On 1/29/02 9:39 PM, "Mr O" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > So my question is... what do the users of *BSD (the other white unix) think > of the whole GNU/Linux thing? Do they really care if it doesn't say GNU at > all over the page? Should we perhaps include a little paragraph stating > something about Linux, BSD, and other open source and/or alternative > operating systems in general? For the most part I like to think of us as the > Eugene LINUX Users group with no exclusion to non-M$ OS's.
Being a BSDer, I guess I'll answer. I don't currently use Linux, and haven't for a few years now, although it still interests me from an experimenting/hacking (in all senses of the word) viewpoint. GNU has been around far longer than Linux, they started coding the GNU system somewhere back in 1984 or so. It's undeniable the amount of commitment and work GNU and RMS have put into the GNU system. It's undeniable the contributions they've made to Linux. But this whole e-mailing the UG out of the blue and complaining that not every instance of the word "linux" does not have "GNU/" tacked onto the front of it is kind of silly and dare I say, extreme. I'd personally be inclined to strip away every instance of the words "GNU" from a website if I received an e-mail like that. The tone I get from his e-mail is not one of "Hi, GNU has done a lot for the Linux community, and thus I politely request that you use the term 'GNU/Linux'", but more of complaining and "strong-arming". For most all of the people out there, they don't care who or what wrote 90% of their system. They only care that it works and that they know how to use it. If you want fame and glory, coding is the wrong profession to get into. So it seems silly. When's the last time you saw W. Richard Stevens' name on a marquee downtown? You're right, too, the user group seems to be 90% geared towards Linux, which is why I mostly just lurk on the mailing list keeping at eye out for BSD/Darwin-related posts :-). That is all, Jacob
