lamlaw: Linux distributors may need to unite This issue can not ignored. Microsoft will continue to find ways to defame and degrade Linux unless it is ordered to cease doing so by a court of law.
Personally, I suspect ignoring the issue is probably the better course of action.
On the one hand, it's unpleasant to listen to it, but that's really all it is. It doesn't hurt Linux that much and in some cases it may even help.
On the other hand, a court would take years to decide anything, cost a lot of money — and for what? By that time, the specific conduct will be passé anyway and a court can't prohibit generic conduct. At least, not any more successfully than the law already prohibits it.
There are some minor things we can do; Eben Moglen is fine-tuning GPLv3 and finding loopholes in the MS-Novell deal, various people are responding to MS claims of infringed patents with (effectively) "name three", things like that.
For a regular person, though, the most effective response is to keep contributing to Linux to make it the best ever.
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21 May 2007, 12:58 UTCcomment by Jac
I'm reminded of the idea of forming a "secular society Society". I am uncertain whether having a representative core to stand up for nebulous groups who are vulnerable to attacks by more concrete organisations will actually help. Perhaps the strength of secularism and Linux lies in their very lack of organisation and hierarchy structures. Microsoft might find that it is impossible to fight fog.
