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Today We Are Seven
Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 12:15 PM EDT

Believe it or not, Groklaw is seven years old today. It just *feels* like seventy.

Here's how we began [except for some early articles and drafts I deleted when Groklaw was young and so was I, back when I had no idea Groklaw would become Groklaw], and here's the very first article about SCO, SCO Falls Downstairs, Hitting its Head on Every Step. Heh heh.

Prophetic, eh?

I'd say we've met all the goals we set for ourselves, and more. And no, it wasn't easy or even always pleasant. But it's been soooo much fun too. There is nothing in the world, in my experience, as creatively satisfying as trying to do something no one has tried to do before and having it actually work. Our hope was that geeks could help lawyers understand the tech better, and vice versa. And it has happened.

Thank you to all of you for contributing your skills and knowledge all this time. I am being absolutely truthful when I say that Groklaw wouldn't be the same without you. And, I hope, vice versa.


  


Today We Are Seven | 387 comments | Create New Account
Comments belong to whoever posts them. Please notify us of inappropriate comments.
Today We Are Seven
Authored by: Martin on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 12:20 PM EDT
Congrats!!!

[ Reply to This | # ]

Congrats
Authored by: proceng on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 12:21 PM EDT
To you and all who have helped.

---
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:32(King James Version)

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 12:34 PM EDT
Happy birthday to Groklaw! Thank you for all your hard work, PJ!

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 12:39 PM EDT
Personally, I feel more like seventy...

[ Reply to This | # ]

Congrats!!
Authored by: dburns on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 01:05 PM EDT
I still remember the thrill I felt when Groklaw came up in a Google search about
SCO for the first time in the spring of 03. I have read GL almost every day
since then. Thanks everyone and especially PJ for all your hard work and
efforts. It has been a long and fun adventure.

---
db.

[ Reply to This | # ]

P.J. Did you ever change your opinion
Authored by: ChrixOne on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 01:15 PM EDT
about Davie Boies. In that second article you said you admired him.

He always just seemed to be just a hired gun to me.

[ Reply to This | # ]

I'm simply agog...
Authored by: eggplant37 on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 01:19 PM EDT
...that this fiaSCO has continued on this long despite the
lack of evidence that SCOG has shown in any of its dealings
with the courts. That trial we just saw, the appeal over
whether the extrinsic opinion evidence might sway a jury
over their copyright dispute with Novell, was a travesty as
far as what few verifiable facts that SCOG had to present in
support of its position. And now the shenanigans continue
where they think the judge will just nullify the jury
verdict and hand them everything anyway? Enough is enough. I
certainly hope that sometime soon the smackdown that puts
these crying babies to bed comes soon.

[ Reply to This | # ]

An amazing ride
Authored by: kawabago on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 01:19 PM EDT
The best thing for me has been gaining an understanding of the legal process.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Corrections Thread
Authored by: bugstomper on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 01:46 PM EDT
Just in case there are any.
Please put the error->correction or s/error/correction/ in the title to make
scanning easy.

[ Reply to This | # ]

News Picks Thread
Authored by: bugstomper on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 01:48 PM EDT
Pick your News here. Please indicate which article it is about in the Title box,
and include a link to the article as it may scroll off the News Picks front page
by the time someone reads your comment. Use HTML formatting ti make the link
nice and clickable.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Off Topic threads
Authored by: bugstomper on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 01:50 PM EDT
Please stay off topic in this thread and use HTML clickies to make your links
clickable.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven
Authored by: old joe on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 01:52 PM EDT
Happy birthday to you

[ Reply to This | # ]

COMES goes here
Authored by: bugstomper on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 01:53 PM EDT
Seven years, and there's still more work to do! PJ said she is continuing the
Comes work. Please post any contributions here, formatted with HTML markup
posted as Plain Old Text to make it easy for PJ to copy and paste it.

[ Reply to This | # ]

SCO falls downstairs, hitting its head on every step
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 01:55 PM EDT
What we didn't realize at the start was that the stairs were actually an
"up" escalator.

Hopefully, they will eventually reach the bottom.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Happy Birthday, Groklaw!
Authored by: bugstomper on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 01:58 PM EDT
Congratulations, PJ! Thank you for a great, or at least interesting and
fascinating, seven years.

And thank you to the nine Groklaw members who posted ahead of me but still
allowed me to get the honor of the quadrafecta on this most auspicious day :D

[ Reply to This | # ]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GROKLAW!
Authored by: rsteinmetz70112 on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 01:59 PM EDT
It's been interesting and educational.

---
Rsteinmetz - IANAL therefore my opinions are illegal.

