Florian Mueller Outs Himself As Oracle Employee 285
eldavojohn writes "So you're commenting on your highly visible blog about patent case after patent case that deal with corporations battling over open source stuff, what does it matter if you're taking money from one and not the other? If you don't see any ethical problems with that, you might be Florian Mueller. Groklaw's PJ (who has been suspicious of Florian's ties to other giants like Microsoft for quite sometime) has noticed that Florian Mueller has decided to go full disclosure and admit that all his commentary on the Oracle v Google case might be tainted by his employment by Oracle. It seems he's got a bunch of consulting money coming his way from Oracle but I'm sure that won't undermine any of his assessments like Android licenses violate the GPL or that Oracle will win $6 billion from Google and Google was "at risk" of not settling despite the outcome that the charges later dropped to a small fraction of the $6 billion. Like so many other times, PJ's hunch was right."
Great. Just Great. (Score:2, Funny)
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I've noticed this, too. As soon as you take what might be considered a controversial stance on some issue, you get hounded by people calling you a shill, because they can't conceive of how anyone could disagree with them without having been paid. I think this happens most often in highly insular communities with a strong degree of conformism (ie, groupthink). Unsurprisingly, Slashdot is quite prone to angry (and sometimes paranoid) howls of, "Shill! Shill!" I hate when conversations get derailed like t
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The problem is that these shills are often doing the Slashdot equivalent of the Gish Gallop [rationalwiki.org]. Sometimes it's best to just shut them down by outing them as shills.
(Not that I'm particularly fond of this either, but sometimes it's necessary as a matter of pragmatism.)
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That's not always true. I've played devil's advocate many times without ever been called a shill, at least that I remember. A big part of avoiding the accusation is being able to justify controversial positions in a thoughtful manner. Good: "Microsoft might have a point this time, because of [such and such legal case] and [the other party did something notably stupid]." Bad: "For the eleventieth time today: Liinux owes teh SCO some serious cash."
In my experience, Slashdot is remarkably tolerant of unpopular
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It depends. If you're a persuasive writer, you can probably get modded up by saying anything. I've done quite a few experiments, to see how my comments would get modded. In most cases, I found that repeating the Slashdot groupthink will get you modded up, regardless of content. Simply being disagreeable tends to get you modded down quickly. Using reverse psychology works so well, that it's almost like cheating. All you need to do is preface your comment with, "I know I'll get modded down for this, but
why would anybody trust this guy??? (Score:5, Informative)
Have you all so quickly forgotten when he got caught out in the bald-faced lies about secret requests to the EU competition commission to force Oracle to allow him & friends to take a fork of MySQL proprietary? He is not an honest person, and has demonstrated this clearly.
Re:why would anybody trust this guy??? (Score:5, Insightful)
The reason why people might trust him is because he provided ammunition to those who believe that computer software should be proprietary products created by major corporations. Some people really think that, so they'd believe him because he confirmed their own biases which helped them prove to themselves how smart they are.
It would be sort of like believing somebody who claims (with no proof whatsoever) that Microsoft is using GPL'd code in its proprietary products and should be sued into oblivion - If I think that already, somebody else saying it gives me the feeling of "Hey, I'm right, and I'm smart!" (even though really I'm not necessarily right, and not smart about believing that person)
Prior acheivements (Score:2)
Back in 2004 Florian Muller was very active in protesting against the proposed EU directive to require all member states to recognize software patents. There are some people that gained a positive impression of him based on that, and continue to quote him despite the fact that his recent "patent analysis" is heavily biased and legally unfounded more often than not. As an example, Ryan Paul, the writer and editor of the Open Source section of Arstechnica, continues to cite of Muller, and refuses to accept ar
If he worked for a magazine writing this stuff (Score:5, Insightful)
He would be fired and escorted out of the building right about now. Since he's a "consultant" he will probably survive although I suspect his value as a shill for oracle has plummeted. Im wondering if the Cigarette industry needs a new spokesman or maybe OJ simpson?
