Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

I glanced at the OSI page. I found someone who overtly stated opposition to core FLOSS principals:

>"Giving everyone freedom means giving evil people freedom, too." (OSD FAQ) It doesn't have to be like this.

It's time to stop bad actors from using our work in unethical ways. It's time to give open source developers around the world the tools they need to exercise their ethical responsibilities as engineers and members of human society. It's time for us to stop shirking our ethical obligations, and take responsibility for the use of our work.

From:

https://wiki.opensource.org/bin/Main/OSI+Board+of+Directors/...

Also:

https://mobile.twitter.com/CoralineAda/status/12294568573176...

(Edited to include her position in her own words)



Yup, that's C. A. Ehmke. I'm not sure why she's so opposed to core FLOSS principles, even going as far as calling them evil and unethical; I feel like we're all circling back somehow to the bad old "Linux is cancer" attitudes from the 1990s.


She thinks she's a warrior fighting on the side of the angels, it's what gives her life meaning and structure. To be a warrior-for-good requires there to be evil people to fight. If there are evil people then they must be denied access to anything good. If open source is good, then evil people must be denied access to it, which can only be done via the licenses, which would make them not open source anymore, which open source projects will obviously reject. The only remaining solution is to try and manipulate people by manipulating the definition of open source.

The problem for people like Ehmke is there aren't really many evil people in society, and those who do exist tend to get handled by the justice system. So she just ends up picking fights with random people. She's bad news and anywhere she shows up is best recommended to evict her post-haste.


FWIW this looks like her current summary of the situation:

https://where.coraline.codes/blog/ethical-source-osi-electio...




Consider applying for YC's Summer 2026 batch! Applications are open till May 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: