On Open Source and Open Competition in a not-so-Open World
Open Source is global in nature. You can develop a database in, say, Finland or Sweden, and become known in, say, Ukraine or the United States.
This would imply that Open Source knows no borders.
In practice, borders hamper Open Source work a lot. I have been familiar with the hassle involving MySQLers in Russia and the Ukraine trying to get Schengen (European Union) and US visas for meetings. And I have myself gone through a lot of hassle travelling to Russia and once even (out of my own stupidity and carelessness, though) been denied entry to India when I already was on Indira Gandhi airport in New Delhi.
But now, I’ve experienced what I had expected the least:
Several Sun Microsystems Inc employees, especially related to the Database Group, have been denied short stay business visas to Australia, over the last few months, as they have been seen to be competing with local Australian businesses unfairly.
I regret to share that this will adversely affect MySQL presence at linux.conf.au in Hobart, Tasmania 19-24.1.2009.
Footnote: The illustration is from the border between Finland and Russia. When I grew up, it used to be a very closed one.
Update / clarification
I am overwhelmed by the attention this post has got! It’s been quite a ride, and a lesson in blogging. In retrospect, I should perhaps have anticipated the level of interest, and spent time fine-tuning my wording. I didn’t, so there’s a need for clarifications and an update for anyone who doesn’t want to read all the over 30 comments.
First: Personally, I am not the one to have been declined a visa to Australia. The person whose visa was affected is a close colleague, but not myself. I’ve been several times to Australia, both prior to and after joining MySQL AB, and I have never had any issues.
Second: Given my frustration at the rejection of the visa of my colleague, I chose to use the word “several” to describe two instances.
Third: The first instance, in August 2008, is referred in detail in Comment #29. Not thinking I was providing a scoop for The Register, Heise Online and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, I didn’t even look up that chat log until replying to the commenters on the blog. And in that first instance, the person in question (”kv”) had already got a visa. He was not denied a visa. However, the interaction over instant messaging with “local_mysql_activist” implied that the visa could be overturned by the immigration authorities at the border, so “kv” did not dare go try his luck. I apologise for the inaccurate wording on my part, as it’s technically not true that “several” MySQLers would have got their visas rejected (although I can assure you that’s how “kv” personally feels).
Fourth: The connection between the first instance and the second instance, where my close colleague was rejected a visa, is not evidenced by any official information from the Australian government. The rejection letter merely says ”SHORT TERM BUSINESS ETA APPLICATION WAS NOT APPROVED NO AUTHORITY TO TRAVEL TO AUSTRALIA HELD BY PASSENGER”. However, the person who now got rejected has been frequently in Australia and, to the best of my knowledge, lacks any record which would imply a visa rejection (such as, but not limited to, unpaid traffic fines).
Fifth: Some readers have asked me whether I see an Australian anti-open-source conspiracy. Definitely not! The trip was related to an open source conference, and the applicant went by the book, asking for a short-term business visa where many frequently travel on tourist visas for equivalent purposes. Thus, the denial could be the result of an overzealous bureaucrat in the aftermath of #29. But that assessment is firmly in the realm of speculation and has no claim on objectivity.
Sixth: Thanks for all the offers of help! However, by now, linux.conf.au is so close that we can’t appeal this. Flights have had to be cancelled, and are now either full or horrendously expensive. So the harm has been done (for whatever the reason may be) and Sun / MySQL won’t be represented at linux.conf.au at the level originally intended. Some of us will still come, though.
Finally, I’m deeply grateful for all the sympathy and support we got. Thank you!
January 12th, 2009 at 19:54
Interesting. Did they say how the compete unfairly? My guess is they probably don’t go into detail on how they come to these decisions, but still I am curious.
January 12th, 2009 at 19:55
Hej Kaj,
That’s an interesting and rather flawed rationale on the part of the Australian border control - MySQL enables far more many Australian businesses that it competes with.
I wonder how consistently they apply this criteria and what recourse there is.
January 12th, 2009 at 20:27
Governments usually don’t share their rationale with foreign citizens. Not even the Australian government. So I don’t have that information. Thanks for your sympathy, though, @Edward and @Zak!
January 12th, 2009 at 20:31
Interesting. I wonder what local businesses they have in mind. Sun/MySQL have never been the only company offering MySQL targeted training or consulting services in Australia.
