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www/gnu why-gnu-linux.html
|
From: |
Richard M. Stallman |
|
Subject: |
www/gnu why-gnu-linux.html |
|
Date: |
Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:57:10 +0000 |
CVSROOT: /webcvs/www
Module name: www
Changes by: Richard M. Stallman <rms> 09/10/18 03:57:10
Modified files:
gnu : why-gnu-linux.html
Log message:
Small corrections.
CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.41&r2=1.42
Patches:
Index: why-gnu-linux.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /webcvs/www/www/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html,v
retrieving revision 1.41
retrieving revision 1.42
diff -u -b -r1.41 -r1.42
--- why-gnu-linux.html 27 Aug 2009 17:10:42 -0000 1.41
+++ why-gnu-linux.html 18 Oct 2009 03:57:00 -0000 1.42
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" -->
-<h2>What's in a name?</h2>
+<h2>What's in a Name?</h2>
<p><strong>by <a href="http://www.stallman.org/";>Richard
Stallman</a></strong></p>
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
<p>
Names convey meanings; our choice of names determines the meaning of
what we say. An inappropriate name gives people the wrong idea. A
-rose by any name would smell as sweet—but if you call it a pen,
+rose by any other name would smell as sweet—but if you call it a pen,
people will be rather disappointed when they try to write with it.
And if you call pens “roses”, people may not realize what
they are good for. If you call our operating system
@@ -28,10 +28,11 @@
it <a href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">GNU/Linux</a>, that conveys
(though not in detail) an accurate idea.</p>
<p>
-But does this matter for our community? Is it important whether people
+Does this really matter for our community? Is it important whether people
know the system's origin, history, and purpose? Yes—because people
who forget history are often condemned to repeat it. The Free World
-which has developed around <a href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">GNU/Linux</a> is
not secure; the problems that
+that has developed around <a href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">GNU/Linux</a>
+is not guaranteed to survive; the problems that
led us to develop GNU are not completely eradicated, and they threaten
to come back.</p>
@@ -54,7 +55,8 @@
the job were done and it were time to relax. If only that were true!
But challenges abound, and this is no time to take the future for
granted. Our community's strength rests on commitment to freedom and
-cooperation. Using the name <a href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">GNU/Linux</a>
is a way for people to remind
+cooperation. Using the name <a href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">GNU/Linux</a>
+is a way for people to remind
themselves and inform others of these goals.</p>
<p>
@@ -62,26 +64,26 @@
much good work has been done in the name of Linux also. But the term
“Linux” has been associated ever since it was first coined
with a philosophy that does not make a commitment to the freedom to
-cooperate. As the name becomes used increasingly by business, we will
+cooperate. As the name is increasingly used by business, we will
have even more trouble making it connect with community spirit.</p>
<p>
A great challenge to the future of free software comes from the
tendency of the “Linux” distribution companies to add
-non-free software to <a href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">GNU/Linux</a>
+nonfree software to <a href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">GNU/Linux</a>
in the name of convenience and power. All the major commercial
-distribution developers do this; none produces a distribution that is
-entirely free. Most of them do not clearly identify the non-free
-packages in their distributions. Many even develop non-free software
+distribution developers do this; none limits itself to free software.
