Transparency makes peace

Now that Miguel de Icaza has expressed dissatisfaction with the Novell/Microsoft deal [1, 2], various people are asking for the true story to be told. There are quite a few contradictory statements which leave more doubt than definite answers. From LinuxToday for example:

However, De Icaza is being disengenious. Consider this remark of his just 15 months ago: http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2006/Nov-04.html

"Why did you guys work this deal with Microsoft? Although I did not take part of the actual negotiations, and was only told about this deal less than a week before the announcement, I had been calling for a long time for a collaboration between Microsoft and Open Source and Microsoft and Novell. There are numerous interviews that touch on this topic and most recently my interview in Microsoft's Port25 In the past I had called for this same kind of cooperation with other companies. "

[...]

So, the question arises: Why is De Icaza criticizing the "deal" now? What's changed? The terms of Icaza's employment? His salary? His VP status? His duties? GNOME's GPL status?

It's time De Icaza comes clean.

This was actually found here.

Whenever de Icaza does something, there is always a good reason. But like all people who flip through 180 degrees, de Icaza generally does not reveal such reasons.

So Miguel, if you are reading this, please try to clarify what led to the change of heart. It would help tremendously and it may also earn you back some trust. ⬆

PS - Now that you are a protester against this deal, Miguel, you are welcome to become part of the discussion. We can happily set you up with an account so that you can blog against the patent deal. ;-)