rants


Archive for September, 2007

The end of a phase

Tuesday, September 18th, 2007

Yesterday the long battle supporting the EU Commission in the antitrust trial ended.  Such activity was started by Peter Gerwinski and later carried out by others, including me.  Yesterday a phase has closed.

Today I start a new one, but without FSFE.  I have just sent the following message to FSFE board announcing my resignation.  Thank you for your help and support: these have been wonderful years.

Dear FSFE Team and Free Software community,

I hearby resign from my position as Italian Chancellor and Fellowship Coordinator for the FSFE.

I have contributed to the growth of the organization since 2001, including the creation of projects such as the Fellowship and GNUvox.info, the fight to the swpat directive, the opposition to OOXML and many other successful activities.

So it is with a heavy heart that I must recognize the organization has taken a direction that I can no longer support, one which I feel will eventually make it irrelevant in the community, if not defunct.

In June 2007 I devised with other team members a constructive proposal to re-organize the foundation as a starting point for reforms. It fell  on deaf ears. It has since become clear that all efforts would be made to ensure that my resignation was necessary.

I will continue to promote Free Software within other organizations and in other ways. 

I wish to thank all the people who generously contributed time and expertise to the Italian chapter and the Fellowship.

Regards,
Stefano Maffulli

From now on, please contact me using my personal email addresses:
stef   maffulli net or stef  zoomata  com
My personal blog is at http://maffulli.net

Microsoft behaviour on OOXML pokes ESR

Tuesday, September 4th, 2007

Eric Raymond is back and has written, with his very recognizable style, that he dislikes what Microsoft is doing to get OOXML approved by the International Standards Organization.  Good old ESR is so disgusted by the maneuvers to destroy ISO’s credibility only to maintain Microsoft’s monopoly on Office that he is willing to change his mind about Open Source Initiative’s position:

OSI will treat any licenses submitted to Microsoft strictly on their merits, without fear or favor. That remains OSI’s position. But…

Yes, there is a but, he says:

Despite my previous determination, I find I’m almost ready to recommend that OSI tell Microsoft to ram its licenses up one of its own orifices, even if they are technically OSD compliant. Because what good is it to conform to the letter of OSD if you’re raping its spirit?

I agree with ESR: who cares if some of Microsoft’s license technically grant four freedoms (or 9 principles). The problem is that Microsoft is not being a good member of the digital society, it’s still acting as a bully in the school backyard.

Now I wish Eric recognized that what he said means that OSI is about moral principles as much as FSFs are and there is nothing to be ashamed for this.