I don’t think there is an Australian company building a rival database, and even if there were, they would probably be smart enough to realize that employees on the ground is not likely to be a huge factor in MySQL adoption.
January 12th, 2009 at 20:42
Kaj, which people?
January 12th, 2009 at 21:20
@Arjen, I don’t want to make life harder still for these individuals. Things are being tracked over the web.
January 12th, 2009 at 21:34
I write on technical issues for the Australian independent news site Crikey.com.au. If anyone affected by this would like to contact me, please email me at stil@stilgherrian.com. I will respect any requests for anonymity.
January 12th, 2009 at 21:39
Ah, Australia! Making the USA look soft and liberal.
Just try to bring a pound of raw milk cheese in while you’re at it.
January 12th, 2009 at 22:07
Absolutely intollerable lack of understanding on behalf of the powers that be.
How do such uneducated people get to make decisions like this? The public service has a lot to answer for.
January 12th, 2009 at 22:10
On behalf of Australians, I am so sorry for this. This is insane - I think I will lobby to have microsoft excluded - given that they are an illegal monopolist who most definitely compete unfairly with local interests.
January 12th, 2009 at 22:33
Microsoft has a big MS SQL Australian shop no? Is that the reason?
January 12th, 2009 at 23:05
Australian citizens can raise this directly with the Minister here:
http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/contacts/
I encourage you to write in, but remember to be reasoned and polite. They seem obligated to write back to you, even if it takes them a few weeks… Maybe we can prevent it next time.
January 13th, 2009 at 0:10
This is bizar. Doesn’t this violate one or more international free trade agreements? And even if it doesn’t, why isn’t there a diplomatic riot about this between the USA (MySQL’s headquarters?) and Australia?
January 13th, 2009 at 0:33
So, they’ve asked for business visa rather than tourist visas because they’re looking to do work over here, rather than just visit?
I presume if they were _just_ coming over for LCA, they could get a tourist visa.
(Disclaimer: We’ve recently benefitted from the govt’s prioritising of certain skillsets over others, in that we helped one of our new guys get residency by demonstrating he was providing some of the “in demand” skills. So these decisions cut both ways…)
January 13th, 2009 at 0:37
Hi,
I heard about this via the LCA chat list. Sorry to hear this. I’ve blogged about it here:
http://www.theopensourcereport.com/2009/01/12/australia-denies-visas-over-concerns-about-open-source-wtf/
Please keep us updated - I hope this stupid decision can be reversed.
January 13th, 2009 at 0:43
If the affected individuals have not already informed the linux.conf.au organisers directly of their situation, this would probably be useful, at least so the same situation can be considered and hopefully avoided in future years:
contact@marchsouth.org (not publicly archived)
January 13th, 2009 at 0:45
This sucks. There’s still time to appeal, I guess. Do you get the right of rebuttal?
January 13th, 2009 at 0:46
Following up on my own response (because I can’t edit it or rescind it while it’s in moderation, apparently - or I’m blind, whichever):
I can see one page referencing two different visa’s for conference attendance - the Short Validity Business Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) Visa and the Non-Electronic Travel Authority – Non-ETA (otherwise known as the “short stay business visa”.
The first says it has a restriction disallowing local work, and is processed instantly, but is limited to certain countries - the second doesn’t have that limit.
Which was applied for, out of curiousity? If the first, then I can’t see that they can use that excuse - the visa has a restriction in it already.
(source of info is second hand: http://www.geomorphology2009.com/aus-visa.asp )
January 13th, 2009 at 0:47
Us Aussies have had awful PR of late. I’m curious as to how you got into trouble after landing in India.
January 13th, 2009 at 0:48
Oh PS - I’ll vouch for Stilgherrian and Crikey. A story in Crikey would ensure that a lot of higher ups in Government would hear about this. Worth your time speaking to him, I’d say.
Good luck!
January 13th, 2009 at 1:03
[...] by John C Dvorak in General Also Banned! — There goes the conference business in Australia. Several Sun Microsystems Inc employees, especially related to the Database Group, have been denied s…, over the last few months, as they have been seen to be competing with local Australian businesses [...]
January 13th, 2009 at 1:04
As an Australian as well its very sad to hear this. I shall add it to my long list of gripes to take out on my local politician….