"I could be wrong now, but I don't think so."
Randy Newman - The Title Theme from Monk

[ Reply to This | # ]

The rest, they say....
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 02:14 PM EDT
I personally started getting a true interest in the legal aspects of software
reading all of the trial transcripts of the case against deCSS and Jon Johansen,
(MPAA v. 2600) in 2000/2001. Now there was a case with some silly rulings.

Pretty soon afterwards came the epitome of silliness, SCO.
For me, a full-time Linux user since 1991, they made it personal!

I was very happy to see my outrage over their claims shared and solidified on
a blog by this elusive PJ.
The rest they say is ... -- well, after 7 years, let's just say: "history in the making."

Here's to you PJ, thanks for starting the blog, you're a top-notch paralegal,
worth your weight in gold.

bjd
from The Netherlands

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven
Authored by: Tezzer on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 03:11 PM EDT
Wow! It doesn't seem that long.

The good news is that by their continued intransigence they have helped forge a
robust defence against themselves, and others who would walk the same path.

Keep On Rockin' :)

---
Kandor

[ Reply to This | # ]

The long and winding road
Authored by: Ninguino on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 03:19 PM EDT
Congratulations. Its been a ride!
How long do you think this will still last? another 3-5 years for the appeals,
etc...?

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven
Authored by: ilde on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 03:57 PM EDT
I never get tired of repeating how much I have learned over the past years.
Seven now and counting! As I am naturally inclined towards technical
(engineering) stuff, I never had thought I would someday be so attracted to
reading about legal terms. Not only that, but I have also perfected my
english-reading skills.

That's why I want to express my most profound and accomplished gratitude to the
author of this enormous monument to the search for truth.

Thanks PJ.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven
Authored by: rsmith on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 04:30 PM EDT

Here is to the next seven years of shining the light of public scrutiny on those who'd rather do their unsavory business in the darkness!

I'd like to think we did a good job on exposing SCOG's claims as worthless early on. :-)

The best (or rather worst!) I can say of the US legal system is that by the time it gets around to pronouncing that same verdict, it probably won't matter anymore. Bleak House, anyone?

---
Intellectual Property is an oxymoron.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Seven years of FUD, for only $10m
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 04:34 PM EDT

This has been a tremendous success for Microsoft. They spent only $10m funding SCO's bogus lawsuits, and got seven years of legal challenges to Linux out of it. It's probably the most effective $10m that Microsoft has spent in the last decade.

Of course, I don't know how much they spent on MPEG LA.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven
Authored by: BobDowling on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 04:46 PM EDT
OK, time to open the book. How old will Groklaw be when SCO finally ends?

I reckon three more years for a total of ten years old.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven
Authored by: bbaston on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 05:26 PM EDT
Way back then, no one could fathom your ultimate impact, Pamela. Certainly not me, and it was nice to have an occasional email from you on nothing important. You were still trying to get a grasp on why we felt your blog effort to be so important to FLOSS.

I visited Groklaw. I fell in love with what you were doing. I finally quit lurking and joined [Tuesday September 23, 2003 @02:41PM]. The rest is history -- still in the making.

Without you, I've no doubt that Linux would have suffered mightily. Sorry that your unique concept of legal/technical collaboration all started a while after my "peak years" of mental acuity, so my contributions have been limited and occasionally muddled.

Profound and sincere thanks for staying the course! And thanks also to all of you (PJ-designated) "brainiacs" that continue to amaze the world and reinforce PJ's efforts!

---
IMBW, IANAL2, ICRN, IAVO
imaybewrong, iamnotalawyertoo, icantremembernow, iamveryold

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven
Authored by: cybervegan on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 05:38 PM EDT
Seven years - and look how we and the world have changed!

We've all learnt a lot - but it's sad to say that I now know more about US law,
than my native UK law!

We're just lucky PJ had the forethought to set out on this momentous voyage, and
to stick with it through thick and thin.

Let's take a moment to remember the personal sacrifices - professional, social
and physical - that PJ has made, but I can't think of anyone else who could do
it properly like PJ has done (and quite a few have since tried).

Congratulations GrokLaw and PJ, and many thanks.

Not to labour the point, but, as I have said many times before "what you
are doing is very important". We all appreciate your tireless work.

Thankyou for everything,

-Cybervegan.

---
Software source code is a bit like underwear - you only want to show it off in
public if it's clean and tidy. Refusal could be due to embarrassment or shame...