Completely misleading headline (Score:3, Informative)
Mueller is _not_ an employee of Oracle. His post says "...Oracle has very recently become a consulting client of mine." He has many clients, of which Oracle is one. And saying that one consulting client amongst many is equivalent to employment is completely bogus.
I disagree with lots of the stuff he writes. But this headline is just intellectually dishonest slander. And for the record his writings are certainly no more slanted - or frankly bogus - than PJs.
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In either case, he is certainly employed by Oracle. Is that intellectually dishonest slander as well?
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The IRS would beg to differ, and a Wiktionary entry won't hold up too well in court against them.
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You're right. "Employee" isn't the best literal world to describe this relationship, although de facto it is often appropriate. However, in this case, a "contractual consultant" role is more of a subcontractor.
And we know that a subcontractor always has the freedom to oppose his contracting customer's position on matters in which he's being paid to consult.
No, wait...what?
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All consultants are employees by definition of employee [wiktionary.org]
The IRS would beg to differ...
"Tax purposes".
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You're definitely not reading the right dictionary... Only in the most general possible sense does "employee" == "consultant". In the same way that the segway is a motorcycle because it has two wheels and a motor.
In the U.S. at least, the term "employee" is legally (and casually) reserved for someone on an organization's payroll at the non-executive level. Being on a payroll means that the organization pays you regularly and deducts taxes from your paycheck. Consultants (or their employers) must manage thei
All reporters are biased. (Score:2)
I don't know why this surprises anybody. And that bias leaks into their news reports, even if the bias is as simple as not covering a candidate (showing images of Gingrich, Santorum, Romney, but not Ron Paul (who?)) or not covering an issue (repeal of right to trial under the NDAA if you are suspected terrorist*). FOX, NBC, CNN, radio news, online blogs... all have bias. It's just a matter of uncovering that bias. FOX=republican; NBC/CNN/CBS/ABC/PBS/NPR=democrat; talk radio=conservative; blogs reflect t
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FOX=republican; NBC/CNN/CBS/ABC/PBS/NPR=democrat; talk radio=conservative; blogs reflect the views of the owner.
Actually, those don't seem to be quite right. Here are the biases I generally find in mainstream media:
Fox - Republicans
NBC, particularly MSNBC - Democrats
CNN - Horse race: "Romney is polling at 48% and Obama is polling at 43%" "Romney has raised $X, Obama has raised $Y", etc without ever actually saying anything about why this might be true
CBS, ABC - the Please Pay Attention To Us bias
PBS, NPR - the Please Give us Money bias
talk radio - conservative / libertarian
Comedy Central - Somewhat liberal, but mostl
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Bias means to have a specific world view, and then consciously or consciously interpreting what you see according to that world view. That can make you miss certain things, it can make you overemphasize something which might not actually as important as you think etc. While nobody can be completely free of bias, we can strive to report things as objectively as we can and minimize the effect. That might not be perfect but it's honest and ethical.
Being paid to write something is not bias. If you are honest
Anybody surprised? (Score:2)
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There really is not much difference in ethics or morals of McNealy, Ellison, Gates, Balmer, etc.. They are all scum.
You left "Steve Jobs" out of that list. Oh wait, maybe I know why.
vp8 (Score:2)
FM has also been extremely vocal about vp8/webm. While I'm the format certainly has its problems, both technical and legal, I can't help but believe the slow advance of the project is at least partly because a supposed expert on open source spent a lot of his time ranting about it.
I am far from unbiased on the situation since the I feel an unencumbered video codec would make the world a better place. Even knowing my bias, I can't help but be really upset at this revelation. On the other hand all's fair i
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On the other hand all's fair in love & war
Why do people believe shit just because it's and old saying? If everything is fair in love then why would you go to prison for murdering your object of affection's lover? If all's fair in war why are there such things as war crimes?
BTW, there is such a thing as a free lunch and silence isn't golden, too. Don't take stuff for granted, give it some thought.
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I can't help but believe the slow advance of the project is at least partly because a supposed expert on open source spent a lot of his time ranting about it.