January 13th, 2009 at 1:26
As one of the thousands of Australians who does business using mysql, I want to say this is unfair.
Countless Australians take advantage of open source to compete against the costs of foreign monopolies, this keeps business on our shores. A mysql presence at linux.conf.au only helps accelerate the competitive edge of Aussie business owners.
Why then, is the Australian government denying its citizens access to the industry experts who help our country succeed?
January 13th, 2009 at 1:30
Would it be possible for you to post the letter or email from DIMA - showing the reason for rejection, so those of us in Australia can bring this to the attention of our representatives?
It may just be one incompetent official - DIMA is the second worst government department in Australia. They have even deported Australian citizens in the past.
January 13th, 2009 at 1:31
The aforementioned rationale for denying visas seems absurd, especially since there are Sun Microsystems employees and customers already doing business in Australia. I would suspect it’s more about protecting local employment, than an anti-competitive agenda. Even still, it seems quite draconian, and as an Australian LCA attendee I’m truly disappointed.
January 13th, 2009 at 2:19
This is appalling. Please publicise this as widely as possible. Or publicize if you must. I just alerted an old mate at 4 corners, and recommend that anyone with any sense of justice and a way to get this widely discussed, please do. As an expat Australian living in Boston, I feel deeply ashamed at this parochial stupidity. They want to go to a conference. To teach Australians. No, not compete, dummy.
January 13th, 2009 at 2:56
Slightly off topic.
The Aussie border / visa regs are pretty strict / mad / difficult (delete as reqd).
I’m a British passport holder living in NZ (with permanent resident visa), I went to Australia last year accompanying my wife who was attending a conference and I still had to get a business visa - more expensive than the usual holiday visa. It’s basically an Aussie Arrival Tax since you can get the visa at the airport.
January 13th, 2009 at 6:54
Thank you all for your enormous support and show of sympathy!
When things get rejected, governments seldom provided reasons in detail to foreigners. The official information is limited to”SHORT TERM BUSINESS ETA APPLICATION WAS NOT APPROVED NO AUTHORITY TO TRAVEL TO AUSTRALIA HELD BY PASSENGER”.
Right now, linux.conf.au is so close that we can’t appeal this. Flights have had to be cancelled, and are now full or horrendously expensive.
January 13th, 2009 at 7:17
In the spirit of “radical transparency” mentioned by our SVP Mårten Mickos in his New Year’s Greeting, let me provide you with some further background on this topic: An anonymised transcript from an IRC chat between a Sun Microsystems employee (”kv”) and an Australian (anonymised as “local_mysql_activist”) from August 2008.
[01:11:12] local_mysql_activist: I have filed a complaint with the Australian competition and immigration authorities regarding MySQL’s activities here. I don’t expect the americans to apprecaite the intricacies of extracting money out of the country to the detriment of local workers but Austrlaia feels rather strongl about that. that will affect MySQL. What might affect you is the immigrtion issue. There is no valid visa for what you’d be doing here; if intercepted you can be sent back home
[01:11:51] local_mysql_activist: a short term business visa is only relevant if there is no local expertise on the subject matter. which is not the case here.
[01:12:07] kv: Thank you local_mysql_activist
[01:13:03] local_mysql_activist: mysql is behaving very badly here, and I need to undertake action before it does hurt my business. otherwise I have no chance against the big shark.
[01:13:18] local_mysql_activist: normal competition is ust fine. this s not.
[01:13:22] local_mysql_activist: anyway. have a nice evening.
Of course, I cannot be certain that these two incidents are connected.
January 13th, 2009 at 7:32
I’m sorry for the guys who can’t go, but can I make a few points here?(I’m not an Australian neither I’m living there btw - but go there regularly for business myself).
You said in your post:
“Several Sun Microsystems Inc employees, especially related to the Database Group, have been denied short stay business visas to Australia, over the last few months, as they have been seen to be competing with local Australian businesses unfairly.”
In comment #28, you stated:
“The official information is limited to”SHORT TERM BUSINESS ETA APPLICATION WAS NOT APPROVED NO AUTHORITY TO TRAVEL TO AUSTRALIA HELD BY PASSENGER.”
