Are You Ready for the SCO Blitz? 505
eibhear writes "Over on Groklaw, PJ has a theory that SCO is about to embark on an astroturfing campaign, based somewhat on Darl McBride's repeated comparison of the Slashdot and Groklaw styles of blogging at the recent SCOForum conference. PJ reckons: 'an astroturf campaign depends upon a non-moderated site, which explains McBride's sudden fondness for Slashdot.' '" The whole thing is really fishy, but the story is really worth reading just to see the weird battle occurring between SCO and Groklaw now.
I like SCO (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I like SCO (Score:5, Funny)
Absolutely. As a completely unbiased and disinterested observer I have always found SCO's case immensely compelling. I have bought SCO Source licenses for all my friends at Canopy. They make great presents, especially while the low prices last!
Re:I like SCO (Score:3, Funny)
I remember when SCO was a respected and trusted name. They did Unix, they did Linux, they were cool.
I still keep my laptop in an old Caldera laptop bag I got at the convention where th
SCO's userbase (Score:4, Funny)
Ha! Customers are sooooo 1990s. You know, all that quality improvement mumbo jumbo crap. Hell, I'd bet you're one of those "customer is always right" freaks too.
The progressive business model is definitely anti-customer. We learned this from the dot-com experience. You see, marketers put up perfectly brilliant companies, distribution channels and products. Think of winners like Pets.com (come on, anyone who doesn't love the Sockpuppet is a Nazi and outta be insulted by a pack of PETA freaks), Flooz.com (as if anyone could not buy something with Whoopi as a spokesperson!), DigitalConvergence (home of the CueCat and a huge excess of keyboards with way too many
These companies were introduced to consumerspace and what happened? Customers didn't buy like they were supposed to. Losers! Countless VC firms realized that customers were the weak link in the chain and when a VC makes a radical discovery like this, the business world listens. So customers were out.
Naturally, employees became sorta lame too and nearly a million telco employees had to be thrown out the window. But this has much more to do with needing good storage space for all the products that didn't get sold than anything else. No hard feelings techies - if we could have stored all that unsold junk in India, we would have. It was just easier to move your jobs
Ahhh.... SCO Licenses (Score:5, Funny)
Ahhh.... SCO licenses...
The toilet paper of choice for those who don't find $20 bills ostentatious enough for the task.
Do they come in two-ply?
Re:I like SCO (Score:3, Funny)
I can't wait for the next version of their killer O/S. It's very similar to that crappy FREE version called Linux. I am going to buy SCO stock as soon as the markey opens on Monday., they product is so good that everyone in the world is going to be licensing it by the truckload.
I tried buying an older SCO product from CDW and it has been backorderd for over a month. Apparently, SCO is selling so much product that they can't even print the license keys fast enough.
I am really looki
Re:I like SCO (Score:3, Insightful)
They have raised the issues of copyright and brought it to a point where people are genuinely discussing it, and rationalising it by finding a middleground from the RIAA style "all bases belong.." and the typical anti RIAA "screw copyright"...
They have shown a great example on how NOT to run a business.. (hint hint, Billy Boy, you do a SCO, an
Damnit (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Damnit (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Damnit (Score:4, Informative)
In Sydney they call that "getting off at Redfern" [fpahealth.org.au].
Re:Damnit (Score:5, Funny)
When SCO is DOA. RIP. IANAL, but IBM will send them out to BFE, ASAP. WTF?
Pay Up Lusers! (Score:5, Funny)
Oh crap I'm not signed in am I?
Mods? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:ATTENTION SLASHDOT READER (Score:4, Funny)
It has come to our attention that you have been using the term "Astroturf" in deliberate violation of our trademarks, and in ways which will dilute the value of the trademark.
Astroturf(R) is not merely an artifical sod replacement. It is a next generation fiber surface with a look similar to grass and low mainenance requirements. Since 1985, we have been manufacturing such high-quality products and have been heavily investing in our brand. Please immediately cease and disist from using our trademarks in your marketing campaigns.
Sincerely,
Astroturf, Inc. www.astroturf.com
Re:Pay Up Lusers! (Score:3, Funny)
Would that be Darth Darl?
Re:Pay Up Lusers! (Score:3, Insightful)
Slashdot Blitz! (Score:5, Funny)
Astroturfing? (Score:4, Funny)
This is obviously an attempt by the administrators of this website to discredit SCO and avoid paying for their legally extort^w required license.
