Jump to content

Pamela Jones: Difference between revisions

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
→PJ: better title
 
(109 intermediate revisions by 60 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Computer law scholar}}
{{clearright}}
{{other people}}
{{BLP refimprove|date=September 2013}}
{{SCO Controversy}}
{{SCO Controversy}}
'''Pamela Jones''', commonly known as '''PJ''', is the creator and editor of [[Groklaw]], an award-winning website that covers legal news of interest to the [[FOSS|free and open-source software]] community. Jones is an [[Open Source]] advocate who previously trained and worked as a [[paralegal]].<ref name="LO">{{cite web| url=http://www.linux.org/people/pj_groklaw.html| title=Interview with Pamela Jones, editor of Groklaw| work=Linux Online| date=2003-07-31| accessdate=2007-02-18}}</ref>
'''Pamela Jones''', commonly known as '''PJ''', is the creator and was editor of ''[[Groklaw]]'', a website that covered legal news of interest to the [[FOSS|free and open-source software]] community. Jones is an [[open source]] advocate who previously trained and worked as a [[paralegal]].<ref name="LO">{{cite web| url=http://www.linux.org/people/pj_groklaw.html| title=Interview with Pamela Jones, editor of Groklaw| work=Linux Online| date=2003-07-31| access-date=2007-02-18| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216055920/http://www.linux.org/people/pj_groklaw.html| archive-date=2007-02-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Arthur |first1=Charles |title=Groklaw legal site shuts over fears of NSA email snooping |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/aug/20/groklaw-shuts-nsa-surveillance |work=The Guardian |date=20 August 2013}}</ref>


Jones' articles have appeared in ''[[Linux Journal]]'', [[LWN.net|LWN]], ''LinuxWorld Magazine'', ''Linux Today'', and [[LinuxWorld.com]]. She also wrote a monthly opinion column for the [[UK]] print publication ''[[Linux User and Developer]]''. She is one of the contributors to the book ''Open Sources 2.0: The Continuing Evolution''.<ref name="OS2.0">{{cite book| title=Open Sources 2.0: The Continuing Evolution| author=Chris Dibona | coauthors=Danese Cooper, and Mark Stone| publisher= O'Reilly Media| year=2005| isbn=0-596-00802-3}}</ref>
Jones' articles have appeared in ''[[Linux Journal]]'', [[LWN.net|LWN]], ''LinuxWorld Magazine'', ''Linux Today'', and [[LinuxWorld.com]]. She also wrote a monthly opinion column for the [[UK]] print publication ''[[Linux User and Developer]]''. She is one of the contributors to the book ''Open Sources 2.0: The Continuing Evolution''.<ref name="OS2.0">{{cite book| title=Open Sources 2.0: The Continuing Evolution| author=Chris Dibona| author2=Danese Cooper| author3=Mark Stone| publisher=O'Reilly Media| year=2005| isbn=0-596-00802-3| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/opensources20con0000unse}}</ref>


In 2010 the [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]] awarded the Pioneer award to ''"Pamela Jones and the Groklaw Website"''
According to Maureen O'Gara of Client Server News, despite Pamela Jones notoriety in the Linux Community, Jones is not nor has ever been a contributor to the Linux effort and has never contributed technology to any open source project whatsoever. Critics of Jones have commented that her blog and its messages are self-promoting and have not advanced open source or its impact, but primarily provides commentary on lawsuits between SCO and IBM which are unrelated to the Linux effort.
for ''"Legal Blogging"''.<ref>[https://www.eff.org/awards/pioneer/2010 2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304080331/https://www.eff.org/awards/pioneer/2010 |date=2016-03-04 }} on eff.org</ref>


== Grok projects ==
Client Server News investigated Pamela Jones and "outed" her as a 60 year old Jehovah's witness whose blog is funded as a propaganda tool by IBM and who lives in the New York metropolitan area.


== Grok Projects ==
=== Groklaw ===
=== Groklaw ===
{{Main|Groklaw}}
{{Main|Groklaw}}
Pamela Jones (PJ) has a [[blog]], [[Groklaw]], which covers [[open source]] legal issues, notably the [[SCO-Linux controversies]]. Her stated purpose for starting the blog can be found in the first interview she ever granted, for ''Linux Online'', where she said:<ref name="LO"/>
Jones had a website, [[Groklaw]], which covered [[Open-source model|open source]] legal issues, notably the [[SCO–Linux disputes]]. The website started as a blog but grew from there.


