How there are still small pockets of deep mistrust of Microsoft in the open source community. I will own responsibility for some of that as I spent a good part of my career at the Linux Foundation poking fun at Microsoft (which, at times, prior management made way too easy). But times have changed and it’s time to recognize that we have all grown up – the industry, the open source community, even me.
How folks seem to conflate “buying GitHub” the company and development platform with somehow buying “open source”: Two of the fastest growing projects in The Linux Foundation family, Kubernetes and Node.js, are developed on GitHub. However (and I triple checked this with our lawyers), Microsoft does not own Kubernetes or Node.js as a result of this transaction. Project copyright owners retain their ownership of their code.
How Microsoft under the leadership of Satya Nadella has now completed its transition from an adversary of open source to a first-class citizen. If you haven’t noticed, Microsoft has been opening up a ton of code and has been hiring top developers who are deeply engaged in open source.
Also the new CEO of github did an AMA on reddit. Really well responses too.
I think the above speaks, again, to the divisive nature of some of the Linux community. The Linux Foundation is happy, Richard Stallman is happy, hell, Linus is happy. Still the toxicity persists.
Literally how I ended up here on this forum.
You’ve used Windows in the past 10 years? Downvote/ban. You use Antergos instead of Arch? Downvote/ban. You like Gnome3? Downvote/ban. You don’t use Emacs? Downvote/ban. Disagree with anything RMS has said? Yup, downvote/ban…
That’s the problem with Reddit. You can create your own private echochamber of misguided people. It doesn’t really promote open communication or growth (personal or community).
Hivemind can happen anywhere, and is actually less likely on a large community site like Reddit where you have millions of users with various viewpoints already registered than an insular small forum like this one.
Also we don’t need a backup. They way git functions is enough. Dev’s just have to do this to switch it to somewhere else from their local machine git set remote origin https://thing.
After the sale? Or right now? In general, shall not be spoken about, ever? Or just with your repos?
From what I gather in this thread, most are in the wait and see mode. Some are absolutely outraged, cause remember in 1997 when Microsoft did that thing? Linux Farms remembers…
The Linux Foundation has shown support, as has RMS I believe. Linus said “I won”, or something like that, so I’m sure he walks around with a stiffy at all times.
Future GitHub CEO has said everything is going to remain the same.
Pretty sure that was the context, but I believe the overall sentiment was he’s very happy Microsoft is utilizing and contributing to Free Software and Open Source.
@Eden can probably dig up the video faster than I can.
Butchering those quotes, but that’s essentially it.
Starts about 38:40
Dude then goes on to blabber on about “malware” in Windows components. He also says he’s never heard of StackOverflow? Lol. Must suck running a laptop that has 644Mb of RAM.
Anyway, he’s indifferent, AKA in the wait and see branch.
Considering he downloads his websites to browse them (assuming he still does) its quite possible he hasn’t, or maybe he meant that hes never seen it or used it. I don’t think he regularly codes anymore, and probably doesn’t use that stuff if he does. (just a possible explanation).
There is also another interview where he talks about Microsoft contributing to free software as not being a bad thing. His views are pretty solid in that regard, hes less extreme than the Linux fanboys you see who scream at anything like this. If you contribute to open code, that is ultimately good, as the code is open regardless of who contributes.
Stallman says he doesn’t code anymore, which is a shame. He could contribute so much IMHO. He also only uses cash to buy stuff.
I understand why he doesn’t freak out with MS buying github. 10 years before Linus what’s his name even thought of Linux MS had the most popular Unix, Xenix, which later became Sco xenix or just Sco. The other 2 ports at that time were BSD and the original from AT+T, which was busted up in 82. MS took some stuff from Xenix to make dos better since with the AT+T breakup IBM didn’t want anything to do with anything Unix.
I think the interviewer was hoping to have Stallman go ballistic with that question, not an unreasonable hope given Stallmans’ reputation.
Maybe he figures if MS wanted to take over all things Unix they could have done so. That’s pure conjecture on my part.
He also has advice on maintaining marital bliss… https://stallman.org/articles/children.html
well drama.