Something doesn’t match up here imho. If the latter statement is the information those individuals got when they applied for the ETA, that doesn’t imply at all that the Australian government sees those individuals as an economic threat, i.e. competing with domestic businesses. It’s basically the result of an electronic system designed to make the visa application process as easy as possible for the vast majority of visitors.
I’m sorry to say that, but the ETA visas might have been denied for a variety of -personal- reasons, including, but not limited to simple stuff such as unpaid traffic fines in AU, not sticking to visitor/business visa conditions during former trips to AU, having been sentenced for an offence anywhere else on the world etc. etc. etc. Depending on the nationality of those people the AU government might even have considered the risk that they would not leave the country when due but become illegal immigrants (and yes, that would be obviously a very nasty assumption, but that’s how governments work, like it or not).
Also when one applies for a short term business ETA, the system doesn’t ask you for the purpose of the particular trip (because it’s usually multiple entries, 3 months each and valid for 1 year). Not sure therefore how the Australian government would even know about the fact that those people intended to attend linux.conf.au.
Denial of the short term business ETAs btw doesn’t mean those people couldn’t get a visa, they would just have to apply for a visa with the AU embassy for further checks - that’s btw why you wouldn’t wait with a business ETA application until 5 days before a conference, particularly because when approved it’d be valid for 1 year anyway.
I feel strongly you just want to stir the pot with your post here - some facts you present just don’t match up for me and you can’t blame a foreign government for denying electronic visa to people, it’s their right to do so. You’re trying to suggest that the Australian government is intending to stop the open source movement by not approving the online ETA visa. You should get over it and present all the facts here instead of suggesting an Australian-anti-open-source conspiracy.
Again, I have sympathy for the people who couldn’t travel as well as for the organsisers of the conference, but there is at least one lesson to be learnt here: Get visa approval early and before you book and pay non-refundable flights.
January 13th, 2009 at 9:25
@Kai:
First, you’re right: I *did* conjecture in my original post when I said “they have been seen to be competing with local Australian businesses unfairly”. The only evidence I have towards “unfair competition” is what I refer to in my comment #29, which you likely didn’t have access to when you wrote your comment #30. Hence, at least in theory, you’re right that the culprit could be unpaid traffic fines as well.
Second, I was wrong in thinking of the incident of August 2008 (referred to in comment #29) being a denial by the Australian authorities. It wasn’t. The person affected (”kv”) just decided not to go, based on the reasoning provided by “local_mysql_activist” in #29.
So I should have got my facts straight on those two issues before posting. I apologise for that.
Third, you ask me to present “all” facts here. In comment #29, I presented at least some further relevant facts. But I don’t want the person whose visa was denied to get into any further trouble in Australia, neither now nor later. My opinion (yes, opinion, not an objective fact) is that he got into this without having caused the trouble himself.
Fourth, of course any country has the right to set the rules by which they let foreigners in. And to interpret those rules. I am just surprised by Australia being in the category of countries who deny entry for reasons I don’t understand or personally approve of. During several trips to Australia, that country left a *very* positive impression on me — both citizens and government.
Fifth, I have no reason whatsoever to believe that there is any Australian anti-open-source conspiracy. Since the trip was related to an open source conference, competition is hardly a real concern, and thus the denial could be the result of an overzealous bureaucrat in the aftermath of #29. But that assessment is firmly in the realm of speculation and has no claim on objectivity.
January 13th, 2009 at 11:48
It might be polite to edit your intitial post to reflect your new knowledge. This story seems to have attracted a lot of attention, and the casual reader isn’t going to always make it down here to realise you have changed your mind about the facts initially posted.
There is a lingering doubt about this little story. Your edited transcript suggests that someone in Australia, somone who makes a living from MySQL, was unhappy about “what you’d be doing here.” The obvious conclusion is that that poster was being competed with, not by MySQL, but by the individuals who were proposing to travel to Australia. If it turns out that those Sun employees were intending conducting tutorials or consulting in MySQL for which they would be paid, in any form at all, those people would have been breaking the terms of their visa. All short term business visa’s specifically prohibit employment. This is pretty standard in any country in the world. There is a clear implication in the quoted IRC transcript that this was exactly what was being proposed. The guys can do whatever they like for free, or they can do it on Sun’s time, but they can’t be paid in Australia. If it just so happened that the immigration department was tipped off that a particular person was intending to do this, maybe, just maybe, there is a track. But it would be a track back to a person who was actually deliberately intending to break the law.