Groklaw covered the various lawsuits involving the [[SCO Group]] in detail but also covered general legal news of interest to the [[free software community|Free Software and Open Source community]]. The site won numerous awards, including the [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]] Pioneer Award in 2010<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/10/19 |title=Transparency Activist, Public Domain Scholar, Legal Blogger, and Imprisoned E-Voting Researcher Win Pioneer Awards |date=19 October 2010 |access-date=2018-12-21 |archive-date=2020-08-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801134014/https://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/10/19 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[American Bar Association]] Journal Blawg 100 in 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/6th_annual_blawg_100/ |title=6th Annual ABA Journal Blawg 100 |access-date=2018-12-21 |archive-date=2018-12-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221140045/http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/6th_annual_blawg_100/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
<blockquote>I started my blog just before the SCO case was filed. Originally, my purpose was just trying to learn how to blog, because an attorney and I were discussing the possibility of me doing some [[telecommuting]] work for him, including work on his blog. I had no knowledge of blogging, so I quickly got Radio, because he used it, and I put up one article to practice, which I never thought anyone in the world would ever see (ironically, about the Grokster decision and how I admired David Boies' Napster legal documents). I was just writing to the air.


Groklaw shut down on August 20, 2013, following the [[Lavabit]] email shutdown, because there was "no way to do Groklaw without email", and the inability to privately collaborate without it: "I can't do Groklaw without your input."<ref name="ForcedExposure">{{cite web|url=http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20130818120421175| title=Forced Exposure| date=2013-08-21}}</ref>
My thought then was to try to explain legal news stories as they came along. I was forever reading [[Slashdot]] comments about legal news and most of the comments would be way off, and I realized that there is a hunger for someone to explain what it all means, what the process is, how things play out, to people who aren't in the legal field.</blockquote>

Groklaw's Mission Statement says it is meant to be several things:<ref name="GrokMission">{{cite web| url=http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=20040923045054130| title=Groklaw Mission Statement| date=2007-01-29| accessdate=2007-02-18}}</ref>

<blockquote>It's an experiment, something not quite like anything that has been done before. It's primarily a working site, not a discussion forum. First, it's a journalistic enterprise, with interviews, research, and reporting of legal events important to the FOSS community.... Second, we are applying open-source principles to research to the extent that they apply.... Third, it's an anti[[Fear, uncertainty and doubt|FUD]] site.</blockquote>

Groklaw has covered the various lawsuits involving the [[SCO Group]] in detail but also covers general legal news of interest to the [[free software community|Free Software and Open Source community]]. The site has won numerous awards.<ref>See [[Groklaw#Awards|Groklaw]] for a list of the site's awards.</ref>


=== Grokline ===
=== Grokline ===
Line 28: Line 24:


=== Grokdoc ===
=== Grokdoc ===
Grokdoc's goal is to create a useful manual on basic [[linux]] tasks that new linux users will find simple and clear and easy to follow, using what they learn from their study.
Grokdoc was a [[Groklaw]] spinoff whose original goal was to create a useful manual on basic [[Linux]] tasks that new Linux users will find simple and clear and easy to follow, using what they learn from their study. The site now also supports many other collaborative projects which benefit from its wiki-like structure.<ref>{{cite web|title=Main Page|url=http://grokdoc.net|work=Grokdoc|access-date=12 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720102142/http://www.grokdoc.net/|archive-date=20 July 2008}}</ref>


== PJ ==
== Use of initials ==
Jones reveals very little personal information, as she considers it private and has expressed from the beginning a strong preference for avoiding fame. Here are the reasons she gave in the early days for using just her initials:<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20050414214437589| title=SCO's 1Q 2005 Earnings Conference Call — transcript| work=Groklaw| date=2005-04-18| accessdate=2007-02-18}} PJ quotes this passage herself, and explains that she provided it to a Wikipedia editor in 2003.</ref>
Jones reveals very little personal information, as she considers it private and has expressed from the beginning a strong preference for avoiding fame. Here are the reasons she gave in the early days for using just her initials:<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20050414214437589| title=SCO's 1Q 2005 Earnings Conference Call — transcript| work=Groklaw| date=2005-04-18| access-date=2007-02-18| archive-date=2007-06-06| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070606234648/http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20050414214437589| url-status=dead}} PJ quotes this passage herself, and explains that she provided it to a Wikipedia editor in 2003.</ref>


