Diseased Open Source Software Community - it's about ethics in Code of Conducts

[Last Ride]

Not really sure where to put this, as it's not really lolcow material but it is open-source software drama involving corporate overreach.

Kakao Entertainment, a South Korean company primarily known in the West for their involvement in webcomics/novels, have threatened an open-source Android comic app called Tachiyomi into removing certain sites from their extensions repo on Github.



Tachiyomi by itself is just a framework for storing image galleries, and you install "extensions" for specific third-party websites (primarily manga/comic piracy) that allow you to read content on those websites via Tachiyomi. The important part here is that Tachiyomi and its extensions are doing nothing more than facilitating access to these websites; it's functioning as a web browser, albeit a customised one, and fetching content. There's some similarities to the youtube-dl Github legal drama a few years back, but in this case the devs have backed down before a formal takedown notice so Github haven't been involved at all.

Someone has already forked the extension repo and put the removed extensions up there, so users can either grab the .apk files and install them directly or set up this URL as a custom repo inside Tachiyomi.

Also, hundreds of the websites listed on the extensions page carry pirated content from Kakao properties. This is likely the first wave of requests, and they'll be receiving an email in 48 hours that demands the removal of five hundred extensions this time instead of five. Paperback is a very similar app for iOS that uses the same core app/extension model, and they've solved this issue by moving all sources to third-party contributors and washing their hands of them. I'm expecting something similar to happen with Tachiyomi, and hopefully one of the new third-party Github repos will choose to call Kakao's bluff.

 

[Dante Alighieri]

Not really sure where to put this, as it's not really lolcow material but it is open-source software drama involving corporate overreach.

Good thread for it, and this is good info.

Tachiyomi is a good app, I hope they don't get bullied too hard and give up.

 

[Last Ride]

Good thread for it, and this is good info.

Tachiyomi is a good app, I hope they don't get bullied too hard and give up.

In the long run, they'll be fine. The absolute worst case scenario is that people get told to go to "the third party repo" which shows up on Google immediately, and they spend an extra thirty seconds sorting it out. Their Discord has a new rule referring to third party repositories that wasn't there a day ago to visibly distance themselves from the removed extensions, and users appear to be DMing eachother the links to the repo I shared above, so it's already sorting itself out for both parties.

Seeing yet another large corporation wielding the DMCA against a volunteer project that doesn't even host any content is a much wider issue than just this one app, and a lot of similar apps can't handle threats anywhere near as gracefully, so you'll likely see more Github projects pulling code soon - I doubt they only emailled one person. I don't think they've made the email public, or at least I can't find it posted in their Discord, but from the reaction I'm assuming it's the classic "if you don't do what we tell you to we're going to ask again via our lawyers" style of corporate threat. This is the only case in the history of the app where they've mentioned copyright holders as the justification for removing something, so it must have been bad.

Also, notable that there's a forked version of Tachiyomi called "Neko" that says it's specifically made for MangaDex (one of the five targeted extensions) and that hasn't been taken down.

The maintainer says they haven't had a DMCA, not sure whether I believe that, they might just be more willing to risk Kakao escalating. Worth keeping an eye on.

Someone else has also cloned the official extension repo, reverted the removed extensions and said they plan on maintaining at least one of them for the future. Link here, it's also got a guide on how to add third-party repos to Tachiyomi, which boils down to "press add and paste this link in" so it's even more trivial than I thought.

This guy cloned the repo for one specific extension, which is funny, and these two people seem to have just cloned the entire repo with the restored extensions and done nothing else with it.

https://twitter.com/MangaMoguraRE/status/1743375390586859589

https://old.reddit.com/r/manga/comments/18zg24a/mangadex_going_to_be_removed_from_tachiyomi/

https://desuarchive.org/a/thread/261474478/

Biggest public reactions to the news I can find, doesn't seem to have been picked up by any blogs yet.

 

[Last Ride]

Update to the above situation, Kakao's anti-piracy Twitter account is bragging about the takedown "request" and referring to Tachiyomi as a virus risk/illegal application.

archive

I had to double check because it looks like a parody account, this is actually a legitimate account that's linked in a blog post on their website. I love the animal symbolism, very appropriate.

archive

I think a second, far broader takedown request is basically guaranteed now. Tachiyomi itself is now fully configured to support arbitrary external repos, and there's a growing Reddit post (archive) for one in particular with a linked Discord server that people seem to be congregating in.

EDIT: Turns out the quoted Tachiyomi twitter account has no affiliation with the Tachiyomi app, they just stole the name. I wonder if Kakao knows that, or if that Twitter account is going mysteriously vanish in a week?

 

[Last Ride]

https://tachiyomi.org/news/2024-01-09-extensions-removal (archive)

Looks like they got threatened again, and folded. 99% of extensions have been removed, and the entire extension repo has also been removed.

