Microsoft bans LibreOffice developer's account without warning, rejects appeal
a year ago by Babalugats to c/buyeuropean
Recently, we reported on LibreOffice, accusing Microsoft of intentionally using complex file formats as a tactic to lock in users to Microsoft Office, hindering open source alternatives like LibreOffice. Now, Microsoft has banned LibreOffice developer, Mike Kaganski, from using its services, citing an "activity that violates [its] Services Agreement".
According to Mike, this happened last Monday when he tried to send a technical email to the LibreOffice dev mailing list, which is a normal part of his routine, but Thunderbird returned an error saying the message couldn't be sent. His account was blocked upon retry, and he found himself completely logged out of his Microsoft account.....
Aww, is the big, predominant, incontestable and great Microsoft suddenly afraid of some foolish, little competitor who of course isn't fit to hold a candle to them?
Microsoft and anticompetitiveness, an iconic duo
This is his blog article. https://mikekaganski.wordpress.com/...
Looking at this, it looks more like Microsoft just screwed it's auth system in some way for him then intentionally banned him in particular.
I as an IT guy have seen this before SOHO office accounts as well and entirely agree that MS has entirely lost the ability to do IT infrastructure in any useful way. Even at an enterprise level, Exchange and outlook used to be convoluted to learn and administer before they became cloud based, as regedit was your friend and they always buried the settings. Now, it doesn't require a degree in IT, but rather a pointy hat and a reading of spell books to make things work... Sometimes. Sacrifices of interns might be necessary at the alter of Support, before they'll answer the phone and you realize they have no more knowledge then you to.
Heck Microsoft doesn't even allow me to use IMAP, and if I want to use a different client (and not the shitty web one), I have to get permission from my IT administrator.
Funnily enough, the same client (Thubderbid) doesn't need any confirmation on Mac or Windows, only Linux.
It’s fun to assume this is Microsoft being petty but the most likely scenario is Microsoft has cut their operating costs to such extremes they no longer have usable services or products.
This always happens when business majors are allowed to make decisions.
Naivity:
I develop open-source code. But that never made me one of the “I hate proprietary software or IT giant corporations” types. I always saw the nice things that Microsoft offered to its users; I saw not only downsides in its products. And I also used (and continue to use) things created by it: Windows to start with (and I develop there, being able to debug and address issues specific to the platform that most of our users use); but also its email service for personal mail.
I'm decidedly NOT a computer expert, but our newest computer, which is always trying to force us to save things to "One Drive," now no longer even lets me open Libre Office files. Is there any way I can fix that? I would think a bunch of people would be suing MS over that, except that in this current political climate, that's probably not even going to go anywhere.
Just to make sure I've understood you correctly: You are trying to open LibreOffice odt or ods files on a 'new' computer with MS Office (365?) installed. Or did you install LibreOffice on that one?
Sorry, could you explain the irony there? I'm a bit slow.
It's incredibly difficult to get away from Microsoft in the corporate/business space.
Yes, but his private e-mail is affected.
True. In his scenario, it would definitely make sense to set up an email on a private domain (or at least self host one).
I ditched the latter
The connection between OnlyOffice and Russia has caused some controversy. The company has moved headquarters and attempted to hide its Russian ties through shell companies[21]. The company develops its product in Russia[22] and presents itself in the Russian market as a Russian company[23]. For this reason some Ukrainian businesses have moved away from OnlyOffice[24].
I didn't say that necessarily. The reason I dropped it is because I don't trust the developers to protect the software from the Russian government if they're based out of Russia.
There are more concerns in the world than just “is it open source?”
I'mbusing it and I haven't donated to them and probably won't after reading that bit so not sure how they are making money through me? So yeah it's different to paying a subscription for something else
If I would run a global company based in Russia, I'd also try to hide it, even if no malice is taking place.
This kind of reaction is exactly why.
As long as it's open source, it should be fine, though.
this exact same thing happened to me a while ago. I really doubt some human blocked my account though. after hours of customer support call and emails (from another account) it finally got unblocked but neither yhe support agent nor me had any clue what happened.