<blockquote>I originally wanted to stay anonymous, in a sense, by just saying PJ. Eventually media attention and other factors made it impossible to remain just PJ but I would have if I could have. I have no desire to be famous, for one thing. And I have been creatively influenced by [[Scott McCloud]]'s work. He points out in [[Understanding Comics]] (p. 45–51) in a section on iconic representation that people respond most strongly to a drawing of a character that simplifies to the point that anyone can identify with the character. I guess I was hoping for that effect. In other words, I was hoping people could assume whatever they wanted and just focus on what I said, rather than on who was saying it. For that reason, I chose PJ, because it could be anyone, either sex, any nationality, anyone and no one in particular. I wanted participation by anyone interested in the SCO story. No politics. Nothing extraneous. Just an effort to locate and provide evidence that could be useful. I knew the community could answer SCO, if they just knew what was needed. And they have.</blockquote>
<blockquote>I originally wanted to stay anonymous, in a sense, by just saying PJ. Eventually media attention and other factors made it impossible to remain just PJ but I would have if I could have. I have no desire to be famous, for one thing. And I have been creatively influenced by [[Scott McCloud]]'s work. He points out in ''[[Understanding Comics]]'' (p. 45–51) in a section on iconic representation that people respond most strongly to a drawing of a character that simplifies to the point that anyone can identify with the character. I guess I was hoping for that effect. In other words, I was hoping people could assume whatever they wanted and just focus on what I said, rather than on who was saying it. For that reason, I chose PJ, because it could be anyone, either sex, any nationality, anyone and no one in particular. I wanted participation by anyone interested in the SCO story. No politics. Nothing extraneous. Just an effort to locate and provide evidence that could be useful. I knew the community could answer SCO, if they just knew what was needed. And they have.</blockquote>

==Media controversy==
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols wrote, "Jones has made her reputation as a top legal IT reporter from her work detailing the defects with SCO's case against IBM and Linux. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that her work has contributed enormously to everyone's coverage of SCO's cases."<ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS7673520174.html
|title=Yes, there is a PJ}}</ref>

During the first week of May 2005, Jones was featured by Maureen O'Gara in an "[[Exposé (journalism)|exposé]]" appearing on the website ''Linux Business News''.<ref name=eweek1759>{{cite web
|title=SCO's Legal Wrangles Take an Odd, Personal Turn
|author=Steven Vaughan-Nichols
|url=http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1814683,00.asp |date=2005-05-10
|accessdate=2010-06-28}}</ref> The resulting outcry from Jones and her supporters prompted the website's publisher to distance itself from the publication by O'Gara and publicly apologize to Jones.<ref name=linuxbusinessnews>[http://web.archive.org/web/20050516003713/www.linuxbusinessnews.com ''To Our Valued Readers''], Linux Business News, posted 13 May 2005 (archived 16 May 2005 at the [[Internet Archive]]; message appears near top in box with a light yellow background)</ref> O'Gara's column LinuxGram was subsequently suspended from all outlets of the owner Sys-con Media. O'Gara's article was reinstated and reposted and her suspension lifted after Sys-con verified the factual content of O'Gara's article. <ref>http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-5701517-7.html</ref>

SCO executives [[Darl McBride]] and [[Blake Stowell]] have alleged Jones works for [[IBM]].<ref name=IBM-621-E18>[http://www.groklaw.net/pdf/IBM-621-E18.pdf Primary court document "Exhibit 18" filed by SCO 2/10/2006]. [http://techupdate.zdnet.com/special_report/Face_to_Face:_Darl_McBride.html Face to Face: McBride outlines SCO's lawsuit strategy], zdnet.com. [http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/32990.html Writing Linux History: Groklaw's Role in the SCO Controversy], linuxinsider.com.</ref> Jones has denied this allegation,<ref name=zdnet134733>a)
{{cite web
| url = http://www.zdnet.com/news/letter-to-the-editor-no-ibm-groklaw-connection/134733?tag=content;search-results-rivers
| title = Letter to the Editor: No IBM-Groklaw connection
| first = Pamela
| last = Jones
| author =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| date = 2004-03-05
| month =
| year =
| work = ZDNet
| publisher = CBS Interactive
| location = San Francisco, CA 94105
| page =
| pages =
| at =
| language =
| trans_title =
| format =
| doi =
| archiveurl =
| archivedate =
| accessdate = 2010-06-29
| quote = I don't have any connection to IBM professionally or personally.
| ref =
| separator =
| postscript =
}} and b)
{{cite web
| url = http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20040305174627767
| title = PJ Responds to the Smear Campaign Against Groklaw
| first = Pamela
| last = Jones
| author =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| date = 2004-03-05
| month =
| year =
| work = Groklaw
| publisher = Pamela Jones
| location =
| page =
| pages =
| at =
| language =
| trans_title =
| format =
| doi =
| archiveurl =
| archivedate =
| accessdate = 2010-06-29
| quote = IBM does not sponsor Groklaw and it hasn't given equipment or anything else to Groklaw. Groklaw is independent of any outside influence. It's a noncommercial site. Groklaw is me and a world full of volunteers who believe in what we are doing.
| ref =
| separator =
| postscript =
}}
</ref> as did IBM in a court filing.<ref name=IBM-621-E19>[http://www.groklaw.net/pdf/IBM-621-E19.pdf Primary court document "Exhibit 19" filed by IBM 2/10/2006]</ref><ref name=91D095F4>[http://www.cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=91D095F4-556D-4EB7-8A9F-BF630E2FAA51 CBRonline article "SCO blames Groklaw for IP licensing disappointment"],{{Dead link|date=July 2010}} April 15, 2005.</ref>