To make this transition smoother for our users, we are retaining a select few extensions that support connecting to personal "Plex-like" systems, such as Komga.

This means that Tachiyomi now only supports legitimate use cases that cannot be argued as direct infringement, because the content they access is entirely decided by the person managing the Plex-equivalent server you're connecting to. You can still add any and all of the extensions that existed a week ago from third party repos, and they will likely still be maintained by the same community members, but it'll all be legally distinct from the main app now. Kakao will have to individually target every single mirrored repo now instead of a single official one.

We strongly encourage all users to exercise caution, and avoid utilizing extensions from unknown repositories, as they may contain malware.

Publicly discouraging the only reasonable course of action, either there's an angry Korean lawyer looking over their shoulder or they're really trying to avoid that happening entirely.

https://github.com/tachiyomiorg/tachiyomi/commit/f115edf2eac125d0e6a0fdec79bd9d6627c3c53b

This feature will allow users to one-click-add external repos from their mobile browser, which should make the barrier to entry a bit lower.

Neko has also vanished from their FAQ, so I assume that's getting rehosted somewhere else as it's effectively got an extension built in and can't co-exist with their new stance.

God only knows what threats went down behind the scenes to trigger this. Hopefully the receipts get leaked, but I've not seen any specifics posted by their staff yet.

EDIT: The fake Tachiyomi tweet I linked in the previous post that Kakao responded to via their anti-piracy account apparently triggered another threat sent to Tachiyomi directly.

 

[UERISIMILITUDO]

Kakao will have to individually target every single mirrored repo now instead of a single official one.

I'm convinced this is part of the reason why GitHub exists. It just so conveniently happens that MicroSoft is now in a position to process DMCA notices for Free Software projects. How convenient.

 

[generic sauce]

I'm convinced this is part of the reason why GitHub exists. It just so conveniently happens that MicroSoft is now in a position to process DMCA notices for Free Software projects. How convenient.

I like how this shit gets hit but gazelle and ocelot is up there and noone cares.

 

[Coolio55]

I like how this shit gets hit but gazelle and ocelot is up there and noone cares.

What's that?

 

[generic sauce]

What's that?

torrent tracker software.

 

[Lord of the Large Pants]

Hell, there are Windows activation cracks on Github. No, really.

 

[generic sauce]

Hell, there are Windows activation cracks on Github. No, really.

Yeah im pretty sure I used one from there, it would have been an volume licence activator.

 

[Kendall Motor Oil]

Here is the one people use.

GitHub - massgravel/Microsoft-Activation-Scripts: A Windows and Office activator using HWID / KMS38 / Online KMS activation methods, with a focus on open-source code and fewer antivirus detections.

A Windows and Office activator using HWID / KMS38 / Online KMS activation methods, with a focus on open-source code and fewer antivirus detections. - GitHub - massgravel/Microsoft-Activation-Script...

github.com

 

[DavidS877]

Here is the one people use.

GitHub - massgravel/Microsoft-Activation-Scripts: A Windows and Office activator using HWID / KMS38 / Online KMS activation methods, with a focus on open-source code and fewer antivirus detections.

A Windows and Office activator using HWID / KMS38 / Online KMS activation methods, with a focus on open-source code and fewer antivirus detections. - GitHub - massgravel/Microsoft-Activation-Script...

github.com

I may or may not use "py-kms".

 

[Last Ride]

I'm convinced this is part of the reason why GitHub exists. It just so conveniently happens that MicroSoft is now in a position to process DMCA notices for Free Software projects. How convenient.

Ten years ago I'd agree, but I think modern Microsoft just wants open source projects in their back yard so they can poach tools/developers faster for Azure. They don't need to abuse their control of Github because they can use it to sell their products to you, and judging by how much of their public documentation/tools are hosted on Github they're using it for everything internally already and it makes sense for them to want that extra control over their core tooling.

Also, it stops Google/Apple/Amazon from buying it, and I think Microsoft is the least bad option from that group.

Anyway, Kakao legal abuse update.

Kakao are now threatening to DMCA 100+ GitHub repos.

archive



Kakao have never filed a DMCA through Github itself before as far as I can tell, so expect more backdoor threats and projects randomly changing hands/splitting off in the near future.

 

[AnOminous]

Here is the one people use.

Thanks for reminding me, I've been planning to do that for over a year. Finally, no more Activate Windows.

 

[Last Ride]

Tachiyomi, the open-source manga/webtoon/comic reader for Android, is officially dead due to threats from Kakao Entertainment.

I'm sad to announce that, with unanimous support from the fellow core contributors and support staff, the core Tachiyomi project will no longer be under active development due to recent events involving Kakao Entertainment Corp's threats to both myself and others that have been involved with the project.

