Yes, it would be far-fetched. The conspiracy theory here is self-evidently implausible. We need to stop pretending that the accusations here were made in good faith, or are anything more than wishcasting. People write about these things because it's a lot more fun for them than to write about what actually might have happened, even if what actually happened is probably a better, more lastingly valuable conversation to have.
So, I'm of the opinion that a collective (for example a company) can exhibit malicious behavior despite no malicious intention of any particular individual in it. It can be emergent, and moreso the larger the organization. Along similar lines of systemic discrimination, there does not need to exist any conscious conspiracy or malintent. For better or worse, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
This comment speaks towards that this is the case:
> I know Jeff personally and he's great. This happens all the time at Microsoft though. Teams try to do OSS themselves, haven't a clue how GitHub or licensing works (e.g. they think the CLA transfers copyright), and after a slap aside the head, I send them to Jeff for guidance and all is well.
(I mostly agree with your sentiment, though. I do get the impression that leadership is sincere in wanting to do right. It's just that it's not that black-and-white or easy. As another MS employee commented, this is something that has to take time and they need to be held accountable along the way. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29684127)
If there was a plausible evil plan behind this licensing silliness, I'd shut up about it. But there isn't. The insinuations being made on this thread (still! continously!) are embarrassing. It's not that I think Microsoft is incapable of putting together a solid heist; it's that observers here have such bad taste in heists.
Agree with you there. I see it as manifestations of fear, tribalism, and short-sighted oversimplification around complex issues. Without wanting to dive deeper into any of those topics, I believe there are similar mechanism at play on a larger scale in COVID-conspiracy theories and the re-emergence of Western xenophobia/nationalism.
It can be hard to assume good faith when your counterpart clearly isn't. But I think it can be at least as important then. We need to come together and find common ground.
