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SubjectRMS Re: Article: IBM wants to "clean up the license" of Linux
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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