Open-source software supporters need to do a better job of policing themselves as developers and activists, according to Darl McBride, CEO of controversial Unix seller SCO Group.
In an "open letter to the open-source community," McBride held open-source supporters accountable for recent denial-of-service attacks that crippled SCO's Web site. McBride said open-source advocates risk hurting their own cause unless they police each other to prevent and punish such actions. "We cannot have a situation in which companies fear they may be next to suffer computer attacks if they take a business or legal position that angers the open-source community," McBride wrote in the letter, which CNET News.com obtained an advance copy of before it was posted on SCO's Web site Tuesday morning. "Until these illegal attacks are brought under control, enterprise customers and mainstream society will become increasingly alienated from anyone associated with this type of behavior."
SCO rattled the technology world early this year by filing a $3 billion lawsuit against IBM, claiming that the computing giant illegally incorporated into its Linux software source code from the Unix operating system that SCO controls. SCO further riled the Linux community by sending letters to 1,500 information technology managers, warning them that any use of Linux could expose them to intellectual property suits. SCO tried to capitalize on its claims when it unveiled a licensing plan for businesses that wish to continue using Linux with SCO's blessing.
News source: C|Net News.com
