[tczMUFlmoNk]

I love this kind of behind-the-scenes, in-the-weeds video, and it's well done.

Unfortunately, the incident with a Muse Group director openly blackmailing an open source developer [1] [2], threatening to have him deported to China while specifically calling out his public criticism of the CCP with a disgusting "who knows how he may be received"—well, to say that this incident leaves a bitter mark in my memory would be an understatement. I am happy to be using other free software for my engraving and playback needs, and with Tenacity just recently having published its first stable release, I'm eager to drop Audacity, too.

Truth be told, I was never a heavy MuseScore user, but I have used Audacity regularly for decades. This turn saddens me, but it matters to me how those I support use their power, and threatening someone's life over an audio program is bullying more severe than that which I can condone.

[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27881539

[2]: https://github.com/Xmader/musescore-downloader/issues/5#issu...

[LanternLight83]

Whewf, I had no idea-- thanks for putting this out there. FWIW Tanacrul doesn't seem involved, and I for one grant him the benefit of the doubt regarding the views of his employers; He wouldn't be the first person to have critisisms of "the culture at work". I would appreciate any statements he's made on the matter (or that the company's made since), as it's not cool to support this kind of culture by not speaking out, instigating/participating in change, or seeking alternative employment (each of which may or may not be possible or neccessary, depending on the current situation).

I presume that nothing has come of this for those involved (or GPL'ing the mobile app?), but didn't finish the thread or otherwise dig further.

[Gordonjcp]

> threatening to have him deported to China while specifically calling out his public criticism of the CCP with a disgusting "who knows how he may be received"

I think you're overstating it a bit.

How about you tell the whole story?

[axus]

That didn't happen.

And if it did, it wasn't that bad.

And if it was, that's not a big deal.

And if it is, that's not my fault.

And if it was, I didn't mean it.

And if I did, he deserved it.

[notpushkin]

I think the fact that Daniel backpedaled and said his blackmail comment wasn't meant as blackmail doesn't really change anything.

[nunuvit]

It's not blackmail in the first place. There were no secrets to reveal since everything was published online, and it's legal to sue and report a possible crime. Speculating about the consequences doesn't make it blackmail.

[psd1]

The vast majority of neurotypical English-speaking adults would have no difficulty categorising it as a veiled threat. Note the strong consensus in this comments section.

The message has two parts - the response that X wants from Y, and the possible negative consequences for Y. The proximity of the two parts makes the implied link clear (to most people, anyway).

I assure you that 99% of judges and prosecutors would recognise this as blackmail (modulo variance in different countries' legal definitions of the crime).

[wizofaus]

I'm not sure what to believe, but the curious thing is even years later the repository in question doesn't seem to have been taken down.