FSF Issues GNU/Linux Name FAQ

jdavidb writes "The FSF has issued a FAQ about why they believe you should say "GNU/Linux." Surprisingly long." They're certainly... thorough.

Ummmm....

[DJPenguin]

*smiling, backing away very slowly from stallman...*

Ahem.

misnomer

[Telastyn]

Somehow I doubt those are frequently asked questions...

In a related article

[Brento]

Microsoft has issued a press release saying that users should use the term Secure Windows. "As part of our new security initiatives, we believe that changing the public's viewpoint is crucial. Simply referring it as 'Windows' implies that it can easily be broken," noted an anonymous Microsoft press spokesman.

News that AOL was considering a name change to "Stable Netscape" for their web browser product could not be confirmed at press time.

Trolling for Dummies

[Spoons]

jdavidb writes "The FSF has issued a FAQ about why they believe you should say "GNU/Linux." Surprisingly long." They're certainly... thorough.

Wow. You know it's a slow day when even the stories are trolls.

More FAQ questions!

[greenfield]

Why shouldn't I just use Linux/GNU?

Can I call it RMS/GNU/Linux?

Instead of GNU/Linux, can I call it "The bastard stepchild of the GNU project sired by Linus?"

Can I write GNU/Linux, but pronounce it "Linux?" (The "GNU/" is silent.)

Can I use Linux as an abbreviation for GNU/Linux?

Has GNU considered changing their license so that naming disputes like this don't occur in the future? (GNU should really try to protect their code more.)

( :-) for the humor impaired. )

GNU/Cygwin/Windows

[Arctic Fox]

If you use Cygwin, does this mean you have to call windows GNU/Cygwin/Windows? GNU/Windows? Bah. I dont understand whats the big deal. Since cars use wheels,should they be called Orrrrg/Cars (or who ever invented the wheel). They also use flames, should they be called Promethious/Autos?

Re:Why are they so desperate ?

[gazbo]

I think it is because they are obsessive. No, really - these people are the ones who think that Free Software (TM) is the only ethical way of producing software.

Don't agree? Fancy a giggle? Then read this question's answer [gnu.org]. I found it most entertaining, whilst ensuring they get zero credibility.

Re:misnomer

[rde]

If the list truly was a faq, top of the list, to my mind (well, okay, second to 'what the hell are you thinking') would be 'how do you pronounce gnu/linux?'

If memory serves, RMS pronounced it guh-new-slash-linux; if I remember correctly, there's yet another compelling reason to pronounce it with a silent gnu.

Re:misnomer

[glwtta]

and yet they are frequently answered.

Re:misnomer

[huge]

Somehow I doubt those are frequently asked questions...

You are right, those questions probably arent that frequently asked, but atleast they are frequently repeating the same answer to almost every question... =)

YAG/LA

[The J Kid]

Ah yes...YALSBG/LA (Yet Another Linux Should Be GNU/Linux Article)

The Linux kernel dev team should change their name into LINUACNG (Linux Is Not Unix And Certainly Not Gnu/Linux)

Doesn't the FSF have anything better to do than think up FAQ's that no one will ever ever ever ever even pay the slightest bit of thought to?

This is a joke. Laugh

I have become part of the GNU/solution.

[gatesh8r]

See, we need to make GNU/sure that GNU/Linux is called GNU/Linux for GNU/RMS's GNU/ego.

GNU/RMS needs to quit GNU/whining about his GNU/OS which will likely not be noticed for a GNU/long time -- GNU/HURD if that ever becomes GNU/serious aside from being a GNU/Debian GNU/distrobution.

Take a page from Mozilla...

[Craig Maloney]

Remember, the correct pronunciation of Netcape is "Mozilla". Why can't the correct pronunciation of GNU/Linux be "Linux"? Oh, I forgot... the GNU is never silent. :)

(Tongue firmly in cheek)

as usual

[Anonymous Coward]

+1 Bruce Perens

I'm with you.

[Anonymous Coward]

But actually, what convinced me to say GNU/Linux was this picture [fsf.org]

Ah, so that's what RMS has been doing...

[FallLine]

all of these years. To think I questioned RMS's contribution consisted almost of nothing more than words!

1996-03-26 Richard Stallman

* configure.in: Use lignux instead of linux as value of opsys.

Several months later he changed it again:

1996-06-21 Richard Stallman

* configure.in: Rename lignux to linux-gnu in configuration names.
Use gnu-linux as the opsys value (s/ file name)

Re:Ummmm....

[Milalwi]

*smiling, backing away very slowly from stallman...*

Don't make eye contact! :-)

Milalwi

Re:Why are they so desperate ?

[jejones]

Its like a someone with an inferiority complex trying to say, oh, I had some thing to do this with - as a matter of fact, this should be named after me.

I would say it's more like the feminists who misspell wom[ae]n to get rid of the hated m[ae]n substring thereof, and it makes its advocates look equally foolish and fanatical.

Re:Why are they so desperate ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow, I thought that no one would ever recognize me for my belief in all things FSF. Now if only RMS would agree to a couple of things more on that page I'll have a fellow zelot!!!!

Re:Say It!

[morhoj]

Go get a job.

Re:Change the gpl..

[cant_get_a_good_nick]

They want to enforce the GNU/Linux issue, but hate BSD's advertising clause. This is not a troll: how do they say you can do one but not the other?

Good explanation!

[mekkab]

From now on when someone asks "What OS do you run on your computer?" I'll say "Zapitron-Linux!"

Re:I believe they are wrong

[bulbul]

Q: Isn't GNU a collection of biological tools that were included in fish?

