user 'freedom' (was RE: [thelist] Site check: Staples.com)

[Shawn K. Quinn]

On Wed, 2005-09-21 at 13:42 +1000, Robert Gormley wrote:
> Shawn K. Quinn wrote:
> > On Tue, 2005-09-20 at 17:09 -0700, Anthony Ettinger wrote:
> >
> >   
> >> From your source above:
> >>
> >> Linux 
> >>     
> >
> > For future reference, it's GNU/Linux. (And yes I realize you didn't
> > write the original article.)
> For future reference, this is Richard Stallman's assertion of his 
> opinion on what it should be called. Not established, immutable fact. 

Linus Torvalds himself says that in order to do anything useful with the
Linux kernel, you have to install the GNU operating system. (Look at the
README for version 0.01 of the Linux kernel if you don't believe me.)

> There are many, many other contributors to the Linux project, 

If by the Linux project you mean the kernel, I'm not about to claim that
Linus Torvalds still writes every line of code.

If you're using the term "Linux" to refer to more than just the kernel,
then it *is* established fact that the GNU operating system was almost
done when Linus Torvalds released the first version of the Linux kernel.
What you call a "Linux" system really has much more GNU software on it
than you give them credit for.

> none of whom are demanding/attempting to co-opt ownership of the name to further 
> /their/ cause. As you said, he has nothing to do with the open source 
> movement.

Thank you, at least we agree on something.

> And the terms under which Linux is released is most certainly 
> not GPL. Certain elements, yes.

One has nothing to do with the other. In fact, most of the Linux kernel
is released under the GPL, I think parts may actually be BSD licensed. I
don't know, I haven't needed to actually go digging in the source code
in ages, thank $DEITY.

-- 
Shawn K. Quinn <skquinn at speakeasy.net>