Messages in this thread | | | Date | Tue, 22 Dec 1998 23:15:19 +0100 | From | Marc Espie <> | Subject | RMS Re: Article: IBM wants to "clean up the license" of Linux |
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In article <199812222032.OAA09236@duracef.shout.net> you write: >It's a sad day when the author of COPYING gets dissed in a >public linux forum.
>On a technical level, gcc is an essential tool for kernel hacking. > >On a philosophical level, Mr. Stallman articulated seminal ideas >that have guided the development of a simply amazing quality and >quantity of software.
>He deserves respect.
There is a fine line between respect and worship.
Yes, Richard M. Stallman certainly did a great deal of VERY useful things for the open software community, but this does certainly not mean he has all the answers.
On a personal level, I use Linux and OpenBSD --- not Hurd. and I use vim --- not emacs. I'm following perhaps half of gnu coding standards, I DON'T always write GPL'ed code, though I do contribute, I'm very grateful for egcs, binutils, and numerous other GNU tools... Not so grateful for some of gnu-make's `improvements', which I have to code around more often than not, and I MUCH prefer perl to guile.
I think that most people writing & reading linux-kernel are perfectly able to make their own mind for themselves. We all know that linux is a KERNEL, almost completely independent from GNU proper.
RMS may insist upon GNU/Linux all he wants---it's his right, but the very way GPL is written means we don't have to humor him.
Putting a sticker saying that a Linux distribution is shock-full of gnu-tools is fine. Indeed, the FSF could probably get most commercial distributions to display such a sticker. Wanting to call the kernel `GNU' is plain ludicrous.
Now, can we please put that flamewar to rest and go back to serious kernel hacking.
Oh, BTW, http://www.userfriendly.org/cartoons/archives/98dec/19981218.html
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