GNU/Linux

[Guy Johnston]

Michael Hansen wrote:
> I appreciate the contribution GNU has made to the GNU/Linux/Apache/etc
> (the list of contributors goes on and on) system.  In all honesty
> though, I don't think most users are concerned about the FSF's crusade
> (I know Linus for one isn't, and it's his kernel), and I'm _sure_ that
> this list isn't set up to be a soapbox to sing out the praises of the
> FSF's philosophy.  Before we even have hardware that JUST WORKS with
> Linux, we're already arguing over naming conventions, demanding this or
> that distribution be offered by Dell because it's 100% free, and so on. 
> In the end, you alienate more people than you bring in (perhaps even
> Dell), and that's not healthy for the GNU/Linux/Apache/whatever system
> as a whole.  This isn't everyone's holy war.
>  
> And free means just that -- free.  I'm free to call GNU/Linux whatever
> the heck I want.  I'm FREE to use proprietary drivers if I so choose. 
> Free doesn't mean free as long as you adhere to one man's (or one
> group's) philosophy of what freedom means.  If the FSF insists on their
> definition of freedom, then by that definition, I am no longer free.
>  
> In short, please stop trying to shove all this down this list's throat. 
> We can see your signatures and we can go check out the pages if we
> want.  All this list noise doesn't help anything, ESPECIALLY your own
> crusade, whether you believe that or not.
>  
>  
> Regards,
> Mike
> 
>  
> On 3/3/07, *Guy Johnston* <guydjohnston at googlemail.com
> <mailto:guydjohnston at googlemail.com>> wrote:
> 
>     Adrian Midgley wrote:
>     > Guy Johnston wrote:
>     >> ... However, I'd like Dell to refer
>     >> to it by the name 'GNU/Linux', as that's the most accurate and
>     fair name
>     >> for the complete system,
>     >
>     >
>     > Footnote territory.
>     >
> 
>     Please remember to choose 'Reply all' or the equivalent, so the message
>     gets sent to the list as well.
> 
>     A footnote acknowledging the importance of GNU to the "Linux" operating
>     system would be much better than no acknowledgement at all.
> 
>     Thanks,
> 
>     Guy
> 
>     --
>     Please avoid sending me Microsoft Office files - see
>     http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html.
>     Don't get Windows Vista, get GNU/Linux - see http://www.getgnulinux.org.
> 
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I'm sorry if it seems like I've been trying to shove this down anyone's
throat. Obviously I don't mind if you don't agree with the free software
movement's goals, and I'm not trying to force anyone to. I'm just
expressing some of the opinions and concerns of myself and a lot of
others in the free software movement in relation to the possibility of
Dell selling computers with GNU/Linux preinstalled.

You wrote that "I don't think most users are concerned about the FSF's
crusade", and I think that may be right, but I don't think most
GNU/Linux users have even heard of the ideas of the free software
movement (or at least a lot of them), which means they haven't had a
chance to agree with them or not. That's the main point of the argument
for the name 'GNU/Linux', because Linus Torvalds has such a different
motivation for writing his kernel, and such different views to those of
the Free Software Foundation and its supporters. If people think he
wrote the entire operating system, "with a bit of help", they only hear
of his views and they think that his motivation is the only one which
led to the system being written. They don't realise that the largest
part of the operating system comes from GNU, which was written
specifically because of the ideals of the free software movement.

When I've been writing about the name 'GNU/Linux', I've only been trying
to suggest to other people to use that name, and to explain my argument
for why to do so. I'm not trying to force anyone to call it that, and I
respect everyone's freedom to call it by whatever name they want.

Anyway, I hope I haven't annoyed anyone on this list too much. I'll stop
doing that now.

Cheers,

Guy

-- 
Please avoid sending me Microsoft Office files - see
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html.
Don't get Windows Vista, get GNU/Linux - see http://www.getgnulinux.org.