Re:Astroturfing? (Score:4, Funny)
I thank you for your attempts at bringing honor back to the SCO name. In reward for your efforts, I'm willing to offer you a 1% discount when you purchase your Linux license.
Sincerely,
Darl McBride
SCO's side (Score:5, Funny)
And he [McBride] predicted that "open blogs" like Slashdot will start to tell SCO's side of the story, and then the media will get to understand what is really going on.
Allow me to be the first to 'tell SCO's side of the story, then (Slashdot style, of course):
1. File lots of lawsuits
2. ???
3 Profit!
Sorry, that was just too good to miss :P
Re:SCO's side (Score:5, Interesting)
Been there, done that...
The problem is that SCO built their business model around maintaining the status quo rather than fixing any legal problems that may or may not exist. Their ultimate goals hinge on SCO code existing in Linux and REMAINING HIDDEN SO THAT IT CAN'T BE REMOVED. Since SCO is betting on this legal catch-22 game and has refused consistently to provide the information necessary to fix the problems they claim exist, it doesn't make any sense to play along.
If SCO decides to drop the catch-22 game and focus on recouping damages from the people who donated the code improperly, I for one would be happy to examine their side of the story. They talk and talk and talk about how they want to fix this stuff, and they never ever make the slightest baby step toward following through. Accusations, innuendo, and vague references to "millions of lines of code" do not constitute working with the free software community to fix problems.
At this point though, even if SCO changed course and worked with the community....would you really believe their intentions were honest? Without new management, I couldn't.
Everyone already understands what's going on (Score:5, Insightful)
Everyone already understands what's going on. SCO, the RIAA, the MPAA, and a number of other old businesses are led by executive management who just don't get the new service-based models, can't adapt, and just can't accept that if they don't adapt, their business is dead.
So instead they try to plead, whine, and use barratry to protect their pathetic, outdated business models.
What they forget is the problem is the socio-economic market shifts are to blame, not their competitors. If it weren't their "enemies" such as Linux, it would be BSD or some other "product."
Ah well, at this point maybe Darl could at least interest some execs in the media industry. After all, Darl's and SCO's viewpoints on "reality" are about as honest and truthful as "Survivor" or "Big Brother".
I don't know what you mean! (Score:4, Funny)
-Dar...Trollkore?
Lies are still lies. (Score:5, Interesting)
(btw: wtf is in the water out there? SCO, Orrin Hatch, etc.)
i welcome them because be it on Groklaw or on
in fact - bring it on so that you can trial ballon every ounce of bullcrap here first, before putting it out in the press, so we can prep for it and practice beating it down here.
Re:Lies are still lies. (Score:5, Funny)
http://ut.water.usgs.gov/greatsaltlake/ [usgs.gov]
In the water (Score:5, Interesting)
A lot of it is seige mentality. Don't forget it wasn't
Granted the Mormons are a much younger microculture, but the defensiveness and inwardness is there. This often helps grow Mormon businesses, but tends to remove criticism and skepticism over false claims by a church member. Much of this defensiveness is still somewhat limited and not an embedded cultural practice - yet - but church leaders need to recognize this reactionary trend and correct or remove members that practice it.
Still, Mormons have done much to contribute to society. In fact, I'm perpetually amazed that so many don't condemn the SCO parasites and call them what they are as it goes so much against church teachings of open-paradigm systems. Remember, each new family that arrived in the valley was not regarded as another mouth to feed from a finite pie, but rather a new producer to make the pie bigger for everyone. If you have read "Seven Habits," "First Things First", or any other Steven Covey works, much of what you've read is a secular version of Mormonism applied to the business and personal domains. One of the legitimate heirs of the claim to "founding dot-com", Bill Washburn (executive director of the Commercial Internet Exchange, who fought against the NSFNET's plans for an Internet monopoly grant to the regional Bell operating companies and ANS, an IBM and MCI venture) and many other Internet leaders all hail from this open thinking, progressive faith (of which I am not, but have a great deal of respect for).
Open source shares much philosophically, so it is ironic that one of the greatest haters of open paradigm thought is Senator Hatch, and one of the greatest pump and dump anti-open paradigm companies (new SCO) both hail from Utah. Then again, we all have crooks we have to deal with in our respective faiths and communities from time to time.
Wake up Utah friends and throw these imposters out!