January 13th, 2009 at 11:54
Hi,
So to clarify - the “competition” reason was given by some random person on the internet, NOT immigration.
It is also possible that you applied for the wrong visa (the available visas are overcomplicated in my opinion).
As far as I see it there is no problem here, but if any more information comes to hand we Aussies would be happy to stir things up for you - I want my Mysql (and postgresql and linux and…)
-Andrew
January 13th, 2009 at 14:56
Kaj, you should change your post at the top, as many people won’t bother read the comments where you backtrack on all the juicy claims. Please add a prominent link to your comment #31 or whatever.
January 13th, 2009 at 16:46
[...] Förstår mig inte på Australien längre. Först var det den stora brandväggen som de fortfarande jobbar på såvitt jag vet enligt samma modell som Kina. Nu har de hindrat anställda från Sun som jobbar med open source databasen Mysql att resa in till landet i samband med linux.conf.au, eftersom man anser att de konkurrerar på orättvisa villkor med lokala bolag. Läs mer på Kaj Arnös blogg. [...]
January 13th, 2009 at 18:54
Amazing. This isn’t just blowing things out of proportion, this is outright lying. First you stated (and in bold) “Several Sun employees…have been denied short stay business visas” and the reason you give is “…as they have been seen to be competing with local Australian businesses unfairly.”
Both statements are lies. The “several” you refer to are yourself and one other, and the other it turns out “chose not to go” so never actually applied for a visa.
Posts on the Internet are also “global in nature” as you define open source, so when you post stuff up, don’t post bullshit.
January 13th, 2009 at 19:45
@Francis, @Andrew, @Frank, @spiro: Thanks for your suggestions! Just posted a follow-up with an update and clarifications, in the original blog.
January 13th, 2009 at 19:45
Another theory — we seem to be developing lots of theories! — is that Australia’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIC) as it’s now called was concerned about the risk of the visitor(s) overstaying their visa.
Michael Skeggs posted on the Link mailing list last night:
This is, of course, pure speculation. Nevertheless, do those of you know might know the people in question, or at least the countries from which they come, think this could be a potential reason?
January 13th, 2009 at 19:46
Ah, my link to Link was eaten. The source of the Michael Skeggs quote is: http://mailman.anu.edu.au/pipermail/link/2009-January/080853.html
January 13th, 2009 at 22:56
[...] can read the full post here - and note that he says he’s observed or experienced open source people having trouble [...]
January 13th, 2009 at 23:48
Having travelled for work to many countries, I find it hard to believe any part of this. You don’t say where the indiviual/s were from, how long they intended to stay… why they wanted a short term business visa and not just a normal visitors visa…
Australia has agreements with most countries so that you can stay 3 months without the need for a visa. Unless the indiviuals were intending to conduct actual business for an extended period, there is no need for a business visa.
January 14th, 2009 at 5:10
As a Sun-MySQLer who has just spent three weeks on his honeymoon in Australia & New Zealand with absolutely _no_ visa problems, I’d like to thank those of you down under who so kindly shared your besutiful countries with my new bride and me.
From an open source angle, I’d especially like to thank the community involved in the New Zealand Open GPS Project (http://nzopengps.org) so I was able to easily download and use maps on our Garmin Nuvi.
You allowed us to find our way around the south island perfectly — even on the left-hand side of the road. Cheers!
January 14th, 2009 at 7:09
Arjen,
I gotta say, I’m disappointed in your behavior. I think you are capable of much better than this.
–Zack
January 14th, 2009 at 9:59
Visa’s can be rejected for many reasons, it can even come down to countries visited at certain times, travel pattern analysis, name mix-ups, legal issues in any country. If Sun has a security team under it’s HR group then I would make them aware as there could be multiple factors at play that the employee/employer may not be aware of and it would be to their benefit to clear up before travelling overseas again.
Conspiracy theorists are probably in need of medication - even conspiracy theorists in Australia.
Your blog entry invites speculation, inuendo and just plain out fantasy when it is really a serious issue that should be handled as an internal issue to Sun, not the whole world.
