[Top][All Lists]
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
www/gnu gnu-linux-faq.html
From: |
Waclaw Jacek |
Subject: |
www/gnu gnu-linux-faq.html |
Date: |
Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:32:46 +0000 |
CVSROOT: /web/www
Module name: www
Changes by: Waclaw Jacek <wwj> 10/11/13 00:32:46
Modified files:
gnu : gnu-linux-faq.html
Log message:
adding an anchor reference ID to all of the links on
gnu/gnu-linux-faq.html in smaller print
CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/gnu/gnu-linux-faq.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.97&r2=1.98
Patches:
Index: gnu-linux-faq.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /web/www/www/gnu/gnu-linux-faq.html,v
retrieving revision 1.97
retrieving revision 1.98
diff -u -b -r1.97 -r1.98
--- gnu-linux-faq.html 13 Nov 2010 00:17:49 -0000 1.97
+++ gnu-linux-faq.html 13 Nov 2010 00:32:43 -0000 1.98
@@ -225,7 +225,7 @@
<dl>
<dt id="why">Why do you call it GNU/Linux and not
- Linux?</dt>
+ Linux? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#why">#why</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>Most operating system distributions based on Linux as kernel are
basically modified versions of the GNU operating system. We began
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@
history.</p> </dd>
<dt id="whycare">Why is the name
- important?</dt>
+ important? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#whycare">#whycare</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>Although the developers of Linux, the kernel, are contributing to
the free software community, many of them do not care about freedom.
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="howerror">How did it come about that most
- people call the system “Linux”?</dt>
+ people call the system “Linux”? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#howerror">#howerror</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>Calling the system “Linux” is a confusion that has spread
faster
than the corrective information.
@@ -287,7 +287,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="always">Should we always say
- “GNU/Linux” instead of “Linux”?</dt>
+ “GNU/Linux” instead of “Linux”? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#always">#always</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
Not always—only when you're talking about the whole system. When
you're referring specifically to the kernel, you should call it
@@ -303,7 +303,7 @@
<dt id="linuxalone">Would Linux have
achieved the same success if there had been no
- GNU?</dt>
+ GNU? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#linuxalone">#linuxalone</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
In that alternative world, there would be nothing today like the
@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="divide">Wouldn't it be better for the
- community if you did not divide people with this request?</dt>
+ community if you did not divide people with this request? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#divide">#divide</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
When we ask people to say “GNU/Linux”, we are not dividing people.
We
@@ -368,7 +368,7 @@
<dt id="freespeech">Doesn't the GNU project
support an individual's free speech rights to call the system by
- any name that individual chooses?</dt>
+ any name that individual chooses? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#freespeech">#freespeech</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
Yes, indeed, we believe you have a free speech right to call the
operating system by any name you wish. We ask that people call it
@@ -379,7 +379,7 @@
<dt id="everyoneknows">Since everyone knows
GNU's role in developing the system, doesn't the “GNU/” in the
- name go without saying?</dt>
+ name go without saying? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#everyoneknows">#everyoneknows</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>Experience shows that the system's users, and the computer-using
public in general, often know nothing about the GNU system. Most
@@ -401,7 +401,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="everyoneknows2">Since I know the role of GNU in this system,
- why does it matter what name I use?</dt>
+ why does it matter what name I use? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#everyoneknows2">#everyoneknows2</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
If your words don't reflect your knowledge, you don't teach others.
@@ -412,7 +412,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="windows">Isn't shortening “GNU/Linux”
- to “Linux” just like shortening “Microsoft
Windows” to “Windows”?</dt>
+ to “Linux” just like shortening “Microsoft
Windows” to “Windows”? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#windows">#windows</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
It's useful to shorten a frequently-used name, but not if the
@@ -430,7 +430,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="tools">Isn't GNU a collection of
- programming tools that were included in Linux?</dt>
+ programming tools that were included in Linux? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#tools">#tools</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
People who think that Linux is an entire operating system, if they
@@ -454,7 +454,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="osvskernel">What is the difference
-between an operating system and a kernel?</dt>
+between an operating system and a kernel? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#osvskernel">#osvskernel</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
An operating system, as we use the term, means a collection of
@@ -491,7 +491,7 @@
<dt id="house">The kernel of a system is like the foundation of a
house. How can a house be almost complete when it doesn't have a
- foundation?</dt>
+ foundation? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#house">#house</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
A kernel is not much like the foundation of a house because building
@@ -512,7 +512,7 @@
</p>
</dd>
-<dt id="brain">Isn't the kernel the brain of the system?</dt>
+<dt id="brain">Isn't the kernel the brain of the system? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#brain">#brain</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
A computer system is not much like a human body,
@@ -521,7 +521,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="kernelmost">Isn't writing the kernel most of the work in an
-operating system?</dt>
+operating system? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#kernelmost">#kernelmost</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
No, many components take a lot of work.