Re:In the water (Score:3, Interesting)
The Hatch-SCO Connection (Score:5, Informative)
Re:In the water (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:In the water (Score:3, Funny)
>(btw: wtf is in the water out there? SCO, Orrin Hatch, etc.)
>>...On top of this, throw in the whole persecution of Mormons and you'll get a bit of cultural paranoia...
What's wrong with persecuting them, don't they derserve it?
Oh.... Mormons
Re:In the water (Score:3, Insightful)
Please explain?
Re:In the water (Score:5, Interesting)
That being said, I'm not quite sure what you mean by imposter; they don't seem to be pretending at all. They're bald-faced crap weasels.
Hatch doesn't pretend to be free of special interests. But he gets re-elected because he is nevertheless a force to be reckoned with on Capitol Hill, whose name is well-known throught the country. Excepting Ted Kennedy, I'm not sure there are many other senators whose names hold the public interest for more than an election campaign or news scandal. He's the head of the Senate Judiciary Comittee, as I recall -- a position of no small importance. Couple that kind of influence and position with the cultural paranoia -- as you put it, and you have a guy who the people will continue to support in spite of his flaws.
The land in the Western US is largely Federally controlled -- not privately or locally governed. This means that the Federal Government often has more say about what goes on with the land here than the citizens of Utah do. It's a big deal: There is a continual struggle between environmental groups who want to make Utah into a giant wilderness area (leagal definition of wilderness), a definitive tourist hiker's paradise (meaning that all motorized access is prohibited -- Even airlines can't fly over the area at 40,000 feet), and the groups that want to make a living from the land more directly, whether it be cattle ranching, or farming, or by developing the land -- mining, etc. The point is that the citizens of Utah CANNOT make these decisions; as a result, the people of Virginia often have more say about Utah's economy then Utahns do. This causes no small amount of resentment.
Case in point: We see hundreds of jobs and millions of tax dollars dissapear when then President Clinton declared about 3.2 million acres to be a national monument as an election year gesture to environmental groups. (Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument)
Whether it was a good decision, economically, environmentally, etc. isn't the point. The point is that the whole thing happened without any public input, without congressional approval (and in fact in spite of opposition), and definately without the approval of those who actually lived there. It was an election year ploy to get votes from people OUTSIDE Utah, and to hell with those people who live there.
So it's seen as a good thing to have a powerful Senator like Hatch, a man who heads the Senate Judiciary Committee. If any 'new' guy ousts him, Utah starts back at square one, with a much weaker voice in national (and indeed local) politics. With Hatch there, the state gets a louder voice; without it, we get rolled over. So Hatch gets re-elected. Any corruption (perceived or real) is a moot point. Suffice it to say, there are a great many of us who don't appreciate our Senator either; and we vote(d) against him. So what?
The fact remains: He's a powerful man on capitol hill, and still watches out for Utah's interests more often than not; and that is a fair sight better than a man with no influence on capitol hill who watches out for Utah's interests more often than not.
On the other hand, Darl seems to be acting quite consistently with the behavior of an arrogant, wealthy (by the general standard of US living), greedy man. This arrogance is quite universal in every part of the world, so I don't see how geography or local culture really applies.
It's really easy to envision Darl as an exec for a major record label; same arrogance, same desire to take what is not his, same everything. Nobody voted for them either, but we have to deal with them.
Re:In the water (Score:5, Interesting)
Hope I didn't come across as a Mormon apologist! I just hoped to share some observations I've had as someone who is outside of the faith who has worked with a few people from it. I spent a few years working with one of the largest retailers in the state, as well as some technology people, and had very positive impressions on how much the open paradigm was embraced.
In fact, at a late night coffee with Bill Washburn one night (at a conference we were both at), I asked him if he had read much Covey (as he was clearly one who practiced the concepts). He nearly dropped his coffee cup and immediately asked me why I made the comment. Turns out he grew up with Covey, and from the following dialog, it became more clear how the early open-system influence affected the culture.
Certainly, I've had non-Mormon friends flee Salt Lake City due to what they perceived as the career limitations applied to those outside the faith, and there probably is some truth there as well.
I guess my primary motivation was letting the
And yes, I think Hatch is a twit.
Many do. Appears the only ones who don't write big enough checks, and Hatch must do the right things for him. Think of him as a terribly overpriced call girl and that'll help understand his role in society.
*scoove*
(ok... i won't hide anonymously on this thread!)
Re:Lies are still lies. (Score:5, Funny)
Apparantly through some twisted variation on natural selection, some of them lost an "M".
