WookashMar 12
daniel:// stenberg://

"Our proprietary AI robots independently recreate any open source project from scratch"

https://malus.sh/

MALUS - Clean Room as a Service | Liberation from Open Source Attribution

Mar 12 at 1:06pmWeb
Show threaddaniel:// stenberg://Mar 12
they claim "Zero exposure to original source" but surely all popular Open Source projects have been read and parsed by every LLM in existence many times over
Show threadcλémentdMar 12
@bagder This is clearly satire
Show threadjan-erikMar 12

@clementd @bagder

> This service is provided "as is" without warranty. MalusCorp is not responsible for any legal consequences, moral implications, or late-night guilt spirals resulting from use of our services.

😆

Show threadcλémentdMar 12

@jer @bagder > The MalusCorp Guarantee™
If any of our liberated code is found to infringe on the original license, we'll provide a full refund and relocate our corporate headquarters to international waters.*

*This has never happened because it legally cannot happen. Trust us.

Show threadSébastienMar 12
@clementd @bagder Absolutely, and I love all the hidden (or not so much hidden) gems such as: "Those maintainers worked for free—why should they get credit?" or "Third-party audits finding 'issues'? What if you could just... not deal with any of that?" 😄
Show threadJim FullerMar 12
@bagder is copyright still a thing ... I thought it got blown up with llm ? lets wait till oracle database source is recreated ... maybe opinions will change.
Show threadd@nny disc@ mc²Mar 12
@jimfuller whoever told you that was misinformed
Show threadF4GRX SébastienMar 12
@jimfuller @bagder depends if you're rich.
Show threadLightMar 18
@jimfuller
Bad news: FOSS code gets turned into proprietary code.
Good news: Source available and leaked proprietary code can be turned into FOSS code.
@bagder
Show threadwifi_freakMar 12

@bagder "Full legal indemnification*
*Through our offshore subsidiary in a jurisdiction that doesn't recognize software copyright"

Lol.

Show threadStephaneMar 12
@bagder if you read the fine print it is too sarcastic to be real 😀, so i agree it is probably a joke
Show threadStefan EissingMar 12
@bagder On what did they train then? Proprietary sources? They need something, where is it from?
Show threadBen HardillMar 12

@bagder So this is logical conclusion of the python chardet library re-license.

Getting a court to rule is probably the only way to get a answer one way or another, but getting the LLMs to say definitively what is in the training set will probably be hard (claimed trade secrets).

Even if it's satire it won't be long

Show threadStadler BLÅHAJ Evo  @ Revision26Mar 12
@bagder "If any of our liberated code is found to infringe on the original license, we'll provide a full refund and relocate our corporate headquarters to international waters.*
*This has never happened because it legally cannot happen. Trust us." and <all the testimonials' companies>

this seems like satire
Show threadStadler BLÅHAJ Evo  @ Revision26Mar 12
@bagder update: this is based on a talk from FOSDEM 2026, which, slop being used (mostly for slides) for the purpose of satire aside, is actually a quite nice talk
FOSDEM 2026 - Let's end open source together with this one simple trick

Show threaddaniel:// stenberg://Mar 12
so yeah, I would say that this is most likely satire
Show threadGina HäußgeMar 12
@bagder I sure as fuck hope so, because that page makes me sick.
Show threadAljoscha Rittner (beandev)Mar 12
@foosel
War on OpenSource on a new level or pure fake. 🫩
@bagder
Show threadBen RamseyMar 12
@beandev @foosel @bagder “If any of our liberated code is found to infringe on the original license, we'll provide a full refund and relocate our corporate headquarters to international waters.”
Show threadsotolfMar 12

@ramsey @beandev @foosel @bagder

The Testemonials did it for me, it's a very convincing satire, the names and companies are quite amusing.

Show threadGina HäußgeMar 12
@sotolf @ramsey @beandev @bagder Yeah, that was also the point where I came to the conclusion it's satire, with a bit of worrying it's just placeholder text...
Show threadsotolfMar 12

@foosel @ramsey @beandev @bagder

Yeah, but it probably shouldn't say "report:verified" in the corner then, unless of course it's real slop, almost all the links on the bottom of the page links to nothing as well (https://malus.sh/#) so either it's very sloppy stuff or it's a scarily real-looking satire.

MALUS - Clean Room as a Service | Liberation from Open Source Attribution

Show threadGina HäußgeMar 12
@sotolf @ramsey @beandev @bagder The sad thing is that we have to actually wonder if that might be real. A couple years ago I'd have gone "haha, sure", but with all the greed and end stage capitalism we find ourselves in, I wouldn't be surprised if something like that actually turned out to be real.
Show threadShadSterlingMar 12
@foosel @sotolf @ramsey @beandev @bagder are we calling this effect “peeling The Onion”?
‘cause that’s what it feels like to me
Show threadWouterMar 12

@bagder Their blog: "Some will argue that what we do is exploitative, that we are extracting the ideas from open source while leaving behind the people who contributed them. To this I say: yes, that is a reasonably accurate description of our business model. It is also a reasonably accurate description of [...] virtually every company that has ever used open source software. We are simply being honest about it, and charging a fee for the privilege."

