Messages in this thread | | | Date | Thu, 1 Apr 1999 13:08:35 -0700 (MST) | From | Richard Stallman <> | Subject | Re: GNU/Linux |
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Are you now claiming software that -I've- written and released under GPL as "GNU software" and as such part of the GNU system (to use phrasings you and others have used in other posts)?
If a program is GNU software, that means it is released under the auspices of the GNU Project. Your program wouldn't be GNU software unless you and the GNU Project have agreed that it is.
However, it could be part of the GNU operating system. That just means we like it and decided to use it, not that we claim any credit for it.
A number of people have gone to great lengths to express their outrage at the idea that all programs released under the GPL are GNU programs. It was all unnecessary, because I'm not saying that. I don't think anyone is saying that. (See the definition of "GNU software" in http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/categories.html.)
Perhaps the misunderstanding was partly caused by me--maybe I should have addressed this point explicitly in my earlier message. Still, it would be useful for people to make an extra effort to verify what someone's position really is, before publicly criticizing it.
This whole thread was begun by a message of the same kind: someone criticized what he thought were my reasons for using the term GNU/Linux. His criticism of those reasons was valid, but they weren't my actual reasons. If people would ask questions first, and shoot later, this discussion would be a lot shorter.
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