[Charlug] Re: Charlotte GNU/Linux Users Group

[Dennis Clark]

On 3/28/2009 6:09 AM, Leam Hall wrote:
> Can we drop the GNU/ crap? =

I agree with not calling ourselves a GNU/Linux User Group, but I object
to "GNU/" being called crap. The GNU project played an important role in
the development of Linux and still deserves respect. I doubt Linus
Torvalds would have gotten as far as he did with Linux without the GNU
toolset.

The term "GNU/Linux" was coined a long time ago as an objection to the
use of the word "Linux" as referring to an operating system. The
objection (and it was a valid one at the time) was that Linux is only a
kernel, and you need many many other programs apart from a kernel to
create an OS. At the time the vast majority of programs used in
Linux-based operating systems originated from the GNU project, so it
made sense to call such operating systems "GNU/Linux".

Things are different now. Many of what started as GNU/Linux
"distributions" have evolved to become much more than a Linux kernel
with a few GNU programs slapped on top of it: they have earned the right
to be be called operating systems without the need of qualifiers such as
"Linux" or even "GNU/Linux". There should no longer be any confusion
that terms like "Red Hat", "SUSE", "Debian", and "Ubuntu" refer to
anything other than operating systems[1 <#redhat>]. Sure, they still use
Linux kernels and some GNU programs, but they also contain many
important programs from Apache, BSD, Mozilla and many other projects,
and calling such operating systems "GNU/Apache/BSD/Mozilla/Linux" would
simply be silly.

> Stallman had some great ideas but he's belittled himself and the GNU
> community by demanding respect that he already earned.
Stallman started off as a visionary but has turned into a complete
nutjob. He has been quoted as saying that developing non-free software
is evil <http://www.technewsworld.com/story/must-read/59780.html>, and
in his latest rant he objects to Web sites that compress/obfuscate their
client-side JavaScript code.

I believe in sharing my source code whenever possible[2 <#sharing>] so
that others may benefit from it and improve on it, but unlike Stallman I
respect the rights of developers and entrepreneurs to sell their
programs for a profit.
> Every time I see "GNU/Linux it makes me want to puke. Stallman can't
> make a decent OS so he has to ride the coat-tails of a Finnish student?
You mean Stallman can't make a decent /kernel/. Work on Hurd (the
official kernel for GNU) began the year before Torvalds started on
Linux, and even after 18 years Hurd is still not stable enough for use
in production environments.


[1] Except for "Red Hat", which may sometimes refer to a head covering
that is red in color.
[2] Except when my source code sucks (which it often does).


Cheers,

-- Dennis
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