FW: [read20-l] Meet the new boss..not at all like the old boss...

I thought the Publishing group would be interested in this.

-----Original Message-----
From: Read20-l <read20-l-bounces+kerscher=montana.com@mailman.panix.com> On Behalf Of Adam
Sent: Monday, June 4, 2018 3:49 AM
To: New Read2.0 <read20-l@mailman.panix.com>
Subject: [read20-l] Meet the new boss..not at all like the old boss...

For those not following the geek news...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-03/microsoft-is-said-to-have-agreed-to-acquire-coding-site-github

Microsoft is looking to buy GitHub. Some news channels are reporting it
will be announced today.

As many of you know GitHub is (unfortunately and ironically) the
preferred infrastructure for most of the worlds open source code
repositories. Ironic because GitHub itself is *not* open source. It is a
service run on closed source software. However that has not stopped many
many open source orgs storing their code in GitHub.

And of course, Microsofts relationship to open source has been sketchy
at best...

"Microsoft has long had a complicated relationship with open-source
software—which is typically free to use and open for all developers to
tweak and commercialize.

Throughout the late 90s and 2000s, the company waged a number of
campaigns against Linux, the open-source operating system that former
CEO Steve Ballmer famously called “a cancer.” In 2007, Microsoft alleged
that Linux violated 235 of its patents, and it went on to press charges
against mapping company TomTom for IP infringement via its use of Linux
(the two companies eventually settled)."

https://qz.com/1295693/github-users-already-fuming-about-companys-sale-to-microsoft/

It is making many people very nervous...and the open source GitLab
service (it does the same thing as GitHub but is actually itself open
source) is enjoying something of a spike in activity:

https://monitor.gitlab.net/dashboard/db/github-importer?orgId=1&from=1523265069688&to=1528103469704

This is a good example of why important infrastructure should be open
source and be owned by the community that uses it. Otherwise you may
wake up one day to find your own tools are owned by your competitor.

At Coko we have been advocating from the beginning that this true also
for scholarly publishing.

adam
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Received on Monday, 4 June 2018 13:48:55 UTC