Re:Lies are still lies. (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Lies are still lies. (Score:5, Funny)
Oh no! The ormons are coming!
Non-Moderated, not Slashdot (Score:4, Interesting)
Which, thankfully isn't slashdot. Most readers probably don't know this, but the editors have full control over moderation, and can use their unlimited mod points to mod stuff over and over again. It doesn't show up publicly, but editors have been doing this for quite some time.
By doing this, they can trigger IP bans and therefore thwart these nefarious astroturfing campaigns. I trust the good editors here to use their unlimited powers justly, to keep things ontopic, and relevant.
Re:Non-Moderated, not Slashdot (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Non-Moderated, not Slashdot (Score:4, Insightful)
I know I will be modded down for this, but:
1. Windows XP is quite a good operating system, and '95 release A wasn't that bad.
2. Apple are going to collapse within 18 months. Fact! You heard it here first!
3. 2004 won't be the year of the Linux desktop. There will never be a year of the Linux desktop because (insert spurious reason here). This is in spite of the fact that I work for a company which, at one time, had probably the largest desktop Linux rollout in Europe.
Re:Non-Moderated, not Slashdot (Score:3, Insightful)
Well, maybe not. But trolling the
Re:Non-Moderated, not Slashdot (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Non-Moderated, not Slashdot (Score:2, Funny)
Actually, if you really want to unleash the full fury of Slashdot then try suggesting that MacDonald's should be allowed to serve their coffee hot.
Re:Non-Moderated, not Slashdot (Score:3, Insightful)
Hmm, I don't think that well-defended conservative viewpoints get down-modded. However, moronic conservative viewpoints definitely get nailed.
BTM
You know you're a 2nd-rate litigious bastard when (Score:5, Funny)
I'd be really worried if they had any money (Score:2)
Easy fix... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Easy fix... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Easy fix... (Score:4, Funny)
Heh! The reason I chose 700000 was that statistically speaking, more people under that number than over it are likely to have mod points. If I'd gone with 300000 I think I'd have been beaten down to -1 much faster
There are benefits! (Score:3, Insightful)
No matter how good it looks, astroturf is NOT the real thing.
Which is why I assume that anyone saying anything good about my enemy is just my enemy in disguise.
Luckily for Slashdot... (Score:2)
I'm sure OSDN and SCO will find a way to do business.
please read (Score:2, Insightful)
SCO is BAD.
Linux is GOOD.
The GPL is life.
Darl McBride is EVIL.
There's nothing new.
Re:please read (Score:2)
Apple is ________
Steve Jobs is _______
Microsoft is _______
Bill Gates is _______
what's next? push polling? (Score:5, Interesting)
what's next? push polling [disinfopedia.org]???
Enterprise Linux users would be called up by SCO employees and asked:
"Would you be more likely or less likely to install Linux as a Server OS if you knew Linux has copied source code from SCO?"
Re:what's next? push polling? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
What I really want to know is... (Score:5, Funny)
b) If Darl would like to see a movie staring George Wendt
c) If Darl would like to see George Wendt Eating Beans in a movie.
Obscure references are the best
Here's an idea.. Prevent the astroturfing campaign (Score:5, Interesting)
Everytime one of their lawyers cuts wind theres a
Don't give them the chance to astroturf. Simple enough. Just regurgitate more marketing text about the awesome power of the iPod or Tivo instead. It all goes to the same place.
Re:Here's an idea.. Prevent the astroturfing campa (Score:4, Interesting)
It's not the editors getting played (Score:5, Insightful)
That's right. Slashdot is a corporate-owned site. That very fact when placed alongside the various philosophies Slashdot typically espouses is very amusing and contradictory. It is the users here who are getting played, every time they excitedly click "Read more" on an SCO article so they can post their knee-jerk response and see another ad in the process, they add another hit to the site logs for Rob Malda to report back to OSDN, so they can use them when shopping for more advertisers. This site is a business now making money off a lot of gullible people. Why should they care if they're getting played by SCO's media schemes?
Note--if you disagree, fine, but reply and tell me. Don't mod me down for it.
Lets make it easy to identify any astroturfing. (Score:5, Funny)
Failure to do so will result in (insert any patent or copyright threats here).