== Publications ==
== Publications ==
Line 112: Line 35:
* Monthly column in ''LinuxUser'', a UK print publication.
* Monthly column in ''LinuxUser'', a UK print publication.
* Contributor to ''Open Sources 2.0: The Continuing Evolution''.<ref name="OS2.0"/>
* Contributor to ''Open Sources 2.0: The Continuing Evolution''.<ref name="OS2.0"/>
*{{cite web |url= https://lwn.net/Articles/61292/ |title=The GPL Is a License, not a Contract |first=Pamela |last=Jones|work=lwn.net |date=3 December 2003 |access-date=5 November 2015}} This article has been highly influential in articulating thought on free licenses.


== See also ==
== See also ==
*[[SCO v. IBM|SCO v. IBM Linux lawsuit]]
*[[SCO v. IBM|''SCO v. IBM'' Linux lawsuit]]
*[[SCO-Linux controversies]]
*[[SCO-Linux controversies]]


== Notes and references ==
== Notes and references ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist|30em}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
{{wikiquote}}
*[http://www.groklaw.net/ Groklaw]
*[http://www.groklaw.net/ Groklaw]
*[http://www.grokline.net/ Grokline UNIX Ownership History Project]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071024191134/http://www.grokline.net/ Grokline UNIX Ownership History Project]
*[http://www.grokdoc.net/ Grokdoc]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080705163814/http://grokdoc.net/ Grokdoc]
*{{Cite news
*{{Cite news
|last = Pla
| last =Schestowitz
|first = Pep
| first =Roy
| title =Interview With Pamela Jones, Editor of Groklaw
|title = Pamela Jones: A committee of one (interview)
| newspaper =Earthweb.com
|newspaper = 10 Questions
|date = June 2007
| pages =
|url = http://10questions.peppla.com/pj.html.html
| date =November 7, 2007
|url-status = dead
| url =http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/osrc/article.php/3708651
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071024065945/http://10questions.peppla.com/pj.html.html
| postscript =<!--None--> }}
|archive-date = 2007-10-24
*{{Cite news
}}
| last =Pla
| first =Pep
| title =Pamela Jones: A committee of one (interview)
| newspaper = 10 Questions
| date =June 2007
| url =http://10questions.peppla.com/pj.html.html
| postscript =<!--None--> }}


{{Linux}}
{{Linux}}
{{Linux people}}

<!--Best known as PJ here; sort under P-->
<!--Best known as PJ here; sort under P-->


{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Pamela}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Pamela}}
[[Category:Computer law]]
[[Category:Computer law scholars]]
[[Category:Linux people]] <!--Best known as PJ here; sort under P-->
[[Category:Linux people]] <!--Best known as PJ here; sort under P-->
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Access to Knowledge activists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:SCO-Linux litigation]]
[[Category:SCO–Linux disputes]]

[[ro:Pamela Jones]]

Latest revision as of 09:33, 5 April 2024

For other people named Pamela Jones, see Pamela Jones (disambiguation).
SCO–Linux disputes
Overview
Litigation
Companies involved
Individuals involved
Other

Pamela Jones, commonly known as PJ, is the creator and was editor of Groklaw, a website that covered legal news of interest to the free and open-source software community. Jones is an open source advocate who previously trained and worked as a paralegal.[1][2]