What slow advance? For a major technology project like that, reaching a usable state was practically instantaneous. One thing you can be sure of: Forian Mueller had zero effect on it. Strengthened people's resolve, if anything.
Lets use a counter example (Score:2)
Rob Enderle, he may be a weenie but someone can be a weenie without being a shill. Enderle was never paid by SCO for his opinions he was given bogus information and based his flawed opinions on that infomation, and he admits that some of his opinions about open source were wrong. He actually likes BSD...who knew?
http://www.tgdaily.com/software-opinion/34004-sco-linux-and-rob-enderle-a-conclusion [tgdaily.com]
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Enderle was never paid by SCO for his opinions...
You don't know that.
Classic logical fallacy (Score:2)
The fact that he works for Oracle doesn't prove his arguments are wrong. Attacking the person, not the logic, is a well-known logical fallacy: argumentum ad hominem [wikipedia.org]. All his employment provides us is some additional perspective on where he's coming from. We still need to listen to what he actually has to say.
And, by the way, EVERYBODY who works "gets paid", that doesn't make us all "biased".
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*Your* logic is faulty. Florian paints himself out to be an independent expert on patents. It is his character he is pimping out to all the news outlets as credible. The fact is that whilst blogging posing as an independent expert, he reveals in his latest post that behinds the scenes he has been negotiating with Oracle for cash. Now take a look at that post to see if it is strongly in favour of Oracle in its current case against Google. Coincidence? No.
I'm guessing outlets like the BBC must be feeling pret
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The fact that he works for Oracle doesn't prove his arguments are wrong. Attacking the person, not the logic, is a well-known logical fallacy: argumentum ad hominem [wikipedia.org]. All his employment provides us is some additional perspective on where he's coming from. We still need to listen to what he actually has to say.
I'll assume you haven't been paying attention to this for the past few years and didn't bother to catch up before posting to this article. Florian has long been accused of being a mole of sorts - a paid shill on the inside, claiming to be for OSS and presenting himself a patent expert while writing everything with a pro-Microsoft and anti-Google slant. His comments on the countless Apple v. World lawsuits have been consistently against Google and anyone using Android. Same for the Google/Oracle spat. He
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He recently had to disclose that he is paid by Microsoft (something long claimed by those who distrusted him) and now we see that he is also paid by Oracle.
Larry Ellison and Steve Ballmer as bedfellows, what a thought.
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That might be true if one were arguing, say, the existance of God.
However, in the case where there is a dispute between two parties, when the person arguing has a vested interest in one side, that absolutely impacts the validity of the argument, and colors its interpretation.
He's outing himself as a contractor, isn't he? (Score:2)
There is some difference between a contractor and an employee. I don't think it makes any difference ethically, but it makes a bit of a difference in the quality of a slashdot story.
The disturbing thing is not this revelation (Score:5, Insightful)
The disturbing thing is not this revelation itself, which would not surprise anyone who regularly reads his blog. It is the most logical thing that a paid consultant/analyst is being paid by the two companies he just happens to favour enormously in his posts.
The disturbing thing is how his comments are reproduced verbatim by the big shots of the tech-news industry like ZDNet, PC Magazine etc, but also mainstream sources which are normally known as the last bastions of real journalism like the BBC, LA Times, Reuters etc.
Thankfully now sites like Ars Technica and The Verge have stepped up their coverage of patent disputes, so he is not the only voice.
At first it may seem that Florian Mueller doesn't pretend to be a journalist or unbiased and it's everyone else's fault for assuming he is. However, not only does he make repeated claims of being unbiased and neutral in his writing, he routinely emails his blog articles to all news sources he can think of (which is why he is so widely quoted and Groklaw is not).
Don't believe me? Just search for Florian+Oracle or Florian+Google on Google News and see the who's who of journalism pop up with his quotes.
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The disturbing thing is how his comments are reproduced verbatim by the big shots of the tech-news industry like ZDNet, PC Magazine etc, but also mainstream sources which are normally known as the last bastions of real journalism like the BBC, LA Times, Reuters etc.