Message from SCO (Score:4, Funny)
We wish to inform you that it has come to our attention that large portions of your post have been determined to have originated from our copyrighted Post base. If you wish to continue posting, you must arrainge a license agreement with our legal department as soon as possible. Failure to do so can lead to legal action against both you, and any who reply to your post with any part of it quoted, thereby also infringing our copyright. For those users who have posted after the original offending post, but before the posting of this post, you will be given the option to obtain a Posting License for a very minimal and reasonable fee. Please contact our legal department as soon as possible.
Have a nice day (c)
SCO Legal
/usr/dict/words (Score:3, Funny)
A Hearty SCO Endorsement from Joe Public (Score:5, Funny)
I think SCO are really good, they make the best, err, Unex, er Unax, Unix I mean. Loonux isn't Unix 'cause its not the real thing.
Hey, can we move the autocue a bit nearer?
Using a free Unix rip off is like being a communist and me and my buddies at the steel mill don't like commies.
</Astroturf>
SCO would never do this (Score:5, Funny)
What is going on here? Has Groklaw suddenly decided to use accusations in an attempt to damage SCO's case instead of logical arguments. This isn't like PJ, and seems unprofessional.
Interesting... (Score:5, Funny)
McBride and slashdot are technically oxymorons, are they not?
That's like saying he likes having his tiny nuts bitten by badgers.
It has been said that the difference between gutsy and foolness is very thin. However, picking a fight with an active community of highly intelligent zealots who have a product that's years beyond your current product goes under the foolish cateygory.
Re:Interesting... (Score:2, Funny)
Yes?
Re:Interesting... (Score:2, Funny)
you are close, you're just reading in way too much.
get rid of the oxy and that will prefectly describe mcBride if he is even toying with the idea.
A new Moderation Category? (Score:5, Funny)
-1 Flaimbait
-2 Astroturf
Just a reminder... (Score:5, Informative)
Microsoft Apologist Apologizes for Microsoft [slashdot.org]
Rob Enderle Announces Death of Bluetooth [slashdot.org]
and
Enderle's Ferrari Laptop [slashdot.org]
have appeared on Slashdot in the past.
This "technology analyst" is also the author of In Defense Of the Microsoft Monoculture [internetwk.com] and ranted and raved in an "informative" Eweek article about his Windows Ferrari theme [eweek.com] and gushed happily about how his colleagues were impressed by it's cool shutdown and startup sounds.
Re:Just a reminder... (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.sco.com/2004forum/agenda/Enderle_keyno
not complete without a logical analysis done of it...
http://fallinggrace.com/article.php?story=2004081
And I think Bruce at Technocrat said it best http://technocrat.net/article.pl?sid=04/08/10/174
More Enderle Gems (Score:5, Interesting)
Don't forget, this is the man who predicted Apple would switch over to all Intel processors [appleturns.com] before the end of 2003, and of course, that the iTunes Music Store would never fly with Windows users [appleturns.com], because it was arriving after hugely successful Windows music stores like BuyMusic.com.
SCO vs. Groklaw (Score:5, Insightful)
I think Groklaw is the biggest thorn in SCO's side. The media has been pretty content to just print whatever random press release SCO throws at them without doing much (if any) verification at all. Groklaw has been consistenly documenting SCO's actions, court filings, and contradictory statements to the press, which makes it much harder for SCO to try their case in the media rather than a courtroom.
Groklaw is also something that SCO could never have forseen because it's never been done before. Hundreds of volunteers donating their time to get court procedings and transcribe them, research and debunk questionable claims to the press, and write thoughtful articles explaining the technology being used so those who don't have the background can understand what's going on. It's the power of the open source model applied to law. It's anti-FUD, and it's been the worst possible thing for SCO's media campaigns. Go PJ!
Re:SCO vs. Groklaw (Score:3, Interesting)
Obviously rather than tell the truth (that they are were lying) SCO have only one recourse - discredit the most thourough analytical source.
This, to SCO and MS, is now even more urgent as Groklaw (and others) are turning their attention to IP laws and I predict this will have the same pub
SCO angry because no one listening to its spin (Score:5, Insightful)
For those of you not up on your jargon (like me!) (Score:5, Informative)
astroturfing: [astrian.net] n. The use of paid shills to create the impression of a popular movement, through means like letters to newspapers from soi-disant `concerned citizens', paid opinion pieces, and the formation of grass-roots lobbying groups that are actually funded by a PR group (astroturf is fake grass; hence the term). This term became common among hackers after it came to light in early 1998 that Microsoft had attempted to use such tactics to forestall the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust action against the company. This backfired horribly, angering a number of state attorneys-general enough to induce them to go public with plans to join the Federal suit. It also set anybody defending Microsoft on the net for the accusation "You're just astroturfing!".
