CodePlex Foundation

Microsoft today launched the CodePlex Foundation a non-profit organization to promote the open source collaboration between companies and open source communties, projects and individuals.

This is another step in the right direction for Microsoft. I have been working on open source software since 1992, and back then a world where open source played a major role was a dream to many of us. Microsoft adopting open source licenses, releasing some of their code under open source licenses and being a better community member was the stuff of fiction.

There are still many things that I would like to see Microsoft do, and many things that I believe Microsoft has to change to become a full member of the open source community, but it is encouraging to me to see Microsoft evolve. I hope that the CodePlex foundation will help us continue to build bridges between our communities.

I am glad that I was asked to be part of the board of directors of the foundation. And to work together with some great advisory board.

I hope that I can last more on this foundation than I lasted at the FSF, where I was removed by RMS after refusing to be an active part of the campaign to rename Linux as GNU/Linux.