September 4, 2007 3:09 PM PDT
Could Microsoft really be this childish?
Microsoft is apparently banning dirty words like "Linux" on its XBox Live site. Really.
Okay, what happens when you like Linux, and decide to change your Xbox Live gamertag motto to "Linux rules"? Well, Microsoft black flags you, that's what. According to xbox-scene.com, Linux and Unix prompt the following response:Your motto contains inappropriate language. Please try again.I can confirm this as I just tried it myself. Also, according to some xbox-scene.com forum-goers, variations on Linux such as "L I N U X" or "L inux" also are banned.
I'm sure it stems from some Microsoft developers' little chuckle one night, but it's childish in the extreme. And, unfortunately, "I want to sell my firstborn to Microsoft" is taken, so I'm all out of nicknames to use on the service.
Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mjasay. 
Remember the even more insidious prank they pulled when they gave non-IE browsers crappy html that really couldn't be parsed properly?
"UPDATE@8:54 EST: Seems this may be a trademark issue. Words like Microsoft are also banned. No word yet on whether or not ?having fun? is still allowed on the console. Developing?"
Seems more like the lawyers are ruining everything eh Matt? ;-)
- Indeed! Lawyers are the source of all unhappiness
- by Matt Asay September 5, 2007 12:09 PM PDT
- If I can't even call myself "King Linux" then the lawyers have ruined everything for me. :-)
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