Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

opensource.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

331–340 of 575 posts

Re: Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

#331

Post by swat535 »

matsemann wrote: post #74
ekianjo wrote: post #47

> Instead of malware, a better approach to free expression would be to use messages in commit logs to send anti-propaganda messages and to issue trackers to share accurate news inside Russia of what is really happening in Ukraine at the hands of the Russian military, to cite two obvious possibilities How about not taking sides instead of acting like a kid believing one side is black and the other white with absolutel…

Not taking a side is agreeing with the oppressor.

Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland,.. remained neutral during Wolrd War II.

Are you saying they were agreeing with the oppressor? It must take some serious mental gymnastics on your part to write such statement.

Re: Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

#332

Post by devmunchies »

HideousKojima wrote: post #214
devmunchies wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> men are still statistically more likely to be violent criminals I think your meant criminals are more likely to be men.

No, I meant exactly what I said, more men are violent criminals per capita than women. What you said is also true, but it's not what I meant.

Oh you meant in relation to women. I misinterpreted that you were saying if you pick 10 men, then over 5 of them are violent criminals.

Re: Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

#333

Post by cuteboy19 »

celeritascelery wrote: post #318
baryphonic wrote: post #262

To be honest, I'm annoyed by the benign protestware messages when they start to get in the way of using the software, particularly on mobile. I was looking at the isomorphic git documentation the other day, and noticed that their "#BlackLivesMatter #DefundThePolice" banner scrolls under the rest of the content, leaving this annoying gap that takes up screen real estate, especially in landscape mode on a phone.[0] Wha…

There was a package (that I won’t name) which completely removed their online documentation and replaced it with a BLM message for a period of time. I was floored at that unprofessional behavior. Now when I link to their docs, I always use archive.org to make sure other users don’t run into a similar issue in the future.

To be clear if you are not paying them, there should be no expectation of service. Open source is something they offer out of passion or goodwill, both of which can change at any time

Re: Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

#334

Post by pvaldes »

ekianjo wrote: post #47

> Instead of malware, a better approach to free expression would be to use messages in commit logs to send anti-propaganda messages and to issue trackers to share accurate news inside Russia of what is really happening in Ukraine at the hands of the Russian military, to cite two obvious possibilities How about not taking sides instead of acting like a kid believing one side is black and the other white with absolutel…

Cut the BS. One part has been reported mass butchering newborns and pregnant women in hospitals. I hardly could think in anything more wrong than this.

There is not 'I can explain it' or 'this is not what it seems' or 'they must have a reason' or 'just kidding' here. This is not normal behavior in humans.

There is not any gray area about the war crimes of the Russian army. Had been videotaped, narrated, proven and reported extensively. Each building is a proof. And now they are talking about using chemical weapons to speed up this genocide. Seriously, what Russians were expecting? A clap?

Not taking sides? We are animals brain-wired to develop a strong reaction of seek and destroy in this cases. In less civilized times the murderers would be hunted and mashed to grinded meat.

Not more excuses. Don't call us kids, silly, ignorant, inconvenient or Russophobes. We are furious. We want this to stop. Right now.

Re: Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

#335

Post by ziml77 »

lioeters wrote: post #112
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?"

My guess is that they got caught up in the socially accepted "hate fest" against citizens of a certain country, particularly by private companies.

None of this is hate against the citizens. No one wants to hurt the innocent people in Russia. But pulling out of Russia is about the only thing that anyone can do to slow the flow of money that will be used to fund the invasion of Ukraine.

The optimal thing would be to push the Russians out of Ukraine with military force, though that is also going to leave many dead. Just because they're soldiers doesn't mean they deserve death. But that's not an option anyway, because a NATO country joining the fight directly will cause World War 3. At best we end up with multiple countries from both sides joining the fight. At worst the nukes start flying.

Re: Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

#336

Post by FDSGSG »

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?"

