When Microsoft and the Linux Foundation announced that Azure certification will require passing a Linux exam, it caused a great disturbance in the Force. The FOSS Force, specifically. In a column, editor-in-chief Christine Hall called the partnership a “deal with the devil.” In a news roundup, Larry Cafiero said “[r]ather than throw the Microsoft that is treading water a life preserver, I still think throwing it an anchor would be more fitting.” Larry is a personal friend of mine, and he and Hall have both been covering open source since before I got my first computer. I can’t just dismiss their opinions out of hand.

Open source enthusiasts have every right to be leery of Microsoft. Former CEO Steve Ballmer famously said Linux is “a cancer” and the company was openly hostile to the Linux project specifically and open source generally for many years. And yet, Microsoft seems to be sincere in its efforts to participate in open source projects (even if it’s still a little bit two-left-footed).

Hall said Microsoft loves Linux “because [Microsoft] can sell it”. So what? Even Red Hat loves being able to sell Linux. Azure CTO Mark Russinovich told the audience at All Things Open this year “ if we don’t support Linux and open source in our cloud then we’ll be a Windows only cloud, and that would not be practical.” Yes, it’s absolutely in Microsoft’s self-interest to play nicely with the open source world. While the Year of the Linux on the Desktop is always just out of reach, Linux is firmly entrenched in the enterprise.

Microsoft may have (as of this writing), roughly 29 times the market capitalization of Red Hat, but it’s obvious that open source has “won”. And yet, elements of the community are stuck in the scrappy underdog mindset. If we want to pretend that we’re a meritocracy, we have to be willing to allow our former enemies to become…if not friends, then at least collaborators. If Microsoft is willing to play by the rules, then let’s let them.

Forget what Hall wrote earlier this month. Let’s go with what she said in October: “However, it might be time to tone down the anti-Microsoft rhetoric a bit and give them a little breathing room. If we give them enough rope, we can see if they hang themselves, or if they use it to strengthen their ties with the open source community.”