The Defenders of Free Software

nytimes.com

58 points·edw519··9 comments

There seems to be a recurrent theme of social marginalization when reporting on software and especially open source. Specifically, opening this article with the fact that the guy "lives with his parents" immediately sets him up as an eccentric, dysfunctional person in the eyes of the typical Western reader.

Is this just a reflection of the culture and bias that NYTimes journalists have, or (more sinisterly) are there official guidelines for spin on these types of stories?

Maybe you're just reading into too much what these people wrote.

Probably neither. They're just painting a picture of a stark contrast between him and "the world’s most powerful consumer electronics and technology companies."

I thought the same thing.

Then I realized that it's odd that Americans think it's distasteful to be loyal to your family.

I've never heard of the Software Freedom Law Center before. Seems like a good group. I donated $10: http://www.softwarefreedom.org/donate/

Obligatory paywall-bypassing Google search link: http://www.google.com/search?q=Meet+the+Defenders+of+Open-So...

And even better: combine with 'site' operator and "I'm Feeling Lucky" to ensure one click access:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3Anytimes.com+...

Wow, thanks! I was actually trying to figure out how to do this, but it didn't work for me for some reason.

I wonder who gets the cash when these cases are settled? Does the money go back to the original authors of the software in question?

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