Why there’s no European Google, and why that's a good thing. Great stuff by @ploum
https://ploum.net/2026-01-22-why-no-european-google.html

h/t @Tupp_ed

#software #Europe #FOSS #tech #capitalism #CopyLeft #internet

Why there’s no European Google, and why that's a good thing. Great stuff by @ploum
https://ploum.net/2026-01-22-why-no-european-google.html

h/t @Tupp_ed

#software #Europe #FOSS #tech #capitalism #CopyLeft #internet

@bortzmeyer overheard at #FOSDEM
> “There is a guy who does a lot of work to help the fediverse and to push people toward it. His name is Donald Trump.”

This statement contains multitudes b/c #TruthSocial is a fork of #Mastodon. Initially, $DJT violated the #AGPLv3, but AFAIK they now comply with the license. I examined the fork & they primary code they added was an advertising platform. Obviously it doesn't have federation turned on.

Cc: @jzb

#GPL #FOSDEM2026 #FOSDEM26 #copyleft #AGPL

@bortzmeyer overheard at #FOSDEM
> “There is a guy who does a lot of work to help the fediverse and to push people toward it. His name is Donald Trump.”

This statement contains multitudes b/c #TruthSocial is a fork of #Mastodon. Initially, $DJT violated the #AGPLv3, but AFAIK they now comply with the license. I examined the fork & they primary code they added was an advertising platform. Obviously it doesn't have federation turned on.

Cc: @jzb

#GPL #FOSDEM2026 #FOSDEM26 #copyleft #AGPL

I usually use this story of blind men describing an elephant to explain difference between #FreeSoftware and #OpenSource.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant

A very widespread misunderstanding equates #copyleft with #FreeSoftware and permissive licenses with #OpenSource.

In almost all practical cases you are referring to the same software.

The difference is what you focus on and this focus difference gives you different conclusions. So I focus on 4 freedoms for every user ie, copyleft Free Software.

Just placed an order for a new prototype PCB (Printed Circuit Board) for makers. This one charges NiMH (Nickel-metal Hydride) rechargeable batteries with charging speed options, support for up to 6 cells, temperature sensor, and USB-C plug.

This is a step toward our first accessibility product for blind people to feel visual art through a haptic pen-like stylus interface.

https://codeberg.org/bcecoop/bce-pcb-bq25172dsgr

#blind #accessibility #a11y #pcb #prototype #fosh #foss #freehardware #freesoftware #copyleft #ee

Just placed an order for a new prototype PCB (Printed Circuit Board) for makers. This one charges NiMH (Nickel-metal Hydride) rechargeable batteries with charging speed options, support for up to 6 cells, temperature sensor, and USB-C plug.

This is a step toward our first accessibility product for blind people to feel visual art through a haptic pen-like stylus interface.

https://codeberg.org/bcecoop/bce-pcb-bq25172dsgr

#blind #accessibility #a11y #pcb #prototype #fosh #foss #freehardware #freesoftware #copyleft #ee

@skyfaller

As for LLMs, I do have some ideas of what #copyleft- @next can do to deal with the issue and how it impacts copyleft in general.

I'm hoping to work more on this after the #Vizio trial is over.

#SFC

@hko Sorry to bug you, but have you picked a license yet for your #OpenPGP project in #Rust?

Obviously your choice, but I admit I'm on a mission to advocate for more Rust software under #copyleft licenses.

Cc: @liw @nlnet

Un amigo me ha pasado este dato... comparto por si les interesa
https://www.espinof.com/cine-clasico/editores-wikipedia-han-sacado-su-propio-netflix-pequeno-regalo-para-cinefilos-4-000-peliculas
#peliculas #publicdomain #wikipedia #cultura #copyleft #copyright #copyfight #culturalibre #dominiopublico

Un amigo me ha pasado este dato... comparto por si les interesa
https://www.espinof.com/cine-clasico/editores-wikipedia-han-sacado-su-propio-netflix-pequeno-regalo-para-cinefilos-4-000-peliculas
#peliculas #publicdomain #wikipedia #cultura #copyleft #copyright #copyfight #culturalibre #dominiopublico

😲 👀 … Judge Leal in #SFC's landmark impact litigation against #Vizio (regarding their violations of #GPLv2 & #LGPLv2_1) is leaning toward partially granting our motion for summary adjudication.

