What seems to be a very significant flame-war has broken out at the Linux-Bangalore mailing list, involving a Microsoft-influenced "focus group" that is keen to study how Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) works.

This was the initial posting that came from http://groups.yahoo.com/group/linux-bangalore-non-tech/message/4789 and had this to say:

From: Swaroop C H <swaroop@s...> Date: Wed Mar 2, 2005 3:39 pm Subject: Want to talk to Microsoft (India) about Linux? Hi, Are there any students on this list? If so, and you are interested to have a discussion with Microsoft about Linux and why OSS rocks or just plain want to tell MS why they suck, then please reply me off-list. For more details, please see http://lfg2005.cjb.net/ P.S. I don't work for MS. I work for Y! and I'm very much a OSS person. No flames, please. Thanks, ===== Swaroop C H Blog: http://www.swaroopch.info Book: http://www.byteofpython.info

Atul Chitnis' reply is at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/linux-bangalore-non-tech/ message/4799

It raises a number of issues, one of which is:

Before anyone gets majorly excited here... The actual URL of this page is http://linuxpaneldiscussion.europe.webmatrixhosting.net/ Why is this buried in a frame like that? And why is there no actual reference to this event on the Microsoft site? A hotmail email address as a contact address? In fact the Microsoft connection is *buried* there, as if someone is deliberately trying to hide it, making Sheila Gulatti almost a visiting guest speaker. I did some digging, and sure enough, here we go: http://groups.msn.com/BDotNETStudent

In another post, the students organising this event vouch for their independence. See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/linux-bangalore-non-tech/ message/4813

Atul comments elsewhere (message 4799):

Microsoft has been trying to chip away at the interest and goodwill that Linux and FOSS have been building up in the student community for many years (remember MS speakers at LB?), and what better way to identify who the "afflicted" ones are by getting them to come and and reveal themselves in public by speaking about Linux and Open Source?

Another post comments:

Thirdly, you probably have not had as much exposure to Microsoft tactics as many of us have, so you probably do not know *how* you are influenced. For that matter, neither do I. But when a company goes around in schools and colleges and establishes a formal "ambassador" system that is primarily aimed at influencing others, then please pardon me when I yell "Hey, Redmond, leave our schools alone!". :)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/linux-bangalore-non-tech/message/4815

Leocool wrote further:

call it a marketing gimmick if you must, but at end of the day we students are not idiots to be Pied-Pipered into something we dont wanna be doing.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/linux-bangalore-non-tech/message/4817

Surprise, surprise... Atul says he traced this "student's" tracks right back to Redmond:

Please examine the headers of "Leo"'s message carefully. Pay attention to the X-Originating-IP header and the address shown there: X-Originating-IP: 207.46.50.70 A quick whois reveals this: $ whois 207.46.50.70@w... [Querying whois.arin.net] [whois.arin.net] OrgName: Microsoft Corp OrgID: MSFT Address: One Microsoft Way City: Redmond StateProv: WA PostalCode: 98052 Country: US

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/linux-bangalore-non-tech/message/4818

FN