[sneak]

> Just for reference, vscodium is not a fork to remove Microsoft's code - it is just a build tool for the open source repo as explained in the README.

When a certain build configuration enables major spyware features, and that is the build configuration for the released version by the first party, and another build configuration (that is not released by the first party) disables those major spyware features, the distinction between a fork/patch and a "different build configuration" becomes semantically meaningless.

It's a fork, regardless of how they care to present it. The result of the build configuration is embedded in the release. Consider it a "binary fork" if you don't like considering json "source code".

[blntechie]

When the first line of the repo you yourself linked says ‘It’s not a fork’, I believe we will take it instead of your semantics about it.