Astroturfing Definition... (Score:3, Informative)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing
They already tried a blitz. Didn't work. (Score:5, Insightful)
They have $61 million in cash, no debt, and a market cap of $62 million. Think about that. If they just shut down and paid out their cash, stockholders would be right where they are now. The stock price is so low that it indicates the market assumes management will blow the cash doing something stupid. Given management's behavior over the last year, that's a reasonable assumption.
Re:They already tried a blitz. Didn't work. (Score:3, Insightful)
SCO is about 1x, and with no debt. That's very unusual. The problem, of course, is that all their legal activity is expected
Re:They already tried a blitz. Didn't work. (Score:3, Informative)
Investors (i.e. bagholders -- the ones left holding the bag, sort of like the one left standing in musical chairs), they seem to believe that SCO is worth only $62 million. The price determined by the share price and number of shares.
If investors collectively thought the company would be worth more in the future, as they buy and sell shares, the share price would rise to the level that "the market" believes the company is worth (i.e. SCO is worth $500 Gazeeelion Dollarz!).
SCO
Don't trust anybody over 30... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Don't trust anybody over 30... (Score:4, Funny)
They're the puppet masters behind the original conspiracy.
How do you Astroturf *SCO*? (Score:4, Insightful)
Does anyone have any ideas on how SCO can hope to create the impression of grass-roots support for them? I don't see any feasible ways that someone could come along and post something which would make me, or any informed person see SCO as anything but a company exploiting IP and the legal process to extort companies out of money.
It's amazing to me that it's even legal for them to offer Linux licenses before establishing in a court that Linux in fact contains their IP. It's like selling the Brooklyn Bridge.. and having it be legal, because the buyer didn't bother to find out if you owned it.
is it me... (Score:5, Informative)
Check it out! [sco.com]
Nasty isn't it?
I wonder if... (Score:4, Insightful)
She starts off with this self-referential, circular narative about "blows != violence", but then brings up "sending Enderle over the top" and then she mentions guns and how she really wants to keep Enderle calm, and then she comes full circle and no that's not what she means and suddenly she's *really* talking about "blowhards" and "step-by-step".
Why bother with the entire prologue, except that it makes good "press" when written by someone who's now a "journalist".
And she ends up with a long monologue about how poor Groklaw (center of the known universe) is about to be astroturfed (the latest "attack!" "attack!") by that dreadful SCO.
All this angst really comes from the ongoing facts that:
So, Pamela's got issues, and a lot of people have issues with Pamela, but to hear her tell it it's all Enderle's and McBride's and SCO's fault.
Pamela's backed herself into a corner. Period.
As for SCO itself, fuck 'em.
SCO clearly isn't going to get anything past anyone here, and anyone (Pamela included..) who thinks that /. is going to be fooled by any such BS from SCO is smoking something I don't want any part of...
Finally, no, I'm not an SCO astroturfer:
http://www.finchhaven.com/TSCOG/index.html [finchhaven.com]
I've done my work in the trenches; have you?
t_t_b
Re:I wonder if... (Score:3, Insightful)
Number one: PJ is taking this stuff way too seriously, and way too personally.
You have to remember that at the end of the day, this is just a small matter. A last-ditch attempt by a bunch of unimaginative exects in order to get their company bought-out.
Personal attacks and cheap-shots at SCO are strongly distasteful to me, however badly they are behaving. SCO is wrong and they are spreading lies.
It's a simple rule of deb
Re:I wonder if... (Score:3, Interesting)
Most of those comments were making fun of Endrel's speech. If you havn't read it I can see how PJ's prologue might seem a bit bizzarre.
#1 Pamela remains *very* uncomfortable with her awkward relationship to OSRM, but doesn't want to talk about it
What other choice does she have?
#2 Pamela absolutely will not compromise on "it's my damn blog and I'll censor^W delete posts^W^W run i
Re:I wonder if... (Score:5, Interesting)
No. PJ deletes posts arbitrarily. I had a post deleted that was sligtly critical of some of her editorial histrionics (remember when she compared Linus to a baby seal?) I tried to be humorously chiding, not overtly negative, because I do find much value Groklaw. I just find the over-the-top editorializing to be. . . embarrassing.
