Messages in this thread | | | Date | Thu, 7 Mar 1996 19:03:37 -0500 | From | Richard Stallman <> | Subject | Re: Linux isn't an operating system |
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You've proposed that we agree on the term "Linux system" for the complete systems based on Linux, and give credit to GNU developers "in the second breath". That is a reasonable way of giving credit, but it has two drawbacks:
* It is what most people have been doing, and that is what has led to our present problems.
* The real issue is not giving credit, but encouraging the cooperation that we all need.
I'm sure that if I let this issue drop, and let the issues of cooperation drift, we could all "get along" with no visible disputes. But this is because the substantive problems would quietly continue to grow. We need to do more than get along; we need to work together.
People using almost the same collection of software have defined two different community identities--"GNU user" and "Linux user". And the people in one community tend not to make an effort to cooperate with those in the other. This suggests that the real root of the problem is in this social structure, not in the individuals concerned. To have more cooperation, we need to change the structure. We need to pay more conscious attention to our ties and common interests, and to the larger community that includes all of us.
To effect a change, we have to do something different from what we have done in the past.
I've proposed the term "Linux-based GNU system" as a way of doing this, because I think it is an accurate description. Other people have suggested the term "GNU-based Linux system". That too would promote cooperation, if people use it often. Both terms emphasize the relationship rather than implying separation and isolation.
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