A: People who think that a fish is an biological organism, if they hear about GNU at all, often get a wrong idea of what GNU is. They may think that GNU is a the name of a collection of biological processes--often they say "biological tools", since some of our biological tools became popular on their own.

Re:misnomer

[foobar104]

pronounce it with a silent gnu

Man, I'd give anything to live in a world where the GNU was silent.

Re:Are they?

[glwtta]

It's actually GNU/Linux not GNU\Linux, give the forward slash some credit for its work!

Re:More FAQ questions!

[PunchMonkey]

My FAQ Question:

What do I respond with when someone asks "What happened to the old linux?"

Re:misnomer

[pmancini]

Stallman sits in a basement, arguing with himself. He then writes the argument out (bad grammer and all - maybe he should have used a Microsoft product with helpful features like spell check and grammer check.) Finally, the dopes^H^H^H^H^Hfine people at Slashdot decide to give the fool an even bigger audience. *sigh*

What is a bigger waste of the Internet? Stallman's rants or those Bumfight tapes?

In related news....

[yack0]

vi users have put together a FAQ entitled "Why emacs sucks"

The National Apple Institute released a bulletin on use of pears in food products "Fuck pears!"*

The Paintball Users Consortium released it's findings on "Why pump guns are better"

The folks at "Apple Computers Rule!" released a document on "Why Macs are better than PC's"

Gee, did I miss any completely blatant flame war topics?

Useless news, stuff that fills the boards up...

*sigh*

j

* credit for this to George Carlin, Place for my Stuff album.

Re:More FAQ questions!

[selan]

Excellent! How about calling it

GNU/Linux*
(*)"Linux" is registered trademark of Linus Torvalds

And when I say we I mean me.

[SpankTech3000]

When reading the FAQ, please mentally substitute all instances of "We" with "I, Richard Stallman".

Thank you,
The Free Software Foundation*

* Please subsitite all occurances of "The Free Software Foundation" with "Richard Stallman"

Reese's OS Cups

[zoiblot]

So, RMS and Linus bump into each other in a hallway and discover to their horror that...

RMS: Your Linux is in my GNU!

Linus: Your GNU is in my Linux!

Credit

[What'sInAName]

Well, since we want to give proper credit, how about we just call it:

Aarnio/Almesberger/Peter/Atkins/Aycock/Baechle/B alasubramanian/
Ballabio/Banerji/Bauer/Baumgarten /Becker/Bentson/v an den Berg/Bergman/
Biro/Blundell/Bogendoerfer/Bogstad/ Boldt/Boyd/Brou wer/Burr/Callahan/Card/
Carp/Chaffee/Chang/Chen/C heshire/Jose/Coleman/Cox/ Culhane/Dassen/Davies/
Davison/Dawson/Derr/Dost/D unbar/Duwe/Eckhardt/Eiss feldt/Ekwall/Engstad/
Evans/Faith/Fischer/Fitzhar dinge/Flaxa/Foard/Fogel /Frey/Gamble/Gelinas/
Gentzel/Gladstone/Griffith/ Gorodchanin/Gortmaker/G otts/Guenther/ter Haar/
Haible/Hankins/Haritsis/Harrekilde-Petersen /Haylet t/Hein/Henderson/Hetze/
Hipp/Hohndel/Tsutomu/Holl oway/Holt/Hooft/de Icaza Amozurrutia/Jackson/
Jagdis/Johnson/Kaindl/van Kempen/Keyte/Kirch/Kluft/Knaff/Koenig/Koenig/
Kon ynenberg/Kuhlmann/Kuhn/Laarhoven/Lam/Lendecke/L entin/Lermen/Lewis/
von Loewis/Lord/Losh/Lu/Lukka/Mäkisara/Macdonald/MacDo nald/MacLean/Mackinlay/
Mares/Martin/Martin/McLag an/McLean/Melchers/Meskes /Metheringham/Metz/
Metzenthen/Middelink/Miller/M iller/Milz/Minyard/Mo enkeberg/Mosberger-Tang/
Murdock/Myreen/Naylor/Ne uffer/Niemi/O'Reilly/Page/ Pennarun/Per/Petzke/
Pizzini/Potter/Probst/Quinla n/Raymond/Reinauer/Roa dcap/La Roche/Rothwell/
Roudier/Rubini/Sailer/Sanders/Sav olainen/Schenk/De Schrijver/Schulze/
Senn/Shapiro/Shaver/Shifflett/ Sladkey/Small/Smith/ van Smoorenburg/
Snyder/Spiekman/Storner/Sullivan/Tho rn/Tombs/Torva lds/Tranter/Tridgell/
Trümper/Ts'o/Tsao/Turner/Tw eedie/Uhl/Uphoff/Urlich s/Verworner/Volkerding/
Vos/Weigert/Welsh/Wettste in/Widmaier/van Wieringen/Windau/Wirzenius/Wolff/
Xia/Youngdale/Y utaka/Zborowski/Zimmermann/Zubkoff/ Zyngier/GNU/Linux

Sorry if I missed anyone! :-)

Re:Say It!

[alienmole]

Make that GNU/screwed...

Re:It was a bad idea to begin with...

[NamShubCMX]

Call it LING (Linux Is Not GNU) if you really want to piss them off.

Re:Why are they so desperate ?

[eam]

I can't help thinking that this is a list of Frequently Asked Questions that just aren't frequently asked.

Re:Why are they so desperate ?

[rvaniwaa]

It would be hard to write an emacs Macro that inserted "GNU" everytime one typed "Linux"

I can see it now, the Emacs office assistant: "I see you are trying to type 'Linux' Wouldn't you prefer the official name 'GNU/Linux'?

Re:I'm not likely to change

[metamatic]

You mean like how the country was given a stupid name like "USA", but everyone calls it America?