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Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

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Re: Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

#11

Post by Palomides »

cpitman wrote: post #6

100%. I've already seen articles in non-tech media that explain what happened to a non-technical audience, and the explanation sounded a lot like open source is the problem and that proprietary software would never have these problems. It wasn't that long ago that using open source software required a lot of politicking inside my clients, and we could easily go back there with enough spooked executives.

a disagreeable take: why should open source projects make any effort to be accessible to corporations that will never donate or support them?

Re: Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

#12

Post by cestith »

Bram Moolenaar famously uses Vim to raise awareness. A VPN package, dead drop website, steganography package, onion router, multi-point P2P routing mesh drivers, or other software and education on how to use them could really make a difference for dissidents. There are certainly productive ways to use software to support protests, organizing, workers' strikes, or even support targeted sabotage or insurrections without indiscriminately destroying people's data.

Re: Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

#13

Post by Cthulhu_ »

Palomides wrote: post #11
cpitman wrote: post #6

100%. I've already seen articles in non-tech media that explain what happened to a non-technical audience, and the explanation sounded a lot like open source is the problem and that proprietary software would never have these problems. It wasn't that long ago that using open source software required a lot of politicking inside my clients, and we could easily go back there with enough spooked executives.

a disagreeable take: why should open source projects make any effort to be accessible to corporations that will never donate or support them?

Because open source is idealistic and altruistic to a fault; it is the antithesis to "got mine, fuck you", or that of the capitalist "fuck you, pay me". If you limit access to anyone it is, by definition, no longer open source. I mean there's probably plenty of licenses that restrict commercial usage of open source software.

That said, I'm all for open source software monetization; include messages in the README, code, or logging that basically says something to the tune of "If you are using this for commercial purposes, please consider donating / sponsoring / hiring". I think Github and co can do a lot more as well to encourage big corporations to pay open source contributors.

Re: Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

#14

Post by gruez »

seanw444 wrote: post #9
rsstack wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only good news I have for you is that _perhaps_ in that case the FBI and CISA will investigate, because there will be a US resident victim. IP-based geolocation is garbage but there aren't many Russian/Belarusian-attributed IPs in the US so the intersection of those with people using node-ipc was empty, and the US Government couldn't be pressured to investigate/enforce.

Quoted post unavailable.

This administration might be D, but the next one might not be. What's the statue of limitations on CFAA?

Re: Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

#15

Post by Larrikin »

seanw444 wrote: post #4

I just don't understand what the node-ipc dev was expecting when he did that. "Hm, maybe if I put malware into a community-trusted module that destroys files of people in a certain geopolitical region, the countless innocent citizens that are affected will realize what they did wrong! Wait, who am I actually targeting again?"

Probably hoped the effects would negatively effect people there so they could put pressure to stop the murder of other innocent civilians.

Arguments like this are similar to the BLM protest that try to equate property with human lives.

Re: Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

#16

Post by ZeroGravitas »

Poorly chosen headline.

As the text makes clear, 'protestware' as a concept is fine, destroying random people's data is not.

> When deployed, this ‘protestware’ expresses the maintainer’s opposition to the Russian government’s invasion of Ukraine. Most protestware simply displays anti-war or pro-Ukrainian messages when run. This is a non-violent, creative form of protest that can be effective.

Re: Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

#17

Post by nsxwolf »

commandlinefan wrote: post #5

I'm in Texas. A LOT of Californians disagree with some of the laws that Texas has passed. How long will it be until my hard drive gets reformatted by some protestor in San Francisco who localizes my IP address?

No post body was provided.

Re: Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

#18

Post by bjt2n3904 »

commandlinefan wrote: post #5

I'm in Texas. A LOT of Californians disagree with some of the laws that Texas has passed. How long will it be until my hard drive gets reformatted by some protestor in San Francisco who localizes my IP address?

I have legitimately argued against using NodeJS as the foundation of our next product for this very reason.

NodeJS' culture is very much "move fast and break things", and "all software is political". Look at the TSC drama. Leftpad.js.

This isn't an ecosystem that you want to build and maintain a product on.

Re: Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

#20

Post by gruez »

seanw444 wrote: post #4

I just don't understand what the node-ipc dev was expecting when he did that. "Hm, maybe if I put malware into a community-trusted module that destroys files of people in a certain geopolitical region, the countless innocent citizens that are affected will realize what they did wrong! Wait, who am I actually targeting again?"

>"Hm, maybe if I put malware into a community-trusted module that destroys files of people in a certain geopolitical region, the countless innocent citizens that are affected will realize what they did wrong! Wait, who am I actually targeting again?"

"yeah but countless ukranian women and children are getting murdered by russians! surely a few wiped hard drives is worth it to raise awareness?"

/s of course, but people who hold this view sincerely isn't hard to find.

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