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven
Authored by: Steve Martin on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 05:46 PM EDT
It's hard to believe that it's been seven years since Groklaw began. I remember
back in 2003 when Caldera first made their claims of infringement, and I
remember being afraid that such a great piece of software (Linux) would be taken
away from us. Groklaw has always been the place to come to get the straight
tell, and it's been a big part of my daily routine since.

Thank you, PJ, for all the hard work. And thanks to all the volunteers for
joining in to help keep the faith.


---
"When I say something, I put my name next to it." -- Isaac Jaffe, "Sports Night"

[ Reply to This | # ]

Legal System Broken?
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 06:03 PM EDT
Seven years and SCO are STILL costing the companies money. I would agree
that they are, for the most part, a smoking crater waiting to happen
(bankruptcy and corporate veil notwithstanding).

The thing is people castigated smaller companies, such as EV1, for "caving

in" whereas I see it as a smart move given the unbounded cost of standing
up to SCO. The cloud over EV1 would affect business, something Novell &
IBM can weather due to their size and others because their business isn't IT
systems (at least in the view of the public and investors).

Seven years and STILL GOING is not the sign of a system that works. It is a
sign of a system that works only for those that want it to. And only one side
need be a pain to keep it going...

--EK

[ Reply to This | # ]

The Magnificent Seven
Authored by: jocaferro on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 06:50 PM EDT
Congratulations.

[ Reply to This | # ]

It is a pity however ...
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 07:04 PM EDT
... that Novell must admit that without transfer of copyrights to SCOG,
"legal claims" can't be included in all claims of Novell arising after
the Closing relating to any asset, right or property included in the Business.

Because that is precisely what SCO always said.
If anything, it is a strange way for Novell to let Judge Stewart know in its
Proposed Conclusions of Law that the jury was wrong.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven
Authored by: om1er on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 07:21 PM EDT
Happy Birthday, Groklaw!

Thank you PJ for all of the hard work that you have done. I have learned a
tremendous amount, and value what I have learned a great deal.

Also, thanks to all the contributors to Groklaw over the years.

I see that BIFF is still hounding you, even today, PJ. Will we ever learn what
makes BIFF tick, or so ticked off?

---
March 23, 2010 - Judgement day.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven
Authored by: D. on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 07:26 PM EDT
Seven years seems to have passed by a tad quickly.

Thanks to all who've contributed to the task of making GL the tremondous
resource that it is.

PJ, you have to add "Expert Cat Herder" to your CV.

D.

---
"Litigation is a machine which you go into as a pig and come out as a sausage.”

-- Ambrose Bierce (attrib.)

[ Reply to This | # ]

It's been fun :-)
Authored by: SilverWave on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 08:18 PM EDT
For various values of fun, obviously ;-)

---
RMS: The 4 Freedoms
0 run the program for any purpose
1 study the source code and change it
2 make copies and distribute them
3 publish modified versions

[ Reply to This | # ]

Hmmm tSCOg must have smashed a mirror ...
Authored by: dmarker on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 08:19 PM EDT

back then as it is quite clear that they have had 7 years of really bad luck !.

But, maybe they want to break another :( -- I hope not as although there has
been an ongoing entertainment value, it is wearing my attention span out :)

DSM

[ Reply to This | # ]

Happy Birthday
Authored by: The Mad Hatter r on Sunday, May 16 2010 @ 09:31 PM EDT
Happy Birthday thud
Happy Birthday thud
Now you've lived another year
Now you know that death is near
But happy birthday thud
Happy birthday thud

I like the Birthday Dirge, I really do.


---
Wayne

http://madhatter.ca/

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven
Authored by: hans on Monday, May 17 2010 @ 01:10 AM EDT
I, for one, would like to hear how the last seven years have made Pamela Jones
different.

I know I'm different for the experience, if for no other reason than the
knowledge that its a really, really, really great idea to consult competent
legal council sometime.

And I can see how PJ is different is some ways, just from what she has written
here.

I'd still like to hear her side (yes, shameless autobiography time) of the
story.

Regards,

(and thank you very much)

Hans

[ Reply to This | # ]

My congratulations and thanks to PJ and all who contributed.
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, May 17 2010 @ 02:00 AM EDT
I have moved three times, got married and put my step son through four years of
college and two years of medical school since tSCOg lost its' grasp of reality.

After all of this, there still remains the issues with IBM. While we all assume
we know the outcome, the courts have not rendered its' final decisions.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven
Authored by: TAZ6416 on Monday, May 17 2010 @ 03:16 AM EDT
Happy Birthday Groklaw :)

I can't believe it's been seven years, I remember it all starting and thinking
it would be over by 2005 at the latest. Back in 2003 I was a slim, recently
married guy in his thirties, now I'm a slightly larger, still married Dad of two
with gray hair 40 something.

