[Arm-netbook] Some Pine64 Experiences (via Planet Debian)

[Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton]

On 10/12/16, mdn <bernardlprf at openmailbox.org> wrote:
> This is unacceptable behavior from them.

 yes... but it's perfectly understandable.  i don't have to _like_ it,
but it's perfectly understandable.

actually it's a reflection on *themselves*.  they're saying - not to
me - but to *themselves*, "if *we* were this person, *we* would
steal".  they're afraid of this "foreigner" who knows that they've
stolen GPL source code for years, and they expect me to enact out
RETRIBUTION by doing exactly what they've done, namely... to steal
from them in REVENGE.

they have no inkling that the consequences for me would be far beyond
anything that i could possibly gain from by such irresponsible action
(including legal ramifications, in PARTICULAR that i'm in china: i
would end up in jail potentially for 20 years to life if i did
anything so fucking stupid as to steal from them... that's not so much
the problem as it is that i wouldn't be able to complete the goals
that i've set, from inside a chinese jail), not to mention that it
would entirely defeat the educational objective lesson that is is
*they* who need to be the ones to take action (namely, to comply with
copyright law and alter their internal procedures right across the
entire company to match).  if someone (whoever it is) comes in and
simply *takes* the source code, that COMPLETELY defeats the object of
the exercise.

there's a book called "Invisible Dynamics" which describes the six
systemic laws that businesses *must* respect, or pay the consequences
for not doing so.  one of those systemic laws is to recognise and
respect the contribution of all employees (and by extension
contributors).  allwinner, by taking the linux and u-boot source code
and not respecting the software license, is breaking that fundamental
systemic law.

now, they don't *understand* that, which is why they're getting into
difficulties... but they can feel that there is something wrong,
without being fully aware (as individuals and as a company) of exactly
what.  they can see the public fuss but we're failing to get it across
to them, we're being angry, rude and generally giving the impression
that we're a bunch of fucking gwailo foreigner dickheads that they can
*really* easily justify ignoring, not to mention exactly as you say,
wookey and phil, it's a pee aitch pee bee bee where you can't find a
damn thing, times a hundred, how on *earth* are the going to get any
kind of useful insights out of a dog's dinner forum?

so.

anyway.

i'm done being pissed off.

useful ideas and insights appreciated.  and contacts in the chinese
software libre community.

l.