CTI - Making a decision for glibc.

[Alexandre Oliva]

On Jan 28, 2026, DJ Delorie <dj@redhat.com> wrote:

> Sourceware is also SaaSS

I believe that's correct, overall.  It is concerning indeed.

AFAIK we (glibc) are not using any of its SaaSSs.

> so we should immediately move off it

If we are using any of its SaaSSs, discontinuing their use is probably
much saner than rushing to move out, especially to a provider that would
make that worse.

> running gcc-as-a-service on my web site

Yeah, that sounds like SaaSS to me.

> It has nothing to do with "propriatary" and everything to do with
> whether someone else's computer is running the software you use.

It's not so much about whose computer it is, but about who has control
over it.

Using a rented computer from a VPS is not SaaSS, if you control it.

Hiring services controlled by others to do your own computing is SaaSS.

Publishing a GIT repository (publishing) or hosting a mailing list
(communication and publishing) are not SaaSS.

But performing server-side GIT merges, for example, is SaaSS if the
server is operated by a third party.

Running your CI on a third party-controlled server is SaaSS.  (whereas a
third party running its own CI under its own control and sharing results
with the community is not SaaSS)

Hosting and publishing data is probably not SaaSS, but processing
queries on a database could be.

Authentication and digital signing services could be SaaSS depending on
the deployment and on whose computing they perform.

> If the need to avoid SaaSS is absolute, it becomes impossible to
> collaborate on the internet.

That sounds like a common mischaracterization of SaaSS, from people who
don't really understand it, and generally don't care about control over
one's own computing (which is free software movement's raison d'être) to
the point of realizing the SaaSS prevents that control, whereas various
forms of collaboration on the Internet aren't any of the participant's
own computing, but the group of participant's computing.

Is this your case, maybe?

-- 
Alexandre Oliva, happy hacker            https://blog.lx.oliva.nom.br/
Free Software Activist     FSFLA co-founder     GNU Toolchain Engineer
Learn the truth about Richard Stallman at https://stallmansupport.org/