Must be satire indeed

Show threadAlyssa CoghlanMar 12

@wouter @bagder The blog post felt disturbingly plausible as something a Silicon Valley type might take as design inspiration and pitch for venture capital funding :P

(which is the point, I know, but still, ugh)

Show threadAndrew NesbittMar 12
@bagder are you saying that Dr. Heinrich Offshore isn’t a real person?!
Show threadSean GilliesMar 12
@bagder It's good satire. I'm glad you boosted it.
Show threadsynlogic4242Mar 12
@bagder I thought HAL was merely dark satire... until I used Gemini heavily in 2025
Show threadAlyssa CoghlanMar 12
@bagder The "Through our offshore subsidiary in a jurisdiction that doesn't recognize software copyright" asterisk is just *chef's kiss*
Show threadAntonMar 12
@bagder ... satire? Yet.
[insert Bart/Homer Simpson meme]
Show threadtrenchwormsMar 12
@bagder @bagder definitely satire, but like.... very good satire.
Show threadtrenchwormsMar 12

@bagder Actually, bear with me here.

1. Live somewhere that is functionally immune from civil suits from "big" countries.
2. Promise to license-liberate these big companies.
3. Give them the exact code without the license doc itself.
4. Let them include the "safe" code in their proprietary codebase.
5. Report them for license violations.

Show threadJoe BrockmeierMar 12

@bagder I think it sprang from this at FOSDEM: https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/SUVS7G-lets_end_open_source_together_with_this_one_simple_trick/

Or is related to it, anyway...

FOSDEM 2026 - Let's end open source together with this one simple trick

Show threadAlyssa CoghlanMar 12
@jzb @bagder Yeah, FOSDEM 2026 is referenced explicitly in the footer of the blog post linked from the front page.
Show threadXelaMar 12
@bagder you know what? Nowadays such claims are tricky to identify as satire... 😉
Just wait a bit. Some random CEO will call this a great idea. 😜
Show threadchebraMar 12
@bagder But this one isn't https://gnomestarterpack.com
Gnome Starter Pack — Everything you need for GNOME

A curated collection of beautiful, native GNOME apps — built with GTK4 and Adwaita.

Show threadbeaiouns Mar 12
@bagder Gotta love the tag at the bottom: "MalusCorp is not responsible for any legal consequences, moral implications, or late-night guilt spirals resulting from use of our services."
Show threadmhoyeMar 12
@bagder The product reviews by "definitely real corporation", yeah.
Show threadAzuaronMar 12

@bagder

The MalusCorp Guarantee™

If any of our liberated code is found to infringe on the original license, we'll provide a full refund and relocate our corporate headquarters to international waters.*

*This has never happened because it legally cannot happen. Trust us.

Show threadFabio G.Mar 12
@bagder I treat satire as the real thing, lest i come across the real thing and believe it's satire.
Show threadHugh @ eh23 ☎️ (4844)Mar 12
@bagder This was satire (as far as I could tell); I attended the talk at FOSDEM: https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/SUVS7G-lets_end_open_source_together_with_this_one_simple_trick
FOSDEM 2026 - Let's end open source together with this one simple trick

Show threadJocelynephiliac Mar 13
@bagder oh thank god
Show threadFediThing Mar 12

@bagder

"No attribution. No copyleft. No problems." 🤮

EDIT: Wait... is this a parody? The quoted examples are people like "Patricia Bottomline" and "Dr. Heinrich Offshore" 😅

Show threadStefan EissingMar 12
@bagder "never seen the source", right.
Show threadlaalsaasMar 12
@bagder the language they use makes it hard for me to believe they are serious
Show threadCarstenMar 12

@bagder

I'm by far no expert in (online) irony & sarcasm, but that looks a lot like a satirical site, doesn't it?

(At least I hope it is.)

Show threadsynlogic4242Mar 12
@bagder the AI bros are just trolling us now
Show threadO'SchellMar 12
@bagder Well made parody !
Show threadantsuMar 12
@bagder Aptly named!
Show threadveesoMar 12
@bagder Nice trolling, but I'm puzzled, what happens if you pay? The stripe checkout page is real. Wouldn't that be considered scamming then?
Show threadBarry RowlingsonMar 12
@bagder April 1st gets earlier every year, right?
Show threadOlivier LeroyMar 12

@geospacedman @bagder

I also got tricked until I read the "AGPL contamination" snippet:)

Show threadPatrick Mar 12
@bagder

waow
SaaS (Stealing as a Service)
Show threadjaKa MočnikMar 12
@bagder lol "LLM doing something from scratch" is literally contradictio in adiecto. :D
Show threadscvalexMar 12
@bagder Finally I can fulfill my lifelong dream of reimplementing curl in a weekend!
Show threadacut3Mar 12
@bagder I'm pretty sure this is just a joke
Show threadadvokattMar 12

@bagder that was a nice one! a little bit _too_ obvious, but nice.

OTOH, recently i came across https://www.shiftify.us and read it as SHITTIFY and also thought that was a parody:

"Shiftify gives your team everything it needs to hire, manage, and retain a high-performing workforce with AI-driven compliance and precision in healthcare, biotech, government, and beyond."

but it probably wasn't a parody, but something real.

3 Twelves Inc | Innovative Solutions for Modern Challenges

"3 Twelves Inc: Pioneering digital solutions for business growth. Expertise in Workforce Management to drive success in a dynamic marketplace."

Shiftify
Show threadCritter (he/him)Mar 12

@bagder I couldn't tell if this was satire or real. Searching, I think it's satire related to the fosdem talk on this subject.

It's horrifying to think that there are real people who actually think like the points listed on the site, even if the site itself isn't real