This is business-as-usual for manipulating the media ^H^H^H uhm... marketing, PR and advocacy. Money makes people available to the media, along with quotes, theories, photos, videos, statistics, etc... The media love this system because it's a ready-made source of material, easy to access, and the people are (or pretend to be) experts who are dispassionately explaining an issue.
If you're really disturbed by Florian Muellers success, I've got some bad news for you about "Think Tanks" and lot's of other organ
Astroturfing and posting under false premises? (Score:2)
What do you mean, the big boys shell out a lot of bucks for astroturfing and posting under false premises? Tell me it ain't so!
Surprise (Score:2)
Until there was proof (Score:2)
Re:This just shows paranoid FOSS fanatics are (Score:5, Insightful)
Huh? Doesn't this news actually *confirm* what these 'paranoid FOSS fanatics' have been saying all along?
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Re:This just shows paranoid FOSS fanatics are (Score:5, Informative)
Actually, he's taking money from both. It was disclosed a while ago that he's taking money from M$ [techrights.org].
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Agreed. They were off on the details (works for Oracle, not MS), but they were right that something smelled rotten.
The possibility is not ruled out that he has also received money from Microsoft. Microsoft can be devious [catb.org] about how it channels money to its proxies.
Re:This just shows paranoid FOSS fanatics are (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:This just shows paranoid FOSS fanatics are (Score:5, Insightful)
Bias and having an undisclosed conflict of interest are not remotely the same thing. All journalists have bias; hell all people have bias on all subjects, it's simply unavoidable. Good journalists try to minimize the effect of their personal bias on their reporting, and I think most people would freely admit that PJ is often lacking in this area. Although you could also make the case that most Groklaw articles are mix of commentary and reporting, and that it's not that hard to distinguish one from the other. However, having a blatant conflict of interest and not disclosing it is a massive breach of journalistic ethics that frankly completely destroys all credibility of the journalist. Conflicts of interest happen, and they don't necessarily preclude one from reporting and commenting on a given issue, but failure to disclose sends the message that the conflict did in fact taint his view, and he was deliberately trying to hide it. It is literally one of the worst things a journalist can do.
Re:This just shows paranoid FOSS fanatics are (Score:5, Insightful)
The fact that Mueller is earning money is not the issue.
The fact that Mueller is taking money from Oracle is also not the issue. It's also not the sole reason he's being accused of bias. It's just the latest nail in the coffin.
The issue is that Mueller has been called on his "impartial analysis" several times already. Not by random people off the street, by his fellow techies. What started as suspicions was later proven right as the facts unfolded. And might just be shown once more as Oracle v Google progresses.
He's being called biased because he is, demonstrably. His front as an "impartial analyst" among techies is shot. I hope Oracle is getting their moneys worth peddling him to the non-techie crowd, because from this point on that's the best he's good for.
Re:This just shows paranoid FOSS fanatics are (Score:4, Informative)
Because he typically does not disclose his alignment when he provides interviews to the press.
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By giving Mueller a free pass and attacking PJ instead. PJ's done a helluva lot of good, and what the fuck has Mueller ever done other than be an apologist for companies that should taken out back and beaten for their conduct.
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Uh, she works for a divorce attorney, and has stated this several times over the ast 10 years, groklaw was her own side project.
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Uh, she works for a divorce attorney, and has stated this several times over the ast 10 years, groklaw was her own side project.
A side project that has made a large mark in legal history, introducing the concept of "open source" law and demonstrating its effectiveness.
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True indeed... but sometimes, the biggest things come from the least likely people.
After all, look at what some random student in Finland managed to do with a bit of code back in 1991...
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Ah look, another disgruntled SCO investor shooting the messenger.
I hope you realize you're basically proving his point.
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Ah look, another disgruntled SCO investor shooting the messenger.
Shooting at the messenger. Those SCO guys don't seem to have very good aim.