Jones' articles have appeared in Linux Journal, LWN, LinuxWorld Magazine, Linux Today, and LinuxWorld.com. She also wrote a monthly opinion column for the UK print publication Linux User and Developer. She is one of the contributors to the book Open Sources 2.0: The Continuing Evolution.[3]

In 2010 the Electronic Frontier Foundation awarded the Pioneer award to "Pamela Jones and the Groklaw Website" for "Legal Blogging".[4]

Grok projects

[edit]

Groklaw

[edit]
Main article: Groklaw

Jones had a website, Groklaw, which covered open source legal issues, notably the SCO–Linux disputes. The website started as a blog but grew from there.

Groklaw covered the various lawsuits involving the SCO Group in detail but also covered general legal news of interest to the Free Software and Open Source community. The site won numerous awards, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award in 2010[5] and the American Bar Association Journal Blawg 100 in 2012.[6]

Groklaw shut down on August 20, 2013, following the Lavabit email shutdown, because there was "no way to do Groklaw without email", and the inability to privately collaborate without it: "I can't do Groklaw without your input."[7]

Grokline

[edit]

Jones also launched Grokline, a Unix ownership timeline project, in February 2004.

Grokdoc

[edit]

Grokdoc was a Groklaw spinoff whose original goal was to create a useful manual on basic Linux tasks that new Linux users will find simple and clear and easy to follow, using what they learn from their study. The site now also supports many other collaborative projects which benefit from its wiki-like structure.[8]

Use of initials

[edit]

Jones reveals very little personal information, as she considers it private and has expressed from the beginning a strong preference for avoiding fame. Here are the reasons she gave in the early days for using just her initials:[9]

I originally wanted to stay anonymous, in a sense, by just saying PJ. Eventually media attention and other factors made it impossible to remain just PJ but I would have if I could have. I have no desire to be famous, for one thing. And I have been creatively influenced by Scott McCloud's work. He points out in Understanding Comics (p. 45–51) in a section on iconic representation that people respond most strongly to a drawing of a character that simplifies to the point that anyone can identify with the character. I guess I was hoping for that effect. In other words, I was hoping people could assume whatever they wanted and just focus on what I said, rather than on who was saying it. For that reason, I chose PJ, because it could be anyone, either sex, any nationality, anyone and no one in particular. I wanted participation by anyone interested in the SCO story. No politics. Nothing extraneous. Just an effort to locate and provide evidence that could be useful. I knew the community could answer SCO, if they just knew what was needed. And they have.

Publications

[edit]
  • Articles in Linux Journal, Linux World, Linux Today, LWN.
  • Monthly column in LinuxUser, a UK print publication.
  • Contributor to Open Sources 2.0: The Continuing Evolution.[3]
  • Jones, Pamela (3 December 2003). "The GPL Is a License, not a Contract". lwn.net. Retrieved 5 November 2015. This article has been highly influential in articulating thought on free licenses.

See also

[edit]

Notes and references

[edit]
  1. ^ "Interview with Pamela Jones, editor of Groklaw". Linux Online. 2003-07-31. Archived from the original on 2007-02-16. Retrieved 2007-02-18.
  2. ^ Arthur, Charles (20 August 2013). "Groklaw legal site shuts over fears of NSA email snooping". The Guardian.
  3. ^ a b Chris Dibona; Danese Cooper; Mark Stone (2005). Open Sources 2.0: The Continuing Evolution. O'Reilly Media. ISBN 0-596-00802-3.
  4. ^ 2010 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine on eff.org
  5. ^ "Transparency Activist, Public Domain Scholar, Legal Blogger, and Imprisoned E-Voting Researcher Win Pioneer Awards". 19 October 2010. Archived from the original on 2020-08-01. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  6. ^ "6th Annual ABA Journal Blawg 100". Archived from the original on 2018-12-21. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  7. ^ "Forced Exposure". 2013-08-21.
  8. ^ "Main Page". Grokdoc. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  9. ^ "SCO's 1Q 2005 Earnings Conference Call — transcript". Groklaw. 2005-04-18. Archived from the original on 2007-06-06. Retrieved 2007-02-18. PJ quotes this passage herself, and explains that she provided it to a Wikipedia editor in 2003.
[edit]
Wikiquote has quotations related to Pamela Jones.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pamela_Jones&oldid=1217350873"