Got this reply from the gnu group.
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Singapore GNU <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Jun 19, 2007 11:12 AM Subject: Re: Should we start calling this OS GNU/Linux? To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thanks for alerting me to the discussion, though I must affirm my position as working for the free software movement, not the open source movement. This question has been repeated over and over in numerous battles between hackers. Free software advocates have always held a firm line on software freedom for precisely the thoughts which were expressed there. I would not be surprised if this topic joins the famous wars like vi vs emacs, gnome vs kde, etc.. one day. To be sure, when I saw the resulting comments, I was not surprised by the hostility as shown. I guess that as more and more people use the GNU system, we would be seeing a greater proportion of comments from people who naturally have little idea about the history of the GNU Project, why it exists and where it is heading. The free software movement and the open source movement are just two sides of a global community. In the free software movement, the goal is to live an ethical life where we can cooperate with other people. We point to the ethical and political values defining free software to encourage others to join us. The open source movement denounces those ideals and values. They cite only practical values -- such as developing powerful software, and this is the same goal that Microsoft strives for in their efforts to promote non-free software. The open source movement disagrees with Microsoft only in regard to how to best achieve it. Normally, people who describe the system as Linux are those from the open source community. And very likely, they have never heard of the philosophy behind the GNU Project (its origin and purpose). The Project's intention of creating a completely free operating system has now been perverted until it is unrecognizable -- prominent cases include the kernel Linux and the GNU distribution Ubuntu, all done in the name of business and popularity (aka free software vs non-free software and may the best code win). There are only a few distributions that we now recommend, such as gNewSense and BLAG. Calling the system as GNU, or free software rather than open source, would make Microsoft's job of creating FUD a much more difficult task. Right now, their FUD is concentrated on attacking the open source community -- where they could actually compete based on the latter's focus on producing powerful software. If the system is to be referred to as GNU or free software, people would begin to realize the rationale behind software freedom as they become curious about GNU and Microsoft definitely would not be able to compete with free software and the message it carries. Freedom is a positive message, not a negative message. Computer users in the 70s and early 80s did not have freedom because they did not care enough about it -- until the GNU Project came along. Everybody collaborated in the spirit of the freedom message (GPL) and the community gained our liberty in 1992 when Linus's work carried us across the finishing line. It was the first time in history that one could use a computer in freedom. The free software community in Singapore is currently at its infancy stage -- an entire generation of Singaporeans had grew up thinking it is actually normal to be denied basic rights and freedom when they relate to software. If this situation continues to degrade further, within five or ten years time we would be in serious trouble. The GNU operating system formulated out of the rise of visionaries over those who valued the practical benefits like convenience and reliability. The latter traded away channels of collaboration for a restrictive environment where third parties could dictate the terms of collaboration and their use of the software. And now, those pragmatists have inherited GNU and they are destined to lose it. Regards Koh Choon Lin Singapore GNU Group
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