Re:This just shows paranoid FOSS fanatics are (Score:5, Funny)
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You're right, Florian is a paragon of unbiased reporting. He exemplifies everything a truly neutral journalist should be.
Yes ... he is totally neutral about who pays him to publish their opinion ... Oracle, Microsoft, or anyone else with deep pockets
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What? I seem to read a summary/article that proves that FOSS fanatics have been vindicated in their paranoia in this case. How do you figure the opposite?
Re:This just shows paranoid FOSS fanatics are (Score:5, Interesting)
RTFA, he works for both MS & Oracle.
... and he is now analyzing FRAND issues for both Microsoft and Oracle.
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There's nothing wrong with commenting and working in the industry.
there's plenty wrong with 100% of your comments having a clear bias (as your does) and quoting misleading or incomplete information, while at the same time denying that you have any connection to them. This is like when the counter to "google doesn't lose in court" is mentioning a case where google only lost before an appeal happened in which case they consequently won. That is the same sort of misleading FUD that you among others are known f
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I am constantly being accused of shilling for Microsoft on Slashdot just because I write that they do some good things. Seems like Mueller was accused for that too. Well, turns out that not true and these FOSS lunatics just make out some huge conspiracy theories how the whole world is against them. And by the way, who should comment on these issues then? Someone who doesn't work in the industry and doesn't know anything about it? Yeah right. But of course it's bad when the comments contain something you don't agree with. For the free speech and freedom, yeah right!
Does that mean that you are being paid by Microsoft in the same way that Mueller is being paid by Oracle, but you also think it is OK?
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You can bank on it: anyone who uses rhetoric like "foss lunatic" has an paid agenda And tactic one from the Standard Shill Manual is "deny you are a shill".
Re:This just shows paranoid FOSS fanatics are (Score:5, Informative)
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He's just openly admitting what many have claimed all along, that these shill accounts are all run by the same small group of people.
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Even Mueller's sockpuppets can't get the basic facts right.
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I've just got to ask, are you mentally handicapped, because the article demonstrates that Mueller's pro-Oracle articles have an explanation. He's in their employ.
As to you, well, it's clear you're just a moron.
Re:This just shows paranoid FOSS fanatics are (Score:4, Insightful)
Can't say as I have had that problem specifically, but... its definitely an odd issue. Some of us are damned if we do, and damned if we don't.
I tend to not say (or at least dance around saying) exactly who I work for because, well, I tend to say things that they might find offensive and I figure the least I can do is try to keep my online persona from reflecting on them.
That said... if you read many of my comments, you might be surprized at who I work for... I certainly don't shill.... but there is a fine line to walk between disclosure of interests and inviting problems.
If I say "Well i work for X" then... I have to be extra careful because I am not authorized to speak for them in public. In fact, I believe I would then be required to add disclaimers and then...it all just adds to the visibility and draws more attention on me... meaning...I can't comment as freely as I would like.
Sometimes its a hard balance to strike between speaking your mind, and inviting trouble, especially since I tend to complain rather than shill, and I do feel its a bit of a violation (not just to the explicit agreements but, even without them) to wantonly air dirty laundry even when I am a less than satisfied employee.
So I prefer to err on the side of speaking in general terms and leaving the who, what, and where specifics out. Though, thats easier when the specific topic is things like "boneheaded management" than when its about the actions of specific companies. In cases like this... I can see why it gets a lot murkier and credibility requires disclosure.
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His employment is paid for by Oracle... the net effect is the same. Money flows from Oracle to his pockets, so its in his interests that Oracle comes out on top.
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Along the same line of reasoning then, since the NSA is a customer of Oracle ...
Besides, the question is if Oracle paid him for consulting services, or for marketing services. A true professional should be able to distinguish 'best interests for the client' based on what he is paid for.
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There's an enormous difference between NSA being a customer of oracle's and looking the other way in regards to oracle.
The latter being what's been happening with Florian and is expected to happen with the NSA in such an example (as we know they're corrupt/abuse NSL's, etc).