Such motions are difficult to win, so this is amazing.

Her decision is tentative; join the hearing today (details in linked post) to hear the oral arguments in real time.

I'll live updates of the hearing in this thread.

https://sfconservancy.org/news/2025/dec/04/tentative-vizio-ruling-in-favor-of-sfc/

#OpenSource #FreeSoftware #copyleft #SoftwareFreedom

😲 👀 … Judge Leal in #SFC's landmark impact litigation against #Vizio (regarding their violations of #GPLv2 & #LGPLv2_1) is leaning toward partially granting our motion for summary adjudication.

Such motions are difficult to win, so this is amazing.

Her decision is tentative; join the hearing today (details in linked post) to hear the oral arguments in real time.

I'll live updates of the hearing in this thread.

https://sfconservancy.org/news/2025/dec/04/tentative-vizio-ruling-in-favor-of-sfc/

#OpenSource #FreeSoftware #copyleft #SoftwareFreedom

Thanks those who shared this satire:
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/i-work-for-an-evil-company-but-outside-work-im-actually-a-really-good-person

IMO, only paragraph missing was:

> “3 hours/week, my company lets me upstream code to their favorite MIT-licensed #FOSS project! That counts. Of course, in exchange, I have to post on y-combinator how bad #copyleft is & file a #GitHub ticket telling some #AGPLv3'd project to change licenses. Oh, & all the best patches with new features stay on our internal branch…but *I* fixed all typos & misspellings upstream!”

Cc: @aral @brunobord

Thanks those who shared this satire:
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/i-work-for-an-evil-company-but-outside-work-im-actually-a-really-good-person

IMO, only paragraph missing was:

> “3 hours/week, my company lets me upstream code to their favorite MIT-licensed #FOSS project! That counts. Of course, in exchange, I have to post on y-combinator how bad #copyleft is & file a #GitHub ticket telling some #AGPLv3'd project to change licenses. Oh, & all the best patches with new features stay on our internal branch…but *I* fixed all typos & misspellings upstream!”

Cc: @aral @brunobord

Still, #LLM are voiding the #GPL (and #AGPL) reciprocity.

That's why years ago I wrote the #HackingLicense https://encrypted.tesio.it/documents/HACK.txt

It was designed with automated corporate #exploitation of #FreeSoftware in mind: it's goal is to balance #freedom and #communion, and it share with those that accept it much more than permissions, while being a stromger #copyleft and an explicit shrink-wrap contract.

Unfortunately, it's not compatible with GPL, because GPL is much weaker.

The fundamental issue of Free Software, the one that let people create the #OpenSource narrative and permessive licenses to exploit programmer ideals and #freelabor, was that #RMS, as an American grown up during #ColdWar, was too fond of the freedom-vs-communism propaganda to understand how lack of rules means the rule of the rich.

The problem is not commercial use of free software but commercial exploitation of free labour, as @doctormo@floss.social correctly stated.

The Hacking License does not prohibit commercial use, but requires recipient to share their own #copyright with the users of any derivative or dependant work they create as a contractual binding.

It's modelled after the research of #ElinorOstrom about Commons governance and the #Hacker ethics based on the value of #curiosity.

@amszmidt@mastodon.social

The way #LLM are voiding classic #copyleft has been experimentally demonstrated years ago, when #GitHub #Copilot was caught distributing well known #AGPLv3 code with a permissive license and wrong author attribution.