I just don't understand what Western governments were thinking when they sanctioned Russian businesses.

"Hm, maybe if I put laws into the books that destroy the economy of a country and drives people in a certain geopolitical region into poverty, the countless innocent citizens that affected will realize what they did wrong! Wait, who am I actually targeting again?"

Oh wait.

Re: Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

#337

Post by SamoyedFurFluff »

HideousKojima wrote: post #248
Larrikin wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where is this true? In the US you have the right to murder if the person is in your home and in some states you have the right to murder if you feel your life is being threatened, in this case because you're being robbed. If you left your car running while you ran into the store you don't have the right to shoot the guy in the back as he drives off. You file a police report and potentially sue for damages. You defini…

If someone is trying to burn down my house with me in it, I have a right to shoot them in pretty much every jurisdiction in the US. If someone is burning down my store with me in it, I also have the right to use deadly force to defend it.

Let’s step back a little, please. This original context was about some BLM protests doing property damage, which included smashing storefronts and trash fires on the street.

Re: Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

#338

Post by kdmccormick »

gadders wrote: post #281
baryphonic wrote: post #262

To be honest, I'm annoyed by the benign protestware messages when they start to get in the way of using the software, particularly on mobile. I was looking at the isomorphic git documentation the other day, and noticed that their "#BlackLivesMatter #DefundThePolice" banner scrolls under the rest of the content, leaving this annoying gap that takes up screen real estate, especially in landscape mode on a phone.[0] Wha…

>>Is a single person going to be persuaded to support either cause by seeing this banner on a relatively niche JS library that reduces readability of its documentation? The purpose of the banner is not to convert anyone, the purpose is to demonstrate that the author of the package subscribes to the correct opinions.

As a less cynical take: When it comes to Ukraine support, the banner could theoretically have an anti-propoganda effect. Russian and Chinese citizens are cut off or pushed away from world political discourse in a lot of ways, so using open source libraries as a vector for anti-Russia messaging could have a real effect on devs in those countries.

Re: Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

#339

Post by FDSGSG »

yyyk wrote: post #291
Larrikin wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I can't agree with these arguments. A) IP geolocation is far from perfect, quite a few completely unrelated people could have been affected. B) There was a chance of massive collateral damage to stuff like hospitals, water company, etc. and therefore affecting civilians, including children. If you think Putin wouldn't use that to rally Russia and launch a massive war, you haven't observed Putin for long. We got very…

> If you think Putin wouldn't use that to rally Russia and launch a massive war, you haven't observed Putin for long.

Do you believe that node-ipc would do this but the current vastly more impactful sanctions regime wont?

Also, everybody capable of thinking understands that Russia isn't capable of launching another "massive war" when it already has almost all of its conventional combat power committed to Ukraine.

If you think Putin would launch a nuclear war over wiper malware, you're an idiot. There's no other kind of "massive war" he could launch at this point.

> this software equivalent of a warcrime

Why not call it software holocaust if we're gonna go there? What's wrong with you?

Re: Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

#340

Post by mwcampbell »

matsemann wrote: post #307
Turing_Machine wrote: post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because if I spend my time writing down everything I think is wrong with the world, I literally will not have time to do anything else. Your cause is not more important than thousands of other causes, and my refusal to spend my time amplifying your viewpoint does not in any sense imply I agree with the opposing view.

That's a fair point, but not when one intentionally enters a discussion about a conflict. Can't both claim no side and simultaneously pretend the aggressor is just as bad as the protester.

If I'm not mistaken, though, the discussion here isn't about the Russia versus Ukraine conflict itself, but about appropriate ways to show support for a political cause in general, and whether it's even appropriate to do so in particular contexts. On that meta-issue, I think it's possible to state an opinion, without implying any position on the conflict of the moment. And if I'm not mistaken, some people are saying that it's obligatory to state an opinion on the conflict of the moment; that's what some of us are disagreeing with.
Post reply on HN