The return of RMS and GNU/Linux
Did anyone else catch the following in the etc/NEWS file from
emacs-19.31?
> ** Change in system-type and system-configuration values.
>
> The value of system-type on a Linux-based GNU system is now `lignux',
> not `linux'. This means that some programs which use `system-type'
> need to be changed. The value of `system-configuration' will also
> be different.
>
> It is generally recommended to use `system-configuration' rather
> than `system-type'.
>
> See the file LINUX-GNU in this directory for more about this.
Here is the contents of LINUX-GNU:
> 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.
David
--
David Engel Optical Data Systems, Inc.
david@ods.com 1101 E. Arapaho Road
(214) 234-6400 Richardson, TX 75081
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