Re:This just shows paranoid FOSS fanatics are (Score:5, Insightful)
It doesn't matter, if he says bad stuff about Oracle then likely Oracle won't keep paying him. It doesn't matter what they were paying him for. It could have been to walk the company dogs. You don't pay people who are hurting you unless you really need them.
In that same vein, you're more likely to get paid even more if you report favorably on Oracle even if you're not paid to do so.
All of this is basic human nature and companies are in the end run by humans.
So the very fact that Oracle was giving him money means he now has a monetary incentive to report favorably for Oracle.
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To be quite fair, no, its not the same. As an IT consultant, our company is paid by a number of firms. Over the years Ive done work for far right organizations, as well as for far-left groups. That doesnt mean my opinion on those matters is invalid necessarily; it would depend on the level of involvement with them.
But a consultant isnt necessarily the same as an employee, thats just overly broad and inaccurate; theres a reason they are two distinct terms.
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It's not a question as to whether the opinion is invalid, just that it may be tainted and that should be disclosed. You could hate the company you work for or be truly objective, but Average Joe will avoid biting the hand that feeds him. The disclosure is necessary for readers to decide whether or not you're unbiased.
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It's not a question as to whether the opinion is invalid, just that it may be tainted and that should be disclosed.
In Florian's case, it is not a question of "may be tainted", but rather "is blatantly biased". And then there are the personal attacks on PJ, which are in a word, reprehensible. And of course, very much in line with the standard tactics of ethically challenged organizations like Microsoft and Oracle.
Re:This just shows paranoid FOSS fanatics are (Score:5, Insightful)
"paid by" versus "employed by" is a pretty irrelevant semantic distinction in this case.
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Its not irrelevant. An example of this. Someone who works for Publix may be pro Publix but noone at Publix has asked for him write his stuff and hes not being paid to do so.
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Publix is the FOSS advocate group equivalent in France?
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Publix is a grocery store.
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I shop at Winn Dixie.
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Me too. Because there isn't a Publix in my town.
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And generally where there is a conflict, a journalist should say so right from the outset. But we've seen this time and time again, mainly because guys like Mueller are not actually journalists at all. They're shills.
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I got to the truth and facts rather easily by reading beyond the headline and Slashdot's summary. I have a hard time taking you seriously if you suggest that "Oracle has hired him [Florian Mueller], for his analysis of FRAND issues" is only supposed to be a concern for what you label 'FOSS lunatics' when Mueller positions himself as some sort of patent expert supposedly giving objective analysis of the Oracle vs Google case, and isn't willing to be up-front about one of the parties *actually having hired him*. Also, I believe 'being hired by Oracle' means he does work for Oracle in return for pay. How does that make him being employed by Oracle an outright lie?
Indeed. It is common to say "hire a consultant" or "employ a consultant".
Re:PJ has her own biases (Score:5, Insightful)
Everyone has biases, as long as we know what they are and why they are we're able to make informed decisions about the information they provide us. The problem comes when people don't disclose things like employment by somebody they're biased in favour of because then we lack the information we need to make our decisions.
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Everyone has biases, as long as we know what they are and why they are we're able to make informed decisions ...
Sorry but 'knowing' biases doesn't work like that. Biases aren't binary on-or-off, they're not well defined or all consuming. People are blind or misunderstand their own biases and and poorly communicate them even when trying to open and honest. Moreover, people are able to compensate for different biases in different situations better or worse.
Florian Mueller doesn't think his biases influenced his 'reporting' (em. mine):
My long-standing views on this matter are well-documented. As an independent analyst and blogger, I will express only my own opinions, which cannot be attributed to any one of my diversity of clients. I often say things none of them would agree with.
Bias is not a problem,ethics is (Score:5, Insightful)
Anyone can have an opinion. Muellers problem is he was getting paid for his opinions and didnt disclose that to his readers.
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She has stated several times over the last 10 years that she works for a divorce attorney. Groklaw was just a side project that went viral. I'm pretty sure there are legal ways to find out *which* firm she works for.