@@ -529,7 +529,7 @@
<dt id="afterkernel">We're calling the
whole system after the kernel, Linux. Isn't it normal to name an
- operating system after a kernel?</dt>
+ operating system after a kernel? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#afterkernel">#afterkernel</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
That practice seems to be very rare—we can't find any examples other
@@ -547,7 +547,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="long">The problem with “GNU/Linux” is that it is too long.
- How about recommending a shorter name?</dt>
+ How about recommending a shorter name? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#long">#long</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
For a while we tried the name “LiGNUx”, which combines the words
“GNU”
@@ -560,7 +560,7 @@
<dt id="justgnu">Since Linux is a secondary
contribution, would it be false to the facts to call the system simply
- “GNU”? (<a href="#justgnu">#justgnu</a>)</dt>
+ “GNU”? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#justgnu">#justgnu</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
It would not be false to the facts, but it is not the best thing to
@@ -591,7 +591,7 @@
<dt id="trademarkfee">I would have
to pay a fee if I use “Linux” in the name of a product, and
that
would also apply if I say “GNU/Linux”. Is it wrong if I use
“GNU”
- without “Linux”, to save the fee?</dt>
+ without “Linux”, to save the fee? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#trademarkfee">#trademarkfee</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
There's nothing wrong in calling the system “GNU”; basically,
that's
what it is. It is nice to give Linus Torvalds a share of the credit
@@ -606,7 +606,7 @@
the system as it is today; it includes TeX, X11, Apache, Perl, and many
more programs. Don't your arguments imply we have to give them credit
too? (But that would lead to a name so long it is
- absurd.)</dt>
+ absurd.) <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#many">#many</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
What we say is that you ought to give the system's principal developer
@@ -636,7 +636,7 @@
<dt id="others">Many other projects contributed to
the system as it is today, but they don't insist on calling it
- XYZ/Linux. Why should we treat GNU specially?</dt>
+ XYZ/Linux. Why should we treat GNU specially? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#others">#others</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
Thousands of projects have developed programs commonly included in
@@ -650,7 +650,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="allsmall">GNU is a small fraction of the system nowadays,
- so why should we mention it?</dt>
+ so why should we mention it? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#allsmall">#allsmall</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
In 2008, we found that GNU packages made up 15% of the
“main” repository of the gNewSense GNU/Linux distribution.
@@ -667,7 +667,7 @@
<dt id="manycompanies">Many companies
contributed to the system as it is today; doesn't that mean
- we ought to call it GNU/Redhat/Novell/Linux?</dt>
+ we ought to call it GNU/Redhat/Novell/Linux? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#manycompanies">#manycompanies</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
<p>
@@ -686,7 +686,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="whyslash">Why do you write “GNU/Linux”
-instead of “GNU Linux”?</dt>
+instead of “GNU Linux”? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#whyslash">#whyslash</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
Following the rules of English, in the construction “GNU Linux” the
@@ -720,7 +720,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="whyorder">Why “GNU/Linux” rather
-than “Linux/GNU”?</dt>
+than “Linux/GNU”? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#whyorder">#whyorder</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
It is right and proper to mention the principal contribution first.
