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I'm really, really glad. Fuck Groklaw. Groklaw was like a big, angry shark gobbling up all of the material that a half-dozen journalists in open source and tec
by Valour 16y ago
I'm really, really glad. Fuck Groklaw.
Groklaw was like a big, angry shark gobbling up all of the material that a half-dozen journalists in open source and technology journalism would have loved to cover, had they not been emasculated by editors who were in love with PJ. It was a big ego game for her, not to achieve fame, but to achieve some level of personal satisfaction. It was always my hunch that she was filling some empty void in her life with Groklaw -- mommy and daddy made her feel useless, so Groklaw was her way of fighting back. Or she had an abusive husband and Groklaw was her only power in the world. Whatever. It doesn't matter now.
Apparently all the PJ lovers missed the posts where she promoted religion, and called for the censorship of OSTG/OSDN journalists because NewsForge published an editorial about being okay with using proprietary software, and told people that it wasn't okay for kids to believe in Santa Claus. PJ executed hit jobs on anyone who publicly disagreed with her or her ideology.
She reveled in that power. She had the entire tech journalism establishment by the balls, and she wasn't afraid to use that to satisfy her personal vendettas. Anybody who questioned PJ in the least was accused from every angle of being a Microsoft or SCO shill, or taking money from some front company. Anyone who asked who PJ was and how she was making her living (perfectly valid questions -- the same ones she asked of everyone who spoke out against her or did anything she didn't like) was subjected to an Anonymous-style attack from her community of blind followers. One person even claimed to have been the victim of arson at the hands of a Groklaw fan, but nobody could print those stories because PJ had a stranglehold on the tech news publishers. Nobody was allowed to publish anything about Groklaw.
Except of course the one rogue publication that did the same thing to PJ that she did to her enemies. PJ deserved what Maureen O'Gara dished up to her -- and more. There were so few actual journalists in that industry anyway... everyone was either starfucking Groklaw and promoting Linux and the FSF with fluff pieces, or they were prevented by editors from chasing stories that showed those shadow-gods in a negative light. Had Groklaw never existed, open source and Linux journalism would have been so much better for it... there would have been real story-chasers, not free software worshippers and fanboys.
- FlorianMueller 16y agoYou make a lot of good points but overstate Groklie's influence on the professional press. It came down to a few journalists who wanted to present themselves to their audiences as open source activists. Serious media didn't care. A few days ago, I was quoted on Google's $900M bid for Nortel's patents by the Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, BBC News, law.com, and on Android's patent problems by Bloomberg. I started my FOSS Patents blog only a year ago. Did Groklaw ever get quoted by media like that? I can't remember having seen that ever. That doesn't mean that it hasn't happened, but I'm not aware of any example.
- Valour 16y agoShe wasn't quoted by any major media that I knew of. In the open source/Linux media she was quoted now and then. Specifically, I interviewed her a couple of times. But there was a universal gag order on writing about Groklaw or PJ. I know. I was there. I was one of those journalists.
- roel_v 16y agoSorry for bringing the general level of HN down with this comment, but after reading all your comments in this thread I just have to let it out - man, you're the biggest douche I've ever seen online, and that counts for something.
- RexRollman 16y agoIt has been that way for years. One day, I hope we will find out who is pulling his strings.
- Valour 16y agoAll this time, you never asked who was pulling PJ's strings? Every time someone questions her motives, methods, or anything else about her, the communist witch hunt to discover who is funding her criticism begins, but nobody ever asks how someone who posts stories over a 20 hour period is making her living.
- Valour 16y agoThe fact that your comment was upvoted is a testament to the uselessness of the voting system on this site. That sucks -- I thought the people here were a little smarter and higher class than Reddit or Digg. Look, PJ is not the paragon of virtue that you think she is. I know that is an uncomfortable thing for you to hear, and it must break your heart to know that she's just as dirty and underhanded as the people she attacks, but downvoting won't make the truth go away.