commit d1de207a1841eba399d7eecac554ae524a0a0bf1
parent ee65ccf0ed44fdb1d3df29e93ec3f1a5cc1b3d16
Author: Jake Bauer <jbauer@paritybit.ca>
Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2021 17:37:08 -0500
Update latest blog post with links and rewording about the SFC
Diffstat:
1 file changed, 19 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)
diff --git a/pages/blog/free-software-is-an-abject-failure.md b/pages/blog/free-software-is-an-abject-failure.md
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
<div class="byline">
<b>Written By:</b> Jake Bauer |
<b>Posted:</b> 2021-11-08 |
- <b>Last Updated:</b> 2021-11-08
+ <b>Last Updated:</b> 2021-11-12
</div>
<p class="note">I want to preface this by saying that I used to be a staunch
@@ -367,18 +367,22 @@ existed_.
Speaking of fading into irrelevancy, many of the Free Software institutions such
as the Software Freedom Conservancy and Free Software Foundation Europe have
-been reliant on GPL violation lawsuits as pretty much their sole means to exist.
-It has gotten so bad that [the SFC have tried to bring lawsuits on behalf of the
-users of GPL software](https://lwn.net/Articles/873415/); something which has
-little basis in actual copyright law, but is the only option they have left when
-companies either skillfully hide their GPL violations or the owners of GPL
-software are unwilling to enforce their license against large opponents. No
-wonder these institutions also tend to only go after small opponents from which
-they can easily make money. Even very public [violations such as those committed
-by
+either been reliant on GPL violation lawsuits as one of their primary means to
+exist, or have been relatively ineffective at carrying out their mandates with
+regards to litigation. It has gotten so bad that [the SFC have tried to bring
+lawsuits on behalf of the users of GPL
+software](https://lwn.net/Articles/873415/); something which has little basis in
+actual copyright law, but is the only option they have left when companies
+either skillfully hide their GPL violations or the owners of GPL software are
+unwilling to enforce their license against large opponents. A cursory glance on
+the SFC's website reveals a lot of information about this Vizio lawsuit, but not
+much information about previous lawsuits or successes. No wonder these
+institutions also tend to only go after small opponents from which they can
+continue to justify their existence. Even very public [violations such as those
+committed by
OnePlus](https://web.archive.org/web/20211108073317/https://github.com/OnePlusOSS/android_kernel_oneplus_sm8150/issues/13)
have still gone unanswered for. If such violations are clearly allowed to
-continue, what use even are these institutions? What use is the GPL?
+continue with such ineffective enforcement, what use even is the GPL in reality?
Regarding the quality of GNU software, outside of the ~~cult~~ community of Free
Software, GNU code has a reputation of being resource-hungry, buggy, bloated, or
@@ -495,3 +499,7 @@ consider checking out <a
href="https://unixsheikh.com/articles/the-problems-with-the-gpl.html">The
problems with the GPL</a> as well as <a href="/a-critique-of-free-software">A
Critique of Free Software</a> both of which inspired this post.</p>
+
+<p class="note">You may also be interested in reading the [discussion on
+Mastodon](https://bsd.network/web/@jbauer/107242760541269391) or the [discussion
+on Lobste.rs](https://lobste.rs/s/dmh7qx/free_software_is_abject_failure).</p>
