[Fsf-india] DEBATE: Why Linux... why GNU/Linux

[Raju Mathur]

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>>>>> "RM" == Ramakrishnan M <gnuhead@myrealbox.com> writes:

    RM> Frederick Noronha wrote:
    >> See the views of Atul Chtinis and RMS below... the first is
    >> from Atul's

    RM> First of all, Atul Chitnis is a jerk; the self proclaimed
    RM> leader of "linux" movement in India. People should stop giving
    RM> too much importance to his statements like this.

You're welcome to attack anyone's beliefs but attacking the person
when you're reacting to his beliefs is an extremely childish and
immature thing to do.  Sorry, my respect for you just went down a few
notches.

    >> By calling it "GNU/Linux", you are giving credit to GNU, which
    >> *is* a part contributor to the distribution, but by no stretch
    >> of imagination the *only* (or even the largest) one.

    RM> By calling it GNU/Linux or simply "GNU" (which is more
    RM> appropriate IMHO) one gives credit not (only) to the GNU
    RM> software present in the system, but to the *movement* and the
    RM> ideals behind the movement (which is *freedom* for all
    RM> computer users) which started it all. Linus Tornalds used GNU
    RM> gcc, and GNU make to compile and build the kernel, which
    RM> existed about 5 years or so before his 0.1 version of kernel
    RM> came out.  Moreover he is apolitical and doesn't believe in
    RM> the ideals of freedom and cooperation. (Recently he adopted
    RM> BitKeeper which is a non-free software for patch management,
    RM> and openly says that he prefers in ease of use and good tools
    RM> rather than political ideals). So by calling the system
    RM> "Linux" you are subscribing to the ideals of "Open Source" and
    RM> the philosophy of Linus Torvalds which has nothing to do with
    RM> Freedom.

That's a major over-generalisation.  I call the system Linux and I
still believe in free software and promote free software and GNU-ish
licenses wherever possible.  I also use commercial software when I
can't find or use a viable free alternative.  You're welcome to have
your beliefs but please don't bother to tell me what I think and what
philosophies I subscribe to and what I should call them.

    >> So it should be GNU/Apache/Linux.
    >> 
    >> But what about.....

    RM> The author says as if he has found out some path breaking new
    RM> chemical element!! These arguments had been chewed over many
    RM> times in many many lists!! So it is not (g)new any more..:-)

And hence invalid?  Let's drop the Koran, the Gita and the Bible too
while we're about it since they're not new either and hence
meaningless by your implication.

    >> As you can see, there is a very good and practical reason for
    >> calling it "Linux".

    RM> Linux is a kernel and will always be a kernel..:-)No matter
    RM> how many Chitnis-en use the term Linux to call the Operating
    RM> system.

You're welcome to think of Linux as the kernel; to me and millions of
other people around the world Linux remains an operating system, with
contributions from many sources including GNU.

Nowhere in the GPL does it state that if you use GPL software as part
of your product you have to include GNU in the name of that product.
If it had, I doubt if I would have GPL'd any of my software in the
first place.  So please don't go on about how the system should be
called GNU/Linux -- Linus used GNU software in a manner completely
compatible with a license which RMS himself had written, used the same
license for his kernel, and he and others are free to call it whatever
they like *as per the terms of that same license*.

    >> [The author wishes to thank Gopikrishna Garge (gopi at exocore
    >> dot com) for helping with the development of the argument on
    >> which this article is based.]

    RM> I thank Richard Stallman for giving the world the GNU and
    RM> educating me on the greater ideals like Freedom and
    RM> cooperation.

Cool, so do I.  And I thank RMS for one more thing: giving us a
license which doesn't force nomenclature down the throats of people.

Regards,

- -- Raju
- -- 
Raju Mathur          raju@kandalaya.org           http://kandalaya.org/
                     It is the mind that moves
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