What the hell did they threaten them with? I think it's more of a strategic rebrand than anything as a few of the Tachiyomi contributors are restarting the project without the original creator involved, but it's a massive move regardless. Tachiyomi and the extensions will continue to function for the near future. The main app is only going to get broken by an OS update years down the line, the extensions are far more temperamental but there's already active development on the new extensions repo so I'm not too worried about them. Godspeed to NotTachiyomi.

TachiyomiSy developer confirming that he's not quitting, and joining up with the new Tachiyomi project mentioned above.

Torrentfreak also wrote an article about this saga (which is now out of date) but it's still worth a read. If you haven't seen anything posted before, it's a good summary of everything that's happened before this closing announcement.

 

[generic sauce]

Tachiyomi, the open-source manga/webtoon/comic reader for Android, is officially dead due to threats from Kakao Entertainment.

What the hell did they threaten them with? I think it's more of a strategic rebrand than anything as a few of the Tachiyomi contributors are restarting the project without the original creator involved, but it's a massive move regardless. Tachiyomi and the extensions will continue to function for the near future. The main app is only going to get broken by an OS update years down the line, the extensions are far more temperamental but there's already active development on the new extensions repo so I'm not too worried about them. Godspeed to NotTachiyomi.

Torrentfreak also wrote an article about this saga (which is now out of date) but it's still worth a read. If you haven't seen anything posted before, it's a good summary of everything that's happened before this closing announcement.

They are a SK company and I'm guessing some of the devs must be SK, they have some fucky laws there.

 

[Dante Alighieri]

Tachiyomi, the open-source manga/webtoon/comic reader for Android, is officially dead due to threats from Kakao Entertainment.

What the hell did they threaten them with? I think it's more of a strategic rebrand than anything as a few of the Tachiyomi contributors are restarting the project without the original creator involved, but it's a massive move regardless. Tachiyomi and the extensions will continue to function for the near future. The main app is only going to get broken by an OS update years down the line, the extensions are far more temperamental but there's already active development on the new extensions repo so I'm not too worried about them. Godspeed to NotTachiyomi.

View attachment 5632724
TachiyomiSy developer confirming that he's not quitting, and joining up with the new Tachiyomi project mentioned above.

Torrentfreak also wrote an article about this saga (which is now out of date) but it's still worth a read. If you haven't seen anything posted before, it's a good summary of everything that's happened before this closing announcement.

Damn that was a fast implosion. Fortunately there's always gonna be demand for such a program so the replacement will pop up quickly.

 

[BigGuyOS 6 : Jovial Janny]

One of the worst things in open source software is the rust cult and their insistence that all projects must be re-written in their clown language for "safety". But who, you may ask, is behind this push? What type of person would ever use rust?



Ah... got it, so trannies are learning rust because it makes them fit in with other trannies. Unfortunately we don't have more than anecdotal evidence. But wait, what's this?

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2205.01553.pdf

Someone actually published an IEEE paper on tranny programmers? Yes, and it claims that they go into STEM at a higher rate than everyone else (10.9% compared to 8.7% of college diplomas), Also, most claim they are self taught rather than formally educated. But, I wouldn't trust any of these numbers, because the author has an obvious conflict of interest-- are you seriously expecting me to believe this "Skye" is a real woman?

Skye Kychenthal
Searching his names gives his website. Looks like he's more than an IEEE published programmer.




lol, he has an OnlyFans. I'll leave you with the face of the troon trying to seed papers to justify shoving his rusty CoC in every GitHub repo.

 

[Lord of the Large Pants]

One of the worst things in open source software is the rust cult and their insistence that all projects must be re-written in their clown language for "safety". But who, you may ask, is behind this push? What type of person would ever use rust?

View attachment 5633129View attachment 5633130

Ah... got it, so trannies are learning rust because it makes them fit in with other trannies. Unfortunately we don't have more than anecdotal evidence. But wait, what's this?

View attachment 5633140

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2205.01553.pdf

Someone actually published an IEEE paper on tranny programmers? Yes, and it claims that they go into STEM at a higher rate than everyone else (10.9% compared to 8.7% of college diplomas), Also, most claim they are self taught rather than formally educated. But, I wouldn't trust any of these numbers, because the author has an obvious conflict of interest-- are you seriously expecting me to believe this "Skye" is a real woman?

Skye Kychenthal
Searching his names gives his website. Looks like he's more than an IEEE published programmer.

View attachment 5633187
View attachment 5633195

lol, he has an OnlyFans. I'll leave you with the face of the troon trying to seed papers to justify shoving his rusty CoC in every GitHub repo.

View attachment 5633201

Between this and the recent paper on the dangers of open source AI, it sounds like the IEEE has been captured.

That's not good.