Also, technically that incident demonstrated how Copilot's model itself is a derivative work of copylefted works: if a lossy compression of copyrighted material is still subject to authors' #copyright, encoding such compression as arrays of floats that can be executed by virtual processors with a dedicated architecture (so called "inference" engines) does't change its nature of derivative work. Similarly violating copyrights of millions of authors at once doesn't free you of such rights.
That's basically why #OpenAI and friends are so scared by current lack of sustainable business models for their #LLM: they need money to keep Judges away.
But anyway I still have to find a single person that debate with technical competence and in good faith the derivative nature of LLMs from the text corpora compressed in their models.

As for the Hacking License not being a Free Software license, it's debatable after a careful read since the only thing you cannot do with the software is to prevent others from enjoining the same freedom it grants you.

Yet I've never claimed it is Free Software because, sadly, I'm forced to move beyond Free Software by its own limit.

OTOH I'm proud that it's not an #OpenSource license as I'll never submit it to #OSI corrupted #gatekeepers.¹

As for #FLOSS, it's a term designed to confuse free software values with corporate propaganda while marginalizing hackers: its a leaking abstraction designed to fool developers and exploit their naive groupthinking. Having been fooled myself. Never again. 😉

____

¹ The way OSI tried to #openwash the #OSAID, with an over complicated process that doubled #Meta's lobbyists' votes to exclude training data from the requirements confirmed my opinion about them.

@doctormo@floss.social

@amszmidt@mastodon.social

The way #LLM are voiding classic #copyleft has been experimentally demonstrated years ago, when #GitHub #Copilot was caught distributing well known #AGPLv3 code with a permissive license and wrong author attribution.

Also, technically that incident demonstrated how Copilot's model itself is a derivative work of copylefted works: if a lossy compression of copyrighted material is still subject to authors' #copyright, encoding such compression as arrays of floats that can be executed by virtual processors with a dedicated architecture (so called "inference" engines) does't change its nature of derivative work. Similarly violating copyrights of millions of authors at once doesn't free you of such rights.
That's basically why #OpenAI and friends are so scared by current lack of sustainable business models for their #LLM: they need money to keep Judges away.
But anyway I still have to find a single person that debate with technical competence and in good faith the derivative nature of LLMs from the text corpora compressed in their models.

As for the Hacking License not being a Free Software license, it's debatable after a careful read since the only thing you cannot do with the software is to prevent others from enjoining the same freedom it grants you.

Yet I've never claimed it is Free Software because, sadly, I'm forced to move beyond Free Software by its own limit.

OTOH I'm proud that it's not an #OpenSource license as I'll never submit it to #OSI corrupted #gatekeepers.¹

As for #FLOSS, it's a term designed to confuse free software values with corporate propaganda while marginalizing hackers: its a leaking abstraction designed to fool developers and exploit their naive groupthinking. Having been fooled myself. Never again. 😉

____

¹ The way OSI tried to #openwash the #OSAID, with an over complicated process that doubled #Meta's lobbyists' votes to exclude training data from the requirements confirmed my opinion about them.

@doctormo@floss.social

Still, #LLM are voiding the #GPL (and #AGPL) reciprocity.

That's why years ago I wrote the #HackingLicense https://encrypted.tesio.it/documents/HACK.txt

It was designed with automated corporate #exploitation of #FreeSoftware in mind: it's goal is to balance #freedom and #communion, and it share with those that accept it much more than permissions, while being a stromger #copyleft and an explicit shrink-wrap contract.

Unfortunately, it's not compatible with GPL, because GPL is much weaker.

The fundamental issue of Free Software, the one that let people create the #OpenSource narrative and permessive licenses to exploit programmer ideals and #freelabor, was that #RMS, as an American grown up during #ColdWar, was too fond of the freedom-vs-communism propaganda to understand how lack of rules means the rule of the rich.

The problem is not commercial use of free software but commercial exploitation of free labour, as @doctormo@floss.social correctly stated.

The Hacking License does not prohibit commercial use, but requires recipient to share their own #copyright with the users of any derivative or dependant work they create as a contractual binding.

It's modelled after the research of #ElinorOstrom about Commons governance and the #Hacker ethics based on the value of #curiosity.