Re: [vox] Stallman on Slashdot

[Don Werve <donw@eMAPSxamen.com>]

On Tue, May 21, 2002 at 08:27:02AM -0700, Peter Jay Salzman wrote:
> begin joseph e arruda <zeruch@dibona.com> 
> > 
> > It's more of the same drivel RMS spews
> 
> drivel?  i'm having a hard time understanding your position.
> 
> replace the linux kernel by the BSD kernel (but keep the GNU stuff in
> place).  you wouldn't notice a difference.

I would when my NVidia card stopped working under X.

> now replace the GNU stuff with something else but keep the linux kernel
> in place.  you'd know something is wrong immediately.

I won't argue that the GNU utilities are a big part of the OS; hell, I 
install them on *Solaris* machines, because I can't stand dealing with
the Solaris default shell (and, no, I don't change the shell for root; 
I just put a line to execute bash in ~/.profile).

> the personality of our systems is firmly grounded with the GNU side
> rather than the linux side.
> 
> do i care enough to start saying "gnu/linux" everytime i have a
> conversation with someone?  no.  but calling this point "drivel" is just
> completely way off mark.  i can understand RMS's frustration.  i'd be
> frustrated too.

The problem is that he is downright evangelical about it.  Nobody asks that
it's called Apache/Linux, even though the majority of Linux systems are 
used as webservers.  The XFree86 project doesn't ask for XFree/Linux, even
though they provide the only common graphical environment -- how many of us
would find Linux as useful without X and all the apps that run on top of it?

Requesting that they call it "GNU/Linux" is one thing.  Being a screaming,
sputtering idiot because they won't is childish.

-- 
Don Werve <donw@examen.com> (Unix System Administrator)

Yorn desh born, der ritt de gitt der gue,
Orn desh, dee born desh, de umn bork! bork! bork!
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