January 14th, 2009 at 21:59
Folks…time for a little bureaucratic reasoning and explanation. Australia has a global, non-discriminatory visa program. People from all countries have the same right and opportunity to enter Australia. Intending travellers who have been refused a visa are aware that if they cannot meet the strict selection criteria (eg. having an existing exclusion period applied arising from a prior transgression), then they can be asked — in the case of an online application — to visit their nearest Australian mission to make a case for compassionate and compelling reasons to enter Australia. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to go into private and personal details of any of our clients — whether they are approved visa grants, or refusals — but be assured rejection of a visa is not a matter taken lightly by any of the department’s decision makers. If the person whom Kaj knows wants to contact me at the Department of Immigration and Citizenship for a fuller explanation of their case, I am happy to arrange for that. My eM is: natcomms@immi.gov.au.
– Sandi Logan
January 14th, 2009 at 22:37
Kaj, it has to be something that has a solution since one of the local MySQL supporters was importing a foreigner to visit Australia to perform work gigs as recently as December:
“Back on popular demand, Sebastian Bergmann will teach his 3-day workshop Quality Assurance in PHP Projects in Australia again! It’s scheduled 8-10 December in Sydney.
Many applications using MySQL are written in PHP… this three-day workshop will introduce/update PHP Developers to writing unit tests for the backend and system tests for the frontend of a web application as well as managing the quality from development to deployment and maintainance using tools such as PHPUnit, Selenium RC, phpUnderControl, PHP_CodeSniffer, and PHP_Depend. Sebastian is the author of PHPUnit, and long-time contributor to PHP itself.
Pricing is AUD 1695 + GST. Since this is a workshop, the number of seats will be limited to 10-12. Speedy registrants will receive a free PHP-related book of choice (from a Sebastian shortlist, he knows which are good).
Around the course dates Sebastian will also be available for consulting and/or in-house training in the region, simply contact Open Query to discuss”
http://arjen-lentz.livejournal.com/134239.html
January 15th, 2009 at 10:32
[...] Kaj Arnö meldet in einem Blog-Eintrag, dass in den letzten Monaten diversen Sun-Mitarbeitern ohne nähere Begründung ein Kurzvisum zur [...]
January 19th, 2009 at 12:16
[...] I had a list of talks in mind to attend @linux.conf.au. But unfortunately, it seems I can hardly get the visa on time (remember the MySQL case -and other side of the coin.. *click*) [...]
January 20th, 2009 at 23:31
[...] On Open Source and Open Competition in a not-so-Open World [...]
January 26th, 2009 at 1:40
However, the interaction over instant messaging with “local_mysql_activist” implied that the visa could be overturned by the immigration authorities at the border, so “kv” did not dare go try his luck.
I’m very disappointed that someone that claims to be a MySQL activist would “imply” something like that. That’s basically threatening you, and just Plain Wrong. Competition *is* a good thing, and if this person can’t beat out Sun in *one* aspect….
…perhaps the activist doesn’t have the expertise, but then surely the activist could beat the price! Or, being local, activist would be able to secure a more convenient location, or offer discount packages that are better than Sun’s. There are tradeoffs to getting a training course by Sun, pros and cons, and if activist can’t hack it without bullying around, I can’t see a business like that lasting very long.
Basically if the only way activist is going to have a business is by not letting any competition around, then I don’t believe that this person deserves the business. If the company activist works for was truly good, the company would not have to worry too much about business, because what they offer is the best around — not the only thing around.
And activist is just opening up a big can of worms, because all someone has to do is actually just be an Australian, and then what can be done? Being a bully is not a good business strategy — it is not ethical, and it is hard enough to run your own business; if you start shutting out your peers, you’re not going to have any help when you need it.
(Just because a few cutthroat businesses like Oracle, Starbucks, Wal-Mart and Microsoft have hit it big, doesn’t mean their strategies are good. I prefer the business strategies of, say, home depot, where employees are given incentives to volunteer….)
(sorry about the ranting, this kind of thing just makes me upset. How can we foster a community when there’s backstabbing going on? and why are people so stupid to bite the hand that feeds them? i can’t imagine activist will be a mysql activist for much longer, it’s completely hypocritical to do what activist has been doing. Perhaps activist should specialize in another database, and join a community where such “business practices” are accepted.
February 6th, 2009 at 16:20
[...] can’t in good conscience tell people to attend an event from which I’ve been excluded (oh, the irony). So I stayed quiet while MySQL employees told people to read my article about how to get a session [...]