Groklaw also made me try Linux out, I was too scared before but encouraged by
people here I bought my first Disto from a guy on Ebay, think it was Debian
Woody. Spent a night trying to get the thing installed, I remember editing the
partition tables was a bit of a nightmare, got it running and I couldn't get the
thing on the Internet. Back then I had a ISP supplied broadband modem with
custom firmware and a Winmodem for dialup and nothing I could do could get them
going. But I liked what I saw, got another modem, tried Linspire next which was
easier to use and have used Linux ever since, with sometimes a wee bit of
dabbling with BSD and Solaris. I even installed a trial version of SCO UnixWare
7.1.3 once, it was like going back in time 10 years, it looked terrible.

Fast forward now and I'm running the latest 64-Bit Ubuntu, and everything just
worked out of the box apart from my Brother printer which I manually had to
install the packages for. I'd admit it wasn't as easy as installing the windows
Brother drivers would be, but it wasn't rocket science.

So both Groklaw and Linux have come a long way in seven years, here's to the
next seven.

Jonathan

[ Reply to This | # ]

Know-it-all seven-year olds!
Authored by: Ian Al on Monday, May 17 2010 @ 03:45 AM EDT
No, you can't have a pony.

---
Regards
Ian Al
SCOG: flogging a still-born horse.

[ Reply to This | # ]

A Haiku for the Occasion
Authored by: Steve Martin on Monday, May 17 2010 @ 06:50 AM EDT
Seven years have passed.
Caldera still lays twitching.
Forward we must go.


---
"When I say something, I put my name next to it." -- Isaac Jaffe, "Sports Night"

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven
Authored by: red floyd on Monday, May 17 2010 @ 11:37 AM EDT
Why do I think of A.A. Milne's "Now We Are Six" every time that I see
this headline?

---
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a *CITIZEN* of the United
States of America.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, May 17 2010 @ 12:10 PM EDT
Congratulations PJ!

You have done a wonderful job of exposing the fraud and
deceipt of those who are seeking to destroy the freedoms
and rights that all people have to enjoy using Linux and
FOSS. Also, thank you for the superb, although sometimes
painful, lessons and insights into the workings of the US
legal system. Even though it is difficult, please keep up
the good work, fighting the good fight, and maintaining
the higher ground. Your hard work is appreciated so much.

Thank you again, PJ! Have a great day!

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven
Authored by: sjvn on Monday, May 17 2010 @ 01:30 PM EDT
Happy birthday!

It's been a long, strange, difficult, and even dangerous trip, but it's been
worth it.

Thanks for all your hard work and dedication!

Steven

[ Reply to This | # ]

  • Cyber Cinic - Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, May 17 2010 @ 05:11 PM EDT
two years older than YouTube
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, May 17 2010 @ 04:26 PM EDT
Let's see...

The ongoing saga of a Company That Just Won't Die, and its costly antics that
tie up a nation's legal resources, vastly outnumbered by those who would defend
their freedom to use their equipment as they wish, or

Laughing babies, surprised kittehs, practical jokes, whiners, music videos.

Is this what the Internet has come to? Why, yes, yes it is.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, May 17 2010 @ 08:38 PM EDT
I wish this baby would not have passed the seven year itch, your like a wife you

cant get rid of. Can you say Divorce and move on. Is there any way to get you

to shut up and quit running your mouth like a good ex wife.....

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven
Authored by: Tim Ransom on Tuesday, May 18 2010 @ 09:10 AM EDT
Just dropping by to say thanks.



---
Thanks again,

[ Reply to This | # ]

Today We Are Seven, a Perspective
Authored by: joef on Tuesday, May 18 2010 @ 10:45 AM EDT
I just got back from my granddaughter's graduation: a masters in Urban Planning.
Let's see: when Groklaw sprang forth she hadn't quite finished her Junior year
in HS. She has since got the HS diploma, a BA, and now the MS. She says she'll
work at least a year before considering starting on a doctorate. Question to
ponder: Will the SCO issues outlast her educational efforts?

[ Reply to This | # ]

Thank you PJ
Authored by: DannyB on Tuesday, May 18 2010 @ 06:29 PM EDT
Thanks again PJ. Your hard work is appreciated. SCO seems to be fizzling to an
end. Without your work, especially in the early days, the FUD might have been
more powerful. I know I heard plenty of it first hand during those days and
very much appreciated your work.

When SCO and then Groklaw first started, I never would have imagined we would
still be here today in 2010.

Again, sincere thanks.

---
The price of freedom is eternal litigation.

[ Reply to This | # ]
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