MediaWiki core dev, Debian Developer, Wikipedian. Boba journalist, believer in free software and free knowledge. He/him/his.
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| Website | https://legoktm.com/ |
| Work | https://freedom.press/people/kunal-mehta/ |
| Blog | https://blog.legoktm.com/ |
| Wikimedia | https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Legoktm |
The vast majority of OSS maintainers who want telemetry on by default want it to make the software better, not to invade the privacy of users or use user data for personal gain.
Whether it is ethical to have telemetry on by default is still something I am unsure about, but the reasons for wanting it are almost always pure.
(This is based on what I have seen, not on any scientific survey.)
Great post by @ehasbrouck on the hacking of admissions records from Columbia:
"The best way to avoid misuse of personal data is not to collect it. If it has been collected, and especially if it is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was collected, the best way to mitigate the risk to the individuals to whom it pertains is to expunge it."
https://papersplease.org/wp/2025/07/08/the-dangers-of-identity-databases/
Also that EU/Canadian privacy laws mandate deletion - a clear example where the US is behind and the harms that follow.
New blog post: A small change in plans
https://blog.legoktm.com/2025/07/04/a-small-change-in-plans.html
I'll be starting at CUNY's law school in the fall. (That's basically it, it's a pretty short blog post!)
A small change in plans: I'm starting law school in the fall. I'll be attending the CUNY School of Law right here in Queens to become a public interest-focused lawyer. I plan to continue working full time at the Freedom of the Press Foundation and go to school in the…
Just read
"Judging a legislator purely on how many bills they pass is hardly the only way to understand their effectiveness"
which reminds me to ask: is there a reasonably objective scorecard or qualitative assessment of all the New York state legislators on their effectiveness in the legislature?
Today, we (@bkuhn & @richardfontana) excitedly announce that we have restarted, revitalized, and relaunched copyleft-next!
Today, #GPLv3 turns exactly 18 years old. This month, #GPLv2 turned 34 years old. These are both great licenses and we love them. Nevertheless, at least once in a generation, #FOSS needs a new approach to strong #copyleft.
Read more in this thread about the relaunch of the copyleft-next project … ( or read more on the post here: https://lists.copyleft.org/pipermail/next/2025q2/000000.html )
It's starting now!! His campaign manager is speaking first: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRCtylDaG2s
The Hell Gate stream ended a while back, so I've switched to ABC which is just a live feed from Zohran HQ, waiting for him to speak:
Demi Marie Obenour
taavi on rails to DebConf
Luis Villa
Sumana Harihareswara
copyleft-next
Arcstur
