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GNU Inside?
Erbo writes "Is it "Linux," or "GNU/Linux"? For years, that question has been bitterly contended. Now, Jon "Maddog" Hall and others want to resolve this conflict, by creating a "GNU Inside" logo that distros could use on their packaging, Web sites, etc. Will a truce finally be called in this long-running flame war? ZDNet has the details. (Spotted in Linux Today) "
Credit and name recognition are rewards. Money is a reward. Xerox probably tried to keep Stallman from learning its printer controller source code (thus compelling him to found the FSF) because it wanted money out of him. The free software model he created necessarily misallocates money; not everyone who deserves the money for coding something receives that money.
Now, RMS has never tried to berate people into donating money to the FSF -- he does solicit donations, and actively encourages people to contribute, he doesn't insist on it. When people in an audience say "I just bought a Redhat system," he doesn't say, "Write the FSF a check for the same amount, right now, or I won't answer your question."
But now that something that really matters to him is at stake -- credit for GNU -- he insists on getting it. (At least he's trying to coerse people by annoying them into submission, and not by forcing folks to sign binding agreements.)
So why is GNU important then? Because it's released under the (L)GPL.
How much code has been written by RMS and other key members of the FSF? Quite a bit, and some very significant bits, but the currenct feature rich and relatively bug free state of GNU is also due to a whole community that has been using and improving GNU tools since the eighties. Again, this would not have been possible without the GPL.
So the FSF should not strive to take explicity credit for things that a whole community contributed to. They should take credit where credit is due, namely for creating the legal and intellectual framework that enabled this and other outstanding worldwide collaborations.
Instead of "GNU Inside", I suggest GPL Inside, or something more verbose and less Intelish such as "This CDROM contains software freely licensed under the GPL and other open source licences" or whatever is more sexy.
Some final remarks: As a fluent but non-native speaker of English, the word GNU, especially when used in place of "new" really turns my stomach. Also, I have been using GNU utilities from the first day I worked on proprietary Unices about 10 years ago. I like Emacs very much, and also used a lot of GNU replacements, in particular gcc, for proprietary software, mainly because documentation was easily available (ever tried to find the original manual of commercial software in a University lab?) and they just performed consistently and well across platforms. Still, I'd never imagined saying I was using GNU/AIX or GNU/SunOS, even though I was very aware that my most important tools where GNU's. So what's the big deal about GNU/Linux?
...just as soon as FreeBSD gets renamed GNU/BSD. I run emacs and the CygWin ports on my NT laptop - should I call it a GNUtop?
The whole debate is silly. Linux is Linux, BSD is BSD, HURD can be the GNU/OS or whatever they want to call it. The kernel and design should be sufficient to determine the name. Hey - SCO owns the SVR5 code from which (theoretically) all *NUXes spring (in design if not in code) - maybe we should call the GNU (when a HURD-derived version ships) SCOGNUX! Or POSIXGNUX! I hope I made a point here without making anyone's head explode from bad acronyms.
My bottom line: Linux is a great operating system, built by a group of brilliant people, using the terrific GNU tools and utilities. And no Unix would be complete without them. But RMS really needs to take his ball and go home on this one. Anybody who knows anything about Linux understands the magnitude of RMS's contribution to the software world and knows Linux would probably not have existed without him. Now please make all this go away!
What's in a name, anyway? A rose, by any other name, would still wither and die...
-- Josh Turiel
"2. Do not eat iPod Shuffle."
It would be really nice to see and end to this fairly stupid and devisive conflict. I understand many people's annoyance at being asked to call their Linux box GNU/Linux, but at the same time, I think that the FSF does deserve credit here. It's not just RMS looking for the limelight; a lot of people have put in a lot of time, from the early 80s to today, to create a damn fine collection of essential utilities. Utilities that, without which, much other free software would never have been written. Utilities that are far and away better than their counterparts on other UNIXes. I think the LOC argument is misleading; how much of our current software base would exists without things like a compiler, a C library, a linker, shells, editors, etc etc? I agree that it's dumb to have to trip over my tongue to say the name of my operating system, but at the same time, let's honestly recognize those who have put in thousands of hours of work for our benefit.
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Ian Peters
I was just looking through the mail archives and look what I found: Re: How Linux Users Do it. Where RMS says: 'The idea of a slogan that we and the "Linux" people could agree on is an interesting idea, and I would be glad to do that.'
It is an interesting discussion. Please read some of the other messages in that thread. RMS says some interesting things such as this: 'But if you have seen some GNU fanatics trying to fight, I guess it must happen. If and when you come across one, could you please show me? I will be glad to explain to him that this kind of fighting isn't a good thing to do. Chances are those people would listen to me and stop.'
Also, I just found a wonderful quote in an article about the controversy which addresses this very well:
Deven
"Simple things should be simple, and complex things should be possible." - Alan Kay
The way things are going is quite stupid. GNU was (and I guess is still) about choice and about the best technical choice. Instead of wasting their effort in this trivial subject (that will gain them nothing) they should try to integrate things into thair system.
...). This is real choice not having to force ppl into a all or nothing situation ...
Woulnd't it be much nicer if I had a properly componentized and integrated system such that I can plug in what ever pice I want without having to comply to any phylosify.
Imagine a system where you can choose any kernel you want (BSD,Linux,IRIX,BeOS, or even NT) use any shell you want (bash, commad.com, KDE or what ever) use any networking layer you want (TCP/IP, ATM
Husain
So long as you don't say it in his prescence. If you do so, he will repeatedly infringe upon your right to free speech by interrupting you until you use his terminology. He prevents you from saying your peace with your words in his presence. Specifically, he has done this during press conferences--he wouldn't even let a reporter finish a question with the word "Linux" in it until said reporter amended it to "GNU/Linux". Politicians in debate have more respect than that.
RMS certainly has the freedom to call it GNU/Linux, and in fact to ask that we do. The way that he does it (interrupting you until you capitulate) is an abuse of free speech and an infringement on everyone else's free speech. You can correct me after I've finished, thank you.
RMS is merely stating his viewpoint that more credit should be given to the GNU project.
Interpert it that way if you wish. Literally, RMS is stating his viewpoint that Linux should be called GNU/Linux. I've heard a couple of explanations for this, but none from RMS himself.
You are insisting that HE capitulates to what YOU want to call the system that you run every day. To stridently attack someone for stating their viewpoint, as you do in this post, belies your claim to love freedom. Or perhaps its just YOUR freedom that you care about?
I am insisting upon the right to speak my dissenting viewpoint, in my own words. He has the right to tell me what he thinks I should call it. My problem with RMS in this respect (and understand that I have a lot of respect for this man otherwise) is that he will usurp the floor and hold it hostage while you have it, in order to get his words to come out of your mouth. He denies you freedom of speech. This is entirely different from complaining about it when he has the floor.
--The basis of all love is respect