Re: [gentoo-dev] License criteria for Gentoo

[Kevyn Shortell]

I don't personally think GNU/Linux is correct. I think that's a bastardization 
of the name, and it's doing a disservice to everything GNU stood for.
It takes away from the efforts of those who've worked there, and 
focuses everything on RMS's attempt to get recognition for GNU.
Note that he doesn't want you to change the name to Linux/GNU. He
wants top billing for GNU, he wants GNU/Linux, So why is GNU
more important than Linux? 

So while we're at it, We then should be accurate and then call it
GNU/KDE/SUN/IBM/QT/Python/Drobbins/partsrippedfrombsd Gentoo Linux.

Seriously, take a look at how people look at GNU, It's a toolset, it's a
compiler, it's a source license, but since when did it become a religious
movement, that required people to change their very name, in order
to honor it?

Linux is an operating system, it is a collection of parts. GNU is just
one of the many parts, giving in to changing the name for GNU today
just means 3 months down the road, the next license that comes along
will want the same thing. There is a reason why RedHat, SuSE and
Mandrake basically ignored RMS, It makes NO sense to change
the name, If RMS wants credit, fine add information in the docs, about
how this was made possible by the efforts of the many fine coders at
the FSF and GNU Project. Placating RMS, slights the others who have
done just as much work, to make this distro what it is. Look at it from
a marketing perspective. It's suicide to take a marketable name, and
ruin it by adding GNU in front of it. Brand names are marketable because
they are unique. They are memorable, they have a image associated with
it. GNU/Linux, Just frankly is the worst marketing plan I've ever heard of.
You could sell hair dryers to 60 year old bald men easier than trying to
market ANYTHING called GNU/Gentoo Linux. In regards to Debian
using the GNU tag... Debian was probably hoping to get more publicity
from it, as they were in danger of well, ending up where they are...

I'd rather quit developing, than bow in to political pressure from RMS
or anyone else.  If you resort to begging or coercing people to give you
credit, it creates resentment and bitterness. It's not credit. It's a bribe to
get you to leave them alone.

Kevyn 


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Moritz Schulte" <moritz@×××××××××××××××.de>
To: "Thomas M. Beaudry" <k8la@×××××××××.com>
Cc: "Greg Corcoran" <gregc@××××××.com>; <gentoo-dev@g.o>
Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 3:49 AM
Subject: Re: [gentoo-dev] License criteria for Gentoo


> "Thomas M. Beaudry" <k8la@×××××××××.com> writes:
>
> > Actually an argument for leaving the name as-is.  Then you have
> > Gentoo Linux, Gentoo Hurd, etc. depending on the kernel that you are
> > booting.
>
> Well, no.  "Gentoo Hurd" would not be correct - for the same reason
> "Gentoo Linux" is not considered correct.  Either it should be "Gentoo
> GNU/Hurd" - or simply "Gentoo GNU" - since the Hurd is the official
> GNU core and therefore "the GNU system" implies "Hurd based".  It's
> the same with Debian; we have Debian GNU/Linux and Debian GNU/Hurd.
>
> Btw: the Hurd is not a kernel (that's why I said "core", actually we
> don't have a single word to describe what the Hurd is).  The Hurd
> consists entirely of user space components, which run on top of a
> Microkernel (Mach, at the moment, but the port to the
> second-generation microkernel L4 is underway) to provide the system
> services one would expect from a Unix like system (file systems,
> networking stacks, processes, user/group IDs, authentication, etc.).
>
> Thanks.
> moritz
> --
> moritz@×××××××××××××××.de - http://duesseldorf.ccc.de/~moritz/
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