@@ -733,7 +733,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="distronames">My distro is called
- “Foobar Linux”; doesn't that show it's really Linux?</dt>
+ “Foobar Linux”; doesn't that show it's really Linux? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#distronames">#distronames</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
<p>It means that the people who make the “Foobar Linux” distro are
@@ -742,7 +742,7 @@
<dt id="distronames1">My distro's official name is “Foobar
Linux”; isn't it wrong to call the distro
- anything but “Linux”?</dt>
+ anything but “Linux”? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#distronames1">#distronames1</a>)</span></dt>
<dd><p>If it's allowed for them to change “GNU” to
“Foobar Linux”, it's allowed for you to change it back and
@@ -752,7 +752,7 @@
<dt id="companies">Wouldn't it be more
effective to ask companies such as Mandrake, Red Hat and IBM to
call their distributions “GNU/Linux” rather than asking
- individuals?</dt>
+ individuals? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#companies">#companies</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
It isn't a choice of one or the other—we ask companies and
@@ -773,7 +773,7 @@
<dt id="reserve">Wouldn't it be better to
reserve the name “GNU/Linux” for distributions that are purely
- free software? After all, that is the ideal of GNU.</dt>
+ free software? After all, that is the ideal of GNU. <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#reserve">#reserve</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
The widespread practice of adding non-free software to the GNU/Linux
@@ -814,7 +814,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="gnudist">Why not make a GNU
- distribution of Linux (sic) and call that GNU/Linux?</dt>
+ distribution of Linux (sic) and call that GNU/Linux? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#gnudist">#gnudist</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
All the “Linux” distributions are actually versions of the GNU
system
@@ -834,7 +834,7 @@
<dt id="linuxgnu">Why not just say “Linux is
the GNU kernel” and release some existing version of GNU/Linux under
- the name “GNU”?</dt>
+ the name “GNU”? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#linuxgnu">#linuxgnu</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
It might have been a good idea to adopt Linux as the GNU kernel back
@@ -848,7 +848,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="condemn">Did the GNU Project condemn
- and oppose use of Linux in the early days?</dt>
+ and oppose use of Linux in the early days? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#condemn">#condemn</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
We did not adopt Linux as our kernel, but we didn't condemn or oppose
@@ -877,7 +877,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="wait">Why did you wait so
- long before asking people to use the name GNU/Linux?</dt>
+ long before asking people to use the name GNU/Linux? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#wait">#wait</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
<p>Actually we didn't. We began talking privately with developers and
@@ -886,7 +886,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="allgpled">Should the GNU/<i>name</i>
- convention be applied to all programs that are GPL'ed?</dt>
+ convention be applied to all programs that are GPL'ed? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#allgpled">#allgpled</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
We never refer to individual programs as “GNU/<i>name</i>”. When
a program
@@ -930,7 +930,7 @@
<dt id="unix">Since much of GNU comes
from Unix, shouldn't GNU give credit
-to Unix by using “Unix” in its name?</dt>
+to Unix by using “Unix” in its name? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#unix">#unix</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
Actually, none of GNU comes from Unix. Unix was proprietary software
@@ -973,7 +973,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="bsd">Should we say “GNU/BSD”
-too?</dt>
+too? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#bsd">#bsd</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
We don't call the BSD systems (FreeBSD, etc.) “GNU/BSD” systems,
@@ -1007,7 +1007,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="othersys">If I install the GNU tools
-on Windows, does that mean I am running a GNU/Windows system?</dt>
+on Windows, does that mean I am running a GNU/Windows system? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#othersys">#othersys</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
Not in the same sense that we mean by “GNU/Linux”. The tools of
GNU
@@ -1018,7 +1018,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="justlinux">Can't there be Linux systems
- without GNU?</dt>
+ without GNU? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#justlinux">#justlinux</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
There are systems that contain Linux and not GNU; Android is an example.
