LibreOffice – Let's put an end to the speculation

Background of the dispute

• Thread centers on tensions between the LibreOffice foundation (TDF) and a major commercial contributor that sells an Office suite based on LibreOffice.
• Earlier blog posts from both sides triggered this “clarification,” but many commenters say the new post is still hard to follow and assumes insider knowledge.

Governance, self‑dealing, and conflicts of interest

• Several comments summarize the core allegation: some foundation directors allegedly directed TDF money to their own or closely affiliated companies to do paid work.
• This is framed as serious “self‑dealing” and a conflict of interest under nonprofit law, even if the work was actually done and not obviously overpriced.
• Others emphasize that commercial partners were always expected to have their own interests; the idea was that everyone collaborates on the shared LibreOffice codebase.

Legal and audit issues

• The foundation is registered in Berlin; authorities there requested an audit as the organization grew.
• The audit reportedly found governance and legal-compliance issues, especially around conflicts of interest and how contracts were awarded.
• Some see this as “corrupt practice but not theft”; others note that laws treat such arrangements as inherently suspicious.

Specific flashpoints: online code and de‑atticisation

• A key conflict is over reviving (“de‑atticising”) an old online-editing codebase.
• One side argues the board reversed prior decisions and ignored its own rule that revival requires active developers, not just user demand.
• The move is viewed by some as an aggressive play to compete with the commercial partner’s online product.

Impact on LibreOffice and the office‑suite ecosystem

• Many users worry whether LibreOffice is “at risk” or going away; others stress the code is FOSS and could be forked.
• There is concern over loss of key contributors, slower development, and a repeat of the OpenOffice stagnation story.
• Alternatives mentioned include OnlyOffice, EuroOffice (itself controversial), FreeOffice (proprietary), Gnumeric/AbiWord, and sticking with Microsoft or Google for business needs.

Perception of communication and drama

• Multiple comments criticize all public statements from both sides as opaque, emotional, and unprofessional.
• The situation is widely described as classic, reputation‑damaging open‑source drama that outsiders find nearly impossible to parse.