I learned the lesson and gradually moved the dev accounts to a proton email instead.
It looks more like Microsoft's usual incompetence than a conspiracy against LibreOffice...
when I moved to Linux a couple years ago I felt the exact same way. I dont' know how old you are but maybe you remember that feeling logging into win 95 or 98 for the very first time and falling in love with computers and what they could do.
I hadn't felt that way in decades and when I switched to Linux it made me feel like I was a kid again in the late 90s with my very first PC. Switching to Linux made me fall in love with Computers again.
It's alright - start off easy, do some browsing/text editing/etc, don't jump to complicated stuff. You'll get there!
If you come to Windows merely a few weeks after, you'll feel same discomfort that you feel now. Linux will become more familiar, easy, and predictable.
Just keep on going and enjoy your ride. Oh and - I hope you chose a simple, newbie-friendly distribution. Figuring out technicalities when you didn't yet have basics is no fun.
This should help with some of the commands
@CurlyWurlies4All @Babalugats Congrats and enjoy getting the grips with it.
Wasn't there recently a ban on Distrowatch and certain Linux topics on a bigger social network? And Who was the owner of that network again?
Looks like Big Tech fell out of love with FLOSS after it looked at the GNU manifest and found that their profit interests do not align well any more with a digital civil rights movement. All what they want is people's work for free, to sell it as theirs.
Again, anything important needs to be saved multiple places. While Mike should be able to use these services without issue, these issues continue to crop up since people first began saving things online.
That sucks but... I mean... It's not really surprising is it?
The most surprising thing about it is that you try to fuck with a company while using their services and expect nothing to happen.
For it not to become perceived as "fucking with a company" competition should be normal, and it's normal when the winning side is often enough the new competitor. In other words, if there were a few companies making office suites, compatible between each other, and none of them would hold hegemony.
Because what's perceived is defined by what those holding power think. When they change often through competition, they hail competition. When they are the same companies for 30 years, then they would publicly flog and hang you for it if they could.
Similar to how in Linux 2.2 days some functionality lacking or some anarchist spirit were normal, and now Linux is almost authoritarian as a community. Because it's the main thing in its niche.
Or how Apple Computer was a good company when they were competing with Microsoft and others for normal personal computer market, and became crap after they've achieved long hegemony for the luxury segment.
Even Microsoft itself - when they feared some competition, it was W2K and XP, and when they stopped, it was the rest since.
People don't really believe in things they don't experience. Others' dignity/freedom/safety is important for a human when their own depends on it.
Not really sure it’s ok for Microsoft to control people’s criticism of them.
It’s not surprising that Microsoft would try, because they’re assholes. It is really surprising that people just let them get away with it, vote for governments who would let them get away with it, etc
Of course it's not okay but so what? People need to stop acting like they are living in some fantasy where moral has worth.
In this reality we live in laws are enforced with violence, in all it's forms. So if you can't enforce the change you want to see in the world, nothing will change. They have the violence, so they will use it. Of course they will use it. And they will never change the system in a way so they lose power because that would mean they lose their access to violence, which means they lose access to the ability to form the world the way they want. Why should anybody give up that power? It would be stupid. Almost as stupid as to expect them to give it up freely because it is better for everybody.
People are not interested in that stuff. Talk with the average person and they don't know what is happening outside of their bubble.
Most people are just tired driftwood getting violated by the raging ocean waves. Their apathy is understandable.
What is not understandable is that someone who builds an alternative to a Microsoft product, knowing what scum they are, is still using their other product instead of alternatives that exist.
This is war. Of course they try to cripple your production.
??? Companies are MEANT to be fucked with. They never have your best interests in mind. They only care about profit, profit, and greed.
Fuck Microsoft. Time to download LibreOffice!
(removed a few other ideas, see below)
Nah, OpenOffice is close to death since about ten years and has known security issues. Go for only LibreOffice.
https://www.texaslonghorn.se/... I visit often. Do I get free meals now?
Oh boy, oh boy! And I thought people are just trying to fuck each other over all the time.
I'm going right now!
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