Re:PJ has her own biases (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:PJ has her own biases (Score:4, Interesting)
How do you now that when she doesn't disclose who she works for?
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You don't know HarrySquatter isn't actually Glen Beck. You've never seen them together at the same time, right?
I contend, and I note that Glen Beck has never denied, that HarrySquatter is actually Glen Beck's slightly more psychopathic alter ego. Perhaps one of those cases of Multiple Personality Disorder. I leave it as an exercise to the reader whether Glen Beck is the shadow personality or the primary.
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I'm pretty sure Florian is the only LWN user I've ever marked as "hidden by default", simply because any branch of a thread that starts with one of his comments almost invariably turns into a trainwreck. It becomes a game of Immovable Object vs. the Irresistible Force.
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It is a well known fact that reality has a lib^H^H^H^Hn anti-MS/Oracle bias.
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And hopefully it will get the press to stop listening to him, because they're a gullible lot.
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The fact that Mueller has arguably wrong opinions is not a problem. Anyone who matters can dismiss those out of hand.
The problem is that (A) he has some credibility among those who don't know enough to dismiss his POV out of hand, and (B) he ceased to have personal opinions and instead has his corporate masters' opinions, without disclosing his financially-motivated interests.
Bias isn't a problem; bias is inevitable, and can be adjusted for. Undisclosed financial relationships and a hidden mercenary motivat
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As an independent analyst, he is terrible. His explanations of legal proceedings are crap and his predictions are often very wrong. Yet, he'll keep beating the same drum and presenting fantasy as fact. Why? Having to reveal that he is paid by both Microsoft and Oracle explains it. His "opinions" are carefully crafted propaganda. He is a paid shill and likely has no personal attachment to the idiotic opinions he shares. Don't forget, his former career was a marketing consultant for large software comp
Re:PJ has her own biases (Score:5, Insightful)
And PJ has never hid her bias towards open source. That's why Groklaw was founded, for goodness sake. Sadly, she is also the favorite whipping boy (girl, sorry PJ) of every shill and astroturfer, particularly when they're outed. She's been honest from the beginning, but these guys, well, they're paid liars.
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Groklaw's coverage of the case has been massively one-sided as well....
Oh yes indeed, Groklaw is very biased. Groklaw is in favor of freedom and decency, and against evil.
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Bullshit, you liar. Time and time again this accusation has been made, but not once has anyone ever proven it.
Go back to using your SCO stock to wipe your ass, mouth, and anywhere else the excrement leaks out.
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All you're doing is proving it's true.
The statement does nothing to change the fact that it's conflict of interest.
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So, you're taking an imaginary situation and trying to compare it to a real one.
Shock and horror! Somebody used an analogy to explain something on Slashdot!
Show me an actual park where a rock quary donated rubble to the pavement of a park that someone writes blog posts praising rock quaries and condemning something that is against rock quaries.
Yeah, right.
Exactly "Yeah, right" It is an absurd situation and was meant as such. The point being, most people using a FREE SERVICE neither know, NOR CARE where the components that went into it came from. There are thousands of web sites and multimedia services hosted on ibiblio. Are we to assume that they are all sucking IBM's giant corporate cock?
We're talking about the fact that PJ public supports IBM in her blog posts, and it just so happens that IBM also donates the servers her site runs under.
IBM has not donated servers to GROKLAW. IBM donated servers to THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA,
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This is way beyond the pot calling the kettle black here, this is the pot complaining that the kettle boils water.
Hi Florian.
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Please. I've been on slashdot since long before he has.
For the record, I have no conflict of interest here. My problem with PJ is that she holds those she disagrees with to a different standard than she holds herself or those she agrees with.
She frequently accuses those she disagrees with of the very same things her side of things does.
This is a prime example. If she wants to accuse others of conflicts of interest, she should start with herself and disclose any she has. She should also look closely at t
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And when you can prove that PJ is an IBM employee...
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Unfortunately, while the same grease that makes it go 'round also makes it a filthy place at times.