03.27.08
Microsoft/Munchkin ‘Breaks’ the Web to Break Open Document Standards (Again)
World Wide Web for documents lock-in or against it?
Thanks to one reader, we have just become aware of a story told by another reader. It was published in noooxml.org and it speaks about the latest trick that involves anti-ODF manipulation on the World Wide Web. Here is the gist:
In March 26, 2008, was celebrated around the world the first Document Freedom Day (http://www.documentfreedom.org/). Notice the site’s name: Document Freedom dot org.
While refusing all around the world to participate in a celebration towards the promotion and usage of open standards, Microsoft even goes to the point of issuing a press release in Portugal against ANSOL’s Document Freedom Day announcement.
Meanwhile, anonymous supporters of OOXML use Domains by Proxy registar in order to register a site with a very similar address of Document Freedom Day’s. The OOXML support site is Document Freedom Day **dot com** and redirects to a well known astroturf site which pretends to be a community of OOXML supporters.
It is worth emphasising again that we saw or at least suspected such things in the not-so-distant past. Examples include:
- Microsoft Launches “Get the Facts”-esque Smear Campaign Against ODF and OOXML's Critics
- Microsoft's OOXML Viral Marketing Reaches YouTube
- HOWTO: Poison the World Against ODF
- Novell, OOXML, and Microsoft's Control of Search Engines, Media
- OSI Says OOXML Needs to Die and Sutor Thinks Microsoft's Search is Broken by Design
The reader who send us the pointer to this adds: “A blatant astroturfing maneouver from the borg. What concerns me is that it can be used to ruin documentfreedom days in successive years. Also they try to silence every criticism to OOMXL.” █
“It just tells you how desperate Microsoft is for a competitor that they’re holding up a software box produced by 100 guys in the hills of North Carolina. Who are they trying to kid?”
–Robert Young, CEO of Red Hat at the time
Highlight: Novell was the first to acknowledge that Microsoft FUD tactics had substance. Novell then used anti-Linux FUD to market itself. 
Highlight: Xandros let Microsoft make patent claims and brag about (paid-for) OOXML support. 
Highlight: Linspire's CEO not only fell into Microsoft arms, but he also assisted the company's attack on GNU/Linux. 
Highlight: Microsoft craves pseudo (proprietary) standards and gets its way using proxies and influence which it buys. 
Highlight: The invasion into the open source world is intended to leave Linux companies neglected, due to financial incentives from Microsoft. 
Analysis: Xen, an open source hypervisor, possibly fell victim to Microsoft's aggressive (and stealthy) acquisition-by-proxy strategy.
Rui Miguel Silva Seabra said,
March 27, 2008 at 6:25 pm
For WordPress users there’s a wonderfull plugin called “douche bag“.
All you need to do is install the plugin, and then add a flag to some astroturfer’s comment.
The plugin will attach an image to that comment.
My “douche bag” is Bill Gatus of the Borg, and some astroturfers can be viewed in here.
Very nice!
Roy Schestowitz said,
March 27, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Your site seems to attract a lot of borgs.
I’ve been doing that manually myself, and only for one troublemaker (eet).