It's unfortunate that what is otherwise a great source for SCO news has also become something of a cult, and that the cult leader embraces this role and seeks to consolidate it by making paranoid accusations.
There's something Stalinesque about the whole thing. "Let's all pull together for the good of OSS by rooting out the SCO moles in our midst" is kind of chilling.
Re:I wonder if... (Score:4, Insightful)
It was a while ago, so I might not be remembering everything, but that's the gist of it, as I remember it.
Interestingly, I read the last piece she wrote on Enderle tonight, and managed to catch sight of the first thread in the comments section. It was entitled "Trolls here please". So I posted before I went out for the evening, voicing my criticism of the deletion of posts, thinking that it would be safe to post in that thread. At least two others felt the same way. When I returned from my evening out, my post and the the two other posts I had noted had been deleted.
So, it was an interesting experiment, but nothing much has changed in the Groklaw comments section. It'll be a while before I read any comments again or post my own.
And oddly enough, it made me appreciate the slashdot moderation system. I get very irritated with retarded mods here, but really, the system works fairly well. It's not perfect, and perhaps there might be ways to improve it, but over the long run, it works.
A pretty absurd theory from PJ (Score:3, Interesting)
A more likely motivation for McBride's praise of Slashdot is that it was an attempt to slime Groklaws system of deleting posts. Trying to suggest some suppression of legitimate viewpoints. In other words, more FUD.Here be post deleters.
I always figured McBride had a screw loose somewhere, after all he is probably headed for what is technically known as a federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison, but to actually praise Slashdot? If I were an investor I'd be breaking into a cold sweat. I wonder if he also eats his own excrement now, and hums tunelessly to himself while rocking back and forth.
/. user_id for sale? (Score:3, Informative)
maybe... (Score:3, Funny)
Oh, come on... (Score:3, Funny)
Sorry, Darl...here's your money back, I just couldn't pull it off with a straight face.
Groklaw vs. SCO, no contest (Score:4, Interesting)
Darl's is obviously a puppet, aparently this Enderle creep is too. Amazing what can be found under rocks if you are up to scraping away enough slime.
yep, MS found a couple of real specimens in these two. funny, I recently sent a very similar specimen to my septic tank. MS may want to use some soap when they're done.
gee, maybe SCO can print grassroots articles with photos of "real people" that totally agree with their bullshit story...photos that will be immediately found in common clip art libraries. MS has set a great example for such bozo tactics.
the trailer park has certainly gone downhill since Darl & company moved in. but nothing an IBM tornado can't clean up.
Well... (Score:3, Insightful)
Dear Slashdot Reader: (Score:5, Funny)
I am writing to tell you that I have a problem which you can help me solve. It seems that we have received a large sum of money from an unnamed company in the wonderful lake-strewn state of Washington that we do not wish to pay the exorbitant taxes of the government on.
So, we would like to transfer these funds to an account outside the jurisdiction of the government. To do this, we need someone who is prepared to use their account to transfer our funds in order to conceal their point of origin.
If you will please give us your bank account number, we will transfer our funds through your account to an unnamed institution in the wonderful lake-strewn country of Switzerland. In return for this service, we will gratefully transfer you to a service fee of 10% of the funds transferred through your account. This could amount to as much as FIVE MILLION DOLLARS!
Please respond to my email as soon as possible, because our investors may force us to pay out these funds due to our falling stock price.
Sincerely,
Darl^H^H^H^HKwame Rufatata
SCO Group
Re:Astroturfing (Score:5, Funny)
Re:SCO are great (Score:4, Funny)
SCO Akbar?
Re:SCO are great (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Uhg (Score:4, Insightful)
Really? Every time I go there, it's entirely about the law and how stupid SCO is. I don't think I've ever read anything about "Linux usability" there. Maybe I didn't look hard enough, since I don't read *every* post.
"Let's not turn Slashdot into that."
Not likely. Too many Windows trolls post here. Especially the ones that act like they really like Linux, "it's just that Linux [fill in the blanks about usability, installs, and other ruminant evacuation.]" Sorry, these morons fool no one.
Re:Uhg (Score:3, Insightful)
One of the other replies to my post said it better. They're not willing to engage in self-criticism. Thus, when anything at all gets said about Linux itself, it's positive.
Perhaps things have changed. I haven't read Groklaw (except for the odd linked article) for almost a year.
It was suffic