@@ -1035,7 +1035,7 @@
<dt id="helplinus">Why not call the system
“Linux” anyway, and strengthen Linus Torvalds' role as
posterboy for our
- community?</dt>
+ community? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#helplinus">#helplinus</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
Linus Torvalds is the “posterboy” (other people's choice of word,
not
@@ -1067,7 +1067,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="claimlinux">Isn't it wrong for us to label Linus Torvalds'
- work as GNU?</dt>
+ work as GNU? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#claimlinux">#claimlinux</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
It would be wrong, so we don't do that. Torvalds' work is Linux, the
@@ -1079,7 +1079,7 @@
<dt id="linusagreed">Does Linus Torvalds
- agree that Linux is just the kernel?</dt>
+ agree that Linux is just the kernel? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#linusagreed">#linusagreed</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
<p>He recognized this at the beginning. The earliest Linux release notes
@@ -1092,7 +1092,7 @@
<dt id="lost">The battle is already lost—society
has made its decision and we can't change it, so why even think about
- it?</dt>
+ it? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#lost">#lost</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
This isn't a battle, it is a campaign of education. What to call the
@@ -1105,7 +1105,7 @@
<dt id="whatgood">Society has made its
decision and we can't change it, so what good does it do if I say
- “GNU/Linux”?</dt>
+ “GNU/Linux”? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#whatgood">#whatgood</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
This is not an all-or-nothing situation: correct and incorrect
@@ -1120,7 +1120,7 @@
<dt id="explain">Wouldn't it be better to call
the system “Linux” and teach people its real origin with a
ten-minute
- explanation?</dt>
+ explanation? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#explain">#explain</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
If you help us by explaining to others in that way, we appreciate your
@@ -1144,7 +1144,7 @@
<dt id="treatment">Some people laugh at you
when you ask them to call the system GNU/Linux. Why do you subject
- yourself to this treatment?</dt>
+ yourself to this treatment? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#treatment">#treatment</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
Calling the system “Linux” tends to give people a mistaken picture
of
@@ -1166,7 +1166,7 @@
<dt id="alienate">Some people condemn you
when you ask them to call the system GNU/Linux. Don't you lose by
- alienating them?</dt>
+ alienating them? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#alienate">#alienate</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
Not much. People who don't appreciate our role in developing the
@@ -1183,7 +1183,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="rename">Whatever you contributed,
- is it legitimate to rename the operating system?</dt>
+ is it legitimate to rename the operating system? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#rename">#rename</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
We are not renaming anything; we have been calling this system
“GNU”
@@ -1191,7 +1191,7 @@
it to “Linux” should not have done so.</dd>
<dt id="force">Isn't it wrong to force people to call
-the system “GNU/Linux”?</dt>
+the system “GNU/Linux”? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#force">#force</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
It would be wrong to force them, and we don't try. We call the system
@@ -1199,7 +1199,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="whynotsue">Why not sue people who call
-the whole system “Linux”?</dt>
+the whole system “Linux”? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#whynotsue">#whynotsue</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
There are no legal grounds to sue them, but since we believe in
@@ -1208,7 +1208,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="require">Shouldn't you put something in
- the GNU GPL to require people to call the system “GNU”?</dt>
+ the GNU GPL to require people to call the system “GNU”? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#require">#require</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
The purpose of the GNU GPL is to protect the users' freedom from those
@@ -1223,7 +1223,7 @@
<dt id="BSDlicense">Since you objected to the original BSD license's
advertising requirement to give credit to the University of California,
-isn't it hypocritical to demand credit for the GNU project?</dt>
+isn't it hypocritical to demand credit for the GNU project? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#BSDlicense">#BSDlicense</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
It would be hypocritical to make the name GNU/Linux a license
@@ -1233,7 +1233,7 @@
<dt id="deserve">Since you failed to put
something in the GNU GPL to require people to call the system
“GNU”,
- you deserve what happened; why are you complaining now?</dt>
+ you deserve what happened; why are you complaining now? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#deserve">#deserve</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
The question presupposes a rather controversial general ethical
@@ -1245,7 +1245,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="contradict">Wouldn't you be better
- off not contradicting what so many people believe?</dt>
+ off not contradicting what so many people believe? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#contradict">#contradict</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
We don't think we should go along with large numbers of people because
@@ -1258,7 +1258,7 @@
</dd>
<dt id="somanyright">Since many people call
-it “Linux”, doesn't that make it right?</dt>
+it “Linux”, doesn't that make it right? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#somanyright">#somanyright</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
We don't think that the popularity of an error makes it the truth.
@@ -1267,7 +1267,7 @@
<dt id="winning">Many people care about what's
convenient or who's winning, not about arguments of right or wrong.
Couldn't you get more of their support by a different
- road?</dt>
+ road? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#winning">#winning</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
To care only about what's convenient or who's winning is an amoral
@@ -1333,7 +1333,7 @@
<p>Updated:
<!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2010/11/13 00:17:49 $
+$Date: 2010/11/13 00:32:43 $
<!-- timestamp end -->
</p>
</div>
[Prev in Thread] |
Current Thread |
[Next in Thread] |
- www/gnu gnu-linux-faq.html,
Waclaw Jacek <=