Groklaw Declares Victory, No More Articles 265
tomhudson writes "Pamela Jones announced that as of May 16th, she will no longer be updating groklaw: 'I have decided that Groklaw will stop publishing new articles on our anniversary, May 16. I know a lot of you will be unhappy to hear it, so let me briefly explain, because my decision is made and it's firm. In a simple sentence, the reason is this: the crisis SCO initiated over Linux is over, and Linux won. SCO as we knew it is no more."
Groklaw still could have a mission... (Score:5, Insightful)
If PJ or someone else so chose, Groklaw could have a mission. I found the dissection of the legal ramifications of the moves by the various parties in the suit to be education and valuable information. There are many high profile suits for which this sort of information would be quite helpful. The suit by Sony, for instance, is one of these. Some sort of knowledgeable coverage of the various patent lawsuits going on in the smart phone arena would be interesting too.
Good coverage of legal stuff and quality analysis is very hard to find. If a tip jar was put up, some of my money would likely find my way into it.
It was more than just SCO though (Score:5, Insightful)
Groklaw started with the fiasco over SCO, but there was a lot more than just the Linux fight with SCO. It demonstrated to the entire Linux community the minefield that had been lurking: patents, copyrights, and the fiasco that is the American Intellectual Property Industry. Its far more destructive to innovation and advances in science, progress and technology now than at any previous period in history (although the early middle ages and alchemy come close). But with Alchemy, you could claim that what you created in your castle cellar is yours (and no one would try to stop you). Where we are now, if you create something new that you've never seen before, and isn't yet on the market, someone somewhere will claim that all your research, design and development belongs to them, and will insist that you turn over all your work to them (stuff they don't have) because they were granted a broad, general patent, claiming everything you have (so hand it over, and if you don't a judge will make you). People don't even want to do R&D because some company will claim everything. Groklaw showed us this (and I learned what 'with prejudice' means, what 'pink sheets' are, and what the abbreviation NASDAQ (N.A.S.D.A.Q.) stands for, among other things). Thanks P.J.
Re:PJ doesn't exist. (Score:5, Insightful)
Their are zero pictures of PJ on the Net. She didn't even show up to to collect the award the EFF gave her.
I don't have a picture of you. Therefore you are also a IBM manifestation.
Re:Groklaw still could have a mission... (Score:4, Insightful)
If PJ or someone else so chose, Groklaw could have a mission.
I agree. However, I suspect that the job PJ volunteered for would be taxing after awhile; community wonks, ignorant "journalists" with an axe to grind, opposition trying to detract from the issue by making personal attacks from the shadows, etc. Groklaw could be more than just the SCO threat. But now that SCO seems to be well and finally done, it strikes me as a good time to slip away from the menacing limelight.
badly needed (Score:5, Insightful)
Although Groklaw was founded because of SCO's actions, it, or a site like it, is badly needed. We all need to grok law. I hope the site will be spun off to other writers, or another site will take its place.
Re:Groklaw still could have a mission... (Score:5, Insightful)
Law is a never ending battle. If Groklaw expanded it's mission it would never end. PJ would have to be like the Phantom, passing the ring and title down, generation to generation. Every time we hear about a patent lawsuit ending, we've heard of a good two dozen start up at the same time. Groklaw will be a valuable resource, and should be archived, but let her rest, or she'll be writing until they nail her pine box shut.
Re:Groklaw still could have a mission... (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, I read the article, and it makes more sense. I still think PJ should hand it to someone else she trusts to carry on. I can understand being personally exhausted by the effort, and I applaud the job she's done and think she is greatly deserving of the rest and obscurity she desires (because she wants them, not because I personally want her to go away or be obscure :-).
Go leave a comment on groklaw people (Score:5, Insightful)
PJ deserves a thank you for everything she has done for us all. Show her that her efforts have been appreciated before it is too late!
Re:Groklaw still could have a mission... (Score:3, Insightful)
I still think PJ should hand it to someone else she trusts to carry on
Or sell the site. I never understood why Bruce shut Technocrat down. Why take your bat and ball and go home if you can get a few bucks for them?
Re:PJ doesn't exist. (Score:2, Insightful)
Their are zero pictures of PJ on the Net. She didn't even show up to to collect the award the EFF gave her.
This is because she doesn't exist. She is a product of the IBM legal department.
That fails to explain her positions on other cases, such as her obvious pro-Google stance in Oracle v. Google, where Sun's Java guru and now-Google employee James Gosling was quoted as saying that Google definitely violated Sun's and now Oracle's patents.
IBM's lawyers would stay far away from taking sides in an Oracle-vs-Google pissing match over money.
RIP (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:It was more than just SCO though (Score:4, Insightful)
Of course, and the flip side of the coin is, it was more than just SCO. Who FUNDED SCO? They stopped being the Santa Cruz Operation a looong time ago. The gutted corpse was resurrected as a shambling zombie. And who was the puppet master? We've heard the names. The Canopy Group. Microsoft.
SCO and it's merry band of idiots with stupid names (Darl? Seriously?) were put in place as a cock-sure weapon against Linux. Too cock-sure, as they tripped up, and the community refused to put up with their bullshit. Remember the counter-protest? With the signs that had Linus Torvalds as a puppet of IBM? Those signs weren't drawn up at lunch break.
SCO may be no more but the puppet masters are still out there. Throwing in the towel now and declaring "victory" is stupid. We have won absolutely nothing.
Sic semper tyrannis (Score:0, Insightful)
Groklaw is a classic example of somebody letting the power go to her head. There were purges of dissenting opinion early on, when PJ realised she enjoyed the adulation more than anything else. Not much unlike Slashdot (e.g. watch this dissenting opinion moderated into oblivion; groupthink in action).
Good riddance.
Re:PJ doesn't exist. (Score:4, Insightful)
Who cares? The nature of PJ is irrelevant, its the content of the articles one should judge. If they are valid and true and well written, then it doesn't matter if PJ is really a team of forty journalists from Mars, now does it?
Re:Thanks from all of us! (Score:4, Insightful)
Hear hear!
But if I could impress on PJ one thing, it would be to write a book on the case. What I'm picturing is a two-part book, the first basically a collection of her postings in order of publication together with the court's publications (copyright permitting) so that there's a single resource that can be referred to that isn't subject to servers being pulled or data being archived and taken offline. The second part would be a retrospective, an analysis of the analysis, so to speak, comparing hypotheses and expectations with actualities, illustrating what has been added to case law versus what was simply a restatement of existing case law.
This would be of enormous benefit to armchair enthusiasts without doubt, but by being formally presented in such a manner it may also be of benefit to law shools as a case study.
I don't know what PJ thinks on the matter, or if she'd take such an idea seriously, but in lieu of a decent honors system I'd argue she deserves professional recognition in some form or other and typically that means being referred to as an inspiring source.
Re:Groklaw still could have a mission... (Score:5, Insightful)
I think it's called something like "integrity".
Re:It was more than just SCO though (Score:3, Insightful)
PJ did a lot for quite a while. So to those bitching about the upcoming vacuum, step up or shut up. This thing worked because she took action. Now it's your turn, if you actually care.
Re:PJ doesn't exist. (Score:4, Insightful)
Quoting court filings extensively, in many cases the complete document, is hardly FUD.
Of course, that's in stark contrast to trolls/shills like Florian Mueller, who keep on making the same assertions over and over, whether it's about PJ or your attacks on open source in general ...
Jealous much?