add much. 2009-03-18
I too get more complaints whenever I aggravate.
“ most people just don't comment ... [usually] it means consent 2009-01-29
“ In [his blog], sometimes I get no replies because there is consent 2009-05-28
“ In [his blog], sometimes I get no replies because there is consent 2009-05-28
Except when they're "trolling" of course.
“ Microsoft is monitoring BN [...] 2009-02-01
Sauron sees all.
“ [Waggener-Edstrom] is watching this
I once sent some IPs to check if [Waggener-Edstrom] eavesdrop on us [...] But I disposed of logs 2009-05-03
I once sent some IPs to check if [Waggener-Edstrom] eavesdrop on us [...] But I disposed of logs 2009-05-03
I made you a cookie, but I eated it.
“ MS Flight Simulator is dead. Its developers might actually manage to do something decent for society now 2009-02-14
“ SHILL: Microsoft manager lists Bellevue home for $2.65M ◊ 2009-03-16
Having second doubts about selling my apartment in Portland now.
“ I used to slam [Chris Dawson of ZDNet] blindly for a short whole only because I confused him with Marc Wagner [...] who's a sucker for Microsoft and Linux hater 2009-03-24
Whew, good thing he noticed.
“ OS X = dumbed-down Linux 2009-03-28
“ [...] Python is not OOP unless there some variant of it which I doubt 2009-04-05
The 'Wormy' variant is not OOP, I hear.
“ [Futurama] glorifies drinking 2009-04-11
Kiss my shiny metal ass.
“ Miguel [de Icaza] is recommending Microsoft books in his blog: ◊ [...] This guy is insane 2009-04-23
You'd think that was "PowerPoint for Dummies" rather than the actual technical reference for the language spec covered by ECMA-334 and ISO/IEC 23270, written by Anders Hejlsberg.
“ Obama is working for Uncle Tom, not Sam [...] 2009-04-24
“ [...] that's like a black man entering the KKK annual meeting and telling them all to vacate the building 2009-02-22
“ This geek reach-out of Microsoft looks a bit like to accommodate the black community with coon songs 2009-06-10
“ [...] that's like a black man entering the KKK annual meeting and telling them all to vacate the building 2009-02-22
“ This geek reach-out of Microsoft looks a bit like to accommodate the black community with coon songs 2009-06-10
No comments. Well, maybe a few [1].
[I suppose you were blinded by your fury that someone dared to acknowledge the existence of Mono and give it a fair shake in the first place.]
“ Yes, bringing up the existence of Mono alone can be harmful. 2009-05-09
“ Yes, bringing up the existence of Mono alone can be harmful. 2009-05-09
You can't make this stuff up.
“ [...] Microsoft tries to drive its critics into a state of desperation. [...] I sense that what Reiser did relates to this. 2008-08-09
Hans Reiser's attorneys had it all wrong from the start. They should have simply blamed Microsoft.
“ I was going to publish a review of KDE4.1 (for money) [...] I never did... Didn't want to risk disliking it 2009-05-04
We'll be happy to keep you well informed about all Microsoft operating systems, though.
“ I was advised by people not to be hardcore on insulting projects [...] Nor people 2009-04-27
Apparently he was never advised to take the advise.
“ We [Sam Varghese] corresponds in private about [Mono] sometimes and there are journalists who are too shy to *gasp* insult some Mono people, so they keep quiet [...] The Mono mob is unpleasant to deal with when [faced] with issues 2009-05-18
Mobs tend to be unpleasant when you insult them.
“ The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity. — Andre Gide 2009-02-05
Meta-quote apropos.
Notes
- [1] I am not trying to imply that this is racism, because I don't think it is. For example, after muttering the first quote, he is promptly corrected by someone as to the meaning of "Uncle Tom" and the way it was being used by Ralph Nader, which is where he got it from. The third quote is actually him quoting one of his "readers", as usual, although he is ultimately responsible for what he publishes. Having said all that, if you don't understand the cultural overtones that things like these have and how hurtful they can be to some people, please don't fucking use them as metaphors. Pick something else. Or better yet, as the saying goes: The best substitute for brains is silence.