Faced with what many believe is the imminent demise of their lawsuit against IBM over Linux code, SCO Group may be pursuing a 'scorched earth' strategy where they can drag the true identity of Groklaw's Pamela Jones into public knowledge.



Where in the world is Pamela Jones?

SCO would like to know. Their attorneys have been pursuing her with subpoenas in hand. CEO Darl McBride would love nothing better than to find out if her Groklaw site is actually a front for IBM, according to Forbes. IBM has long denied a connection, as has she.

The last post attributed to her on Groklaw said she is taking a health break:

I can't predict exact dates, because what I really need is a real vacation and time to just do nothing until I fully am myself again. I've done almost 3,000 articles on pretty much a daily basis, with a lot of time stress, since mid-May of 2003, and I think I'm a bit worn out, between SCO and the ODF thing.

The question is, does Pamela Jones really exist? Or is the name simply a pseudonym for one or several people, just like any one of thousands used on the Internet every day.

Back in 2005, journalist Maureen O'Gara tried to locate PJ, tracking her to an apartment building ten miles from IBM's HQ in Armonk, NY, and then to her mother's home in Darien, CT.

The subsequent outrage over O'Gara's investigation by pro-Linux bloggers cost O'Gara her regular gig with technology publisher SYS-CON. Jones remained a mystery then, as she does today.

But if O'Gara's account is correct, and Jones has a mom in New England, then there is a Pamela Jones at the front of Groklaw, the same Jones who managed to pickup some testimony from the trial a couple of days before it became public.

Maybe Jones is taking a health break somewhere warm, and more importantly out of the reach of SCO's lawyers. Perhaps once the court puts a merciful end to SCO's years of delaying tactics and wraps the case up for good, one way or the other, Jones will come back with a tan and a face to put with her Groklaw persona.

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Tags: Groklaw, SCO, Pamela Jones, IBM

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