Post by @onepict@chaos.social

I have limited sympathy for charities who trusted Microsoft to look after their data. I can only hope the providers that sold in Microsoft to them looked after them.

My sympathy is particularly limited to those who moved from independent email providers and Free software.

But then budget is often more important than long term relationships.

IT providers and hosting have long been under appreciated and in a race to the bottom.

So here we are.

https://slate.com/technology/2026/08/microsoft-software-nonprofit-data-delete.html

Slate Magazine

The Quiet Decision Microsoft Made That Devastated Thousands of Nonprofits

When the tech giant retired a popular software grant, years of nonprofit data vanished with it.

23 Replies

14 Boosts

Paul_IPv6

@paul_ipv6@infosec.exchange 1 hr. ago

@onepict

non-profits have boards and patrons...

i worked at a non-profit that did open source software. unix/linux based. then we got a new president who came from the VC world. he mandated use of commercial software because it was what all the cool kid VCs were using.

microsoft has its tentacles in too many places and too many folks that bring money are used to it. it's really hard to get it out once in and it's hard to keep it out.

Esther Payne :bisexual_flag:

@onepict@chaos.social 1 hr. ago

@paul_ipv6 Yep and this is why I don't do client support and consultancy anymore.

It's tiring and frustrating.

Too many times I've seen that exact thing happen.

Paul_IPv6

@paul_ipv6@infosec.exchange 1 hr. ago

@onepict

me three.

disconnects between the folks doing the work and having the domain expertise vs a board/exec team that won't listen. vast amount of unnecessary pain and drama for me, staff, and customers. i gave up.

roboticus lastius (not a bot)

@lastrobot@writing.exchange 2 hr. ago

@onepict Here's the issue: charities have boards. These boards are populated by upper management class who bring in their big donor friends. They have incredible sway over charity exec teams. My voice is rarely enough to sway the execs. I've tried.

So I do have sympathy for charities that founder on oligarch tech. Many of these orgs are helping vulnerable people navigate hostile systems. Staff care deeply. And are too often forced to implement big tech solutions against in-org tech advice. 🫤

roboticus lastius (not a bot)

@lastrobot@writing.exchange 2 hr. ago

@onepict And that article is devastating.on so many levels. Thanks for sharing.

Esther Payne :bisexual_flag:

@onepict@chaos.social 2 hr. ago

@lastrobot I've been there myself. So I do commiserate.

Chris M

@littlemouse@mastodon.scot 3 hr. ago

@onepict the level of inconvenience is finally outstripping the convenience. Will we start seeing a transition away? From them?

Esther Payne :bisexual_flag:

@onepict@chaos.social 2 hr. ago

@littlemouse I doubt it.

In my experience only organisations that deliberately chose Free Software from the beginning for ideological reasons will be long term.

Even then, if someone comes into the organisation and doesn't feel comfortable using Free Software you have an opposition that will undermine your position if you don't have a relationship of trust.

Most organisations also quite rightly just want something to work. Even if it works badly. No one gets fired for using Microsoft.

Esther Payne :bisexual_flag:

@onepict@chaos.social 3 hr. ago

I mean we also failed to communicate well just how untrustworthy Microsoft always has been.

As a community we allowed this to happen.

But like it gets tiring keeping clients safe from that.

Especially when every other organisation uses Microsoft. It's professional to use Microsoft.

🤷‍♀️

Roger BW 😷

@RogerBW@discordian.social 3 hr. ago

@onepict I have been communicating this continuously for thirty years. I am tired.
And every few years I am proved right again. And the bosses keep saying "but they're a big company, they wouldn't do that".

Esther Payne :bisexual_flag:

@onepict@chaos.social 3 hr. ago

@RogerBW Same.

Esther Payne :bisexual_flag:

@onepict@chaos.social 3 hr. ago

Remember to raise your rates.

Your time is valuable. Clients who always want the bottom line will burn more of your time.

So ensure they will pay.

Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦

@rysiek@mstdn.social 2 hr. ago

@onepict the mental gymnastics I have seen done to justify *not* using Nextcloud (for example) is truly something.

Walter van Holst

@whvholst@eupolicy.social 2 hr. ago

@rysiek @onepict It really is simple, once you realise all the things you know that other people don't know. It is a familiar product (so no training costs, no internal resistance). ICT is *not* related to the primary mission, so it has to be the path of least resistance. This includes non-executive boards and large donors who will wonder why are paying X for product A that they have never heard of while you can get a kown factor for free.

2 more replies

Esther Payne :bisexual_flag:

@onepict@chaos.social 2 hr. ago

@rysiek years ago the overall corporate org of the place I interned at wanted to get rid of a bespoke Oracle system for one department to Opentext.

The department kept resisting and persuaded the new leader of the project to switch them back. I'm still amazed that they persuaded him given the fact it pretty much was a mandate from Head Office in the US.

Competence has never entered these discussions, its vibes and a lack of , or aversion to training.

~8 more replies

Esther Payne :bisexual_flag:

@onepict@chaos.social 2 hr. ago

@rysiek I mean the new project leader was incompetent, I was glad he wasn't my direct boss.

Esther Payne :bisexual_flag:

@onepict@chaos.social 2 hr. ago

@rysiek Which reminds me.

Folks, ALWAYS get the instructions in writing even from your boss.

Saved my arse so many times.

Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦

@rysiek@mstdn.social 2 hr. ago

@onepict this!

And if someone insists (either explicitly or implicitly) on not providing anything in writing, after each call send a summary via e-mail:

"This is how I understood your instructions and the reasoning behind them, please let me know if anything is incorrect."

Most of the time it's not going to be useful. But when it happens to be useful, you will be very glad to have done it.

Woozle Hypertwin

@woozle@toot.cat 33 min. ago

@rysiek @onepict

[insert experience with people who agree to put things in writing but never actually do, and then later protest loudly that "verbal agreements are binding in the state of Georgia!" when our memories diverge over what was agreed]

TLDR: wish I'd made more of a point of doing the "here's how I understood our agreement" thing.

Androcat

@androcat@toot.cat 25 min. ago

Woozle Hypertwin

@woozle@toot.cat 24 min. ago

@androcat

Indeed. I was both overworked (too busy to always be diligent about taking notes when important communications happened) and too trusting (assuming there were certain lines that wouldn't be crossed, even if we disagreed about stuff).

@rysiek @onepict

Androcat

@androcat@toot.cat 22 min. ago

Esther Payne :bisexual_flag:

@onepict@chaos.social 12 min. ago

@androcat @woozle @rysiek Yep and this is why there's turnover.

There's always a new business with folks desperate for the business. Younger folks with more energy and naivety.

I've been there, and I've cleaned up after. Every wee firm needs the "seen some shit" person.

Except by that point we've more than enough sense. We also value our time.

All nighters are fun when you're young.