[Fsf-friends] Re: Forming FSUGs in the country

Richard Stallman rms@gnu.org
Fri, 11 Apr 2003 19:45:12 -0400


    similar  to  ILUG-Delhi,  ILUG-Chennai  has  been running  on  a  high
    "enthusiasm-fever"  and  has been  supporting  users  to run  non-free
    software  like  Oracle and  Opera  under  "Linux"  and has  also  been
    supporting  other non-free  Unices like  Solaris and  such.   The main
    misconception being,  most think anything UNIX is  "cool" and anything
    non-UNIX  is non-cool (and,  free Vs  non-free does  not sell  much in
    there).

This is what tends to happen with Linux User Groups, and there are
systematic reasons for the tendency.

There is no necessary logical connection between the group's choice of
values and the name it calls the system.  It is certainly possible to
call the system "Linux" and believe as strongly in freedom as any of
us do.  But the values usually associated with the name "Linux" don't
give priority to freedom, and people who hear, think, and talk about
"Linux" tend to pick up those values.  Any group that uses the name
"Linux" will have to make strenuous efforts not to be carried away by
this tendency.

(Even if the group uses the name "GNU/Linux", it will still require an
effort to resist the tendency.  But mentioning GNU will help.)


    [*] Oh prophet,  this was before your lotus  feet touched Chennai soil
    and made  the "other  MIT"[**] a holy-shrine  (yes, really...   i tell
    students "look,  thats the  hall where rms  spoke").

I hope that these words are meant as satire.  To seriously think such
a thing (about anyone) is dangerous for your mental equilibrium, and
if it happens in sufficient quantity, threatening for mine as well.