Ahhh, replying to my own post. Original text from 1996 follows: : Linux and the GNU system : : The GNU project started 12 years ago with the goal of developing a : complete free Unix-like operating system. "Free" refers to freedom, : not price; it means you are free to run, copy, distribute, study, : change, and improve the software. : : A Unix-like system consists of many different programs. We found some : components already available as free software--for example, X Windows : and TeX. We obtained other components by helping to convince their : developers to make them free--for example, the Berkeley network : utilities. Other components we wrote specifically for GNU--for : example, GNU Emacs, the GNU C compiler, the GNU C library, Bash, and : Ghostscript. The components in this last category are "GNU software". : The GNU system consists of all three categories together. : : The GNU project is not just about developing and distributing free : software. The heart of the GNU project is an idea: that software : should be free, and that the users' freedom is worth defending. For : if people have freedom but do not value it, they will not keep it for : long. In order to make freedom last, we have to teach people to value : it. : : The GNU project's method is that free software and the idea of users' : freedom support each other. We develop GNU software, and as people : encounter GNU programs or the GNU system and start to use them, they : also think about the GNU idea. The software shows that the idea can : work in practice. People who come to agree with the idea are likely : to write additional free software. Thus, the software embodies the : idea, spreads the idea, and grows from the idea. : : This method was working well--until someone combined the Linux kernel : with the GNU system (which still lacked a kernel), and called the : combination a "Linux system." : : The Linux kernel is a free Unix-compatible kernel written by Linus : Torvalds. It was not written specifically for the GNU project, but : the Linux kernel and the GNU system work together well. In fact, : adding Linux to the GNU system brought the system to completion: it : made a free Unix-compatible operating system available for use. : : But ironically, the practice of calling it a "Linux system" undermines : our method of communicating the GNU idea. At first impression, a : "Linux system" sounds like something completely distinct from the "GNU : system." And that is what most users think it is. : : Most introductions to the "Linux system" acknowledge the role played : by the GNU software components. But they don't say that the system as : a whole is more or less the same GNU system that the GNU project has : been compiling for a decade. They don't say that the idea of a free : Unix-like system originates from the GNU project. So most users don't : know these things. : : This leads many of those users to identify themselves as a separate : community of "Linux users", distinct from the GNU user community. : They use all of the GNU software; in fact, they use almost all of the : GNU system; but they don't think of themselves as GNU users, and they : may not think about the GNU idea. : : It leads to other problems as well--even hampering cooperation on : software maintenance. Normally when users change a GNU program to : make it work better on a particular system, they send the change to : the maintainer of that program; then they work with the maintainer, : explaining the change, arguing for it and sometimes rewriting it, to : get it installed. : : But people who think of themselves as "Linux users" are more likely to : release a forked "Linux-only" version of the GNU program, and consider : the job done. We want each and every GNU program to work "out of the : box" on Linux-based systems; but if the users do not help, that goal : becomes much harder to achieve. : : So how should the GNU project respond? What should we do now to : spread the idea that freedom for computer users is important? : : We should continue to talk about the freedom to share and change : software--and to teach other users to value these freedoms. If we : enjoy having a free operating system, it makes sense for us to think : about preserving those freedoms for the long term. If we enjoy having : a variety of free software, it makes sense for to think about : encouraging others to write additional free software, instead of : additional proprietary software. : : We should not accept the splitting of the community in two. Instead : we should spread the word that "Linux systems" are variant GNU : systems--that users of these systems are GNU users, and that they : ought to consider the GNU philosophy which brought these systems into : existence. : : This article is one way of doing that. Another way is to use the : terms "Linux-based GNU system" (or "GNU/Linux system" or "Lignux" for : short) to refer to the combination of the Linux kernel and the GNU : system. : : Copyright 1996 Richard Stallman : Verbatim copying and redistribution is permitted : without royalty as long as this notice is preserved. *looks to see if mn-lignux.org is still available* -- Matthew S. Hallacy FUBAR, LART, BOFH Certified http://www.poptix.net GPG public key 0x01938203