+Most of them do not clearly identify the nonfree
+packages in their distributions. Many even develop nonfree software
and add it to the system. Some outrageously advertise
“Linux” systems that are “licensed per seat”,
which give the user as much freedom as Microsoft Windows.</p>
<p>
-People justify adding non-free software in the name of the
+People try to justify adding nonfree software in the name of the
“popularity of Linux”—in effect, valuing popularity above
freedom. Sometimes this is openly admitted. For instance, Wired
-Magazine says Robert McMillan, editor of Linux Magazine, “feels
+Magazine said that Robert McMillan, editor of Linux Magazine, “feels
that the move toward open source software should be fueled by
technical, rather than political, decisions.” And Caldera's
<acronym title="Chief Executive Officer">CEO</acronym> openly urged
@@ -93,47 +95,45 @@
-->
<p>
-Adding non-free software to the <a
+Adding nonfree software to the <a
href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">GNU/Linux</a> system may increase the
popularity, if by popularity we mean the number of people using some
of <a href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">GNU/Linux</a> in combination with
-non-free software. But at the same time, it implicitly encourages the
-community to accept non-free software as a good thing, and forget the
-goal of freedom. It is no use driving faster if you can't stay on the
+nonfree software. But at the same time, it implicitly encourages the
+community to accept nonfree software as a good thing, and forget the
+goal of freedom. It is not good to drive faster if you can't stay on the
road.</p>
<p>
-When the non-free “add-on” is a library or programming
+When the nonfree “add-on” is a library or programming
tool, it can become a trap for free software developers. When they
-write free software that depends on the non-free package, their
+write free software that depends on the nonfree package, their
software cannot be part of a completely free system. Motif and Qt
trapped large amounts of free software in this way in the past,
creating problems whose solutions took years. The Motif problem is
still not entirely solved, since LessTif needs some polishing (please
-volunteer!). Sun's non-free Java implementation is now having a
-similar effect: the <a href="/philosophy/java-trap.html">Java Trap</a>
-(Historical note: As of December 2006 Sun is in the middle
-of <a href="http://www.fsf.org/news/fsf-welcomes-gpl-java.html";>rereleasing
-its Java platform under GNU GPL</a>.)</p>
+volunteer!). Later, Sun's nonfree Java implementation had a
+similar effect: the <a href="/philosophy/java-trap.html">Java Trap</a>,
+fortunately no longer active.</p>
<p>
If our community keeps moving in this direction, it could redirect the
-future of <a href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">GNU/Linux</a> into a mosaic of
free and non-free components.
+future of <a href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">GNU/Linux</a> into a mosaic of
free and nonfree components.
Five years from now, we will surely still have plenty of free
software; but if we are not careful, it will hardly be usable without
-the non-free software that users expect to find with it. If this
+the nonfree software that users expect to find with it. If this
happens, our campaign for freedom will have failed.</p>
<p>
If releasing free alternatives were simply a matter of programming,
solving future problems might become easier as our community's
-development resources increase. But we face obstacles which threaten to
+development resources increase. But we face obstacles that threaten to
make this harder: laws that prohibit free software. As software patents
mount up, and as laws like the <abbr title="Digital Millennium Copyright
Act">DMCA</abbr> are used to prohibit the development of free software
for important jobs such as viewing a DVD or listening to a RealAudio
stream, we will find ourselves with no clear way to fight the patented
-and secret data formats except to <strong>reject the non-free programs
+and secret data formats except to <strong>reject the nonfree programs
that use them</strong>.</p>
<p>
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@
remember the goal of freedom to cooperate. We can't expect a mere
desire for powerful, reliable software to motivate people to make
great efforts. We need the kind of determination that people have
-when they fight for their freedom and their community, determination
+when they fight for their freedom and their community—determination
to keep on for years and not give up.</p>
<p>
@@ -152,11 +152,12 @@
“Linux” normally don't say this. The magazines about
“Linux” are typically full of ads for non-free software;
the companies that package “Linux” add non-free software
-to the system; other companies “support Linux” with
-non-free applications; the user groups for “Linux”
-typically invite salesman to present those applications. The main
-place people in our community are likely to come across the idea of
-freedom and determination is in the GNU Project.</p>
+to the system; other companies “support Linux” by
+developing nonfree applications to run on GNU/Linux; the user groups
+for “Linux” typically invite salesman to present those
+applications. The main place people in our community are likely to
+come across the idea of freedom and determination is in the GNU
+Project.</p>
<p>
But when people come across it, will they feel it relates to them?</p>
@@ -191,7 +192,7 @@
<p>
-P.S. For an explanation of the history of the GNU/Linux system as it
+PS: For an explanation of the history of the GNU/Linux system as it
relates to this issue of naming, see
<a
href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">http://www.gnu.org/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html</a>.
For answers to other questions and arguments about this issue, see the
@@ -232,7 +233,7 @@
<p>
Updated:
<!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2009/08/27 17:10:42 $
+$Date: 2009/10/18 03:57:00 $
<!-- timestamp end -->
</p>
</div>
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