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www/gnu po/gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn.po gnu-linux-faq...


From: GNUN
Subject: www/gnu po/gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn.po gnu-linux-faq...
Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2018 20:57:55 -0400 (EDT)

CVSROOT:        /web/www
Module name:    www
Changes by:     GNUN <gnun>     18/04/06 20:57:55

Modified files:
        gnu/po         : gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn.po 
Added files:
        gnu            : gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn.html 
        gnu/po         : gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn-en.html 

Log message:
        Automatic update by GNUnited Nations.

CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/gnu/gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn.html?cvsroot=www&rev=1.1
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/gnu/po/gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn.po?cvsroot=www&r1=1.3&r2=1.4
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/gnu/po/gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn-en.html?cvsroot=www&rev=1.1

Patches:
Index: po/gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn.po
===================================================================
RCS file: /web/www/www/gnu/po/gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn.po,v
retrieving revision 1.3
retrieving revision 1.4
diff -u -b -r1.3 -r1.4
--- po/gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn.po   7 Apr 2018 00:52:19 -0000       1.3
+++ po/gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn.po   7 Apr 2018 00:57:55 -0000       1.4
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@
 "MIME-Version: 1.0\n"
 "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8\n"
 "Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit\n"
-"X-Outdated-Since: 2018-03-31 00:55+0000\n"
 
 #. type: Content of: <title>
 msgid "GNU/Linux FAQ - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation"

Index: gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn.html
===================================================================
RCS file: gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn.html
diff -N gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn.html
--- /dev/null   1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 -0000
+++ gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn.html    7 Apr 2018 00:57:55 -0000       1.1
@@ -0,0 +1,994 @@
+<!--#set var="ENGLISH_PAGE" value="/gnu/gnu-linux-faq.en.html" -->
+
+<!--#include virtual="/server/header.zh-cn.html" -->
+<!-- Parent-Version: 1.84 -->
+
+<!-- This file is automatically generated by GNUnited Nations! -->
+<title>GNU/Linux问答 - GNU工程 - 自由软件基金会</title>
+
+<!--#include virtual="/gnu/po/gnu-linux-faq.translist" -->
+<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.zh-cn.html" -->
+<h2>Richard Stallman之GNU/Linux问答</h2>
+
+<div class="announcement">
+  <blockquote><p>要了解更多,你还可以阅读我们关于<a 
href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">Linux和GNU工程</a>的网页、关于<a
+href="/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html">为什么是GNU/Linux?</a>的网页和关于<a
+href="/gnu/gnu-users-never-heard-of-gnu.html">从未听说过GNU的GNU用户</a>的网页。</p></blockquote>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+当人们看到我们使用并建议GNU/Linux作为系统名称,而å…
¶ä»–人称之为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;时,他们会问许多问题。此处列举了常见问题以及我们的回答。</p>
+
+<ul>
+
+<li><a href="#why">为什么你
称该系统为GNU/Linux而不是Linux?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#whycare">为什么名称是重要的?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#what">GNU和Linux究竟是什么关系?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#howerror">为什么大多数人会叫该系统为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#always">我们是否总要说&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;而不要说&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#linuxalone">如果没有GNU,Linux还会这么成功吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#divide">如果我们不按这æ 
·çš„要求分裂人群,对社区不是更好吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#freespeech">难道GNU工程不支持每个人按自己的选择为系统命名的言论自由吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a
+href="#everyoneknows">由于每个人都知道GNU在系统开发中的角色,难道名字里不说&ldquo;GNU/&rdquo;不是一æ
 ·å—?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#everyoneknows2">我了解GNU在系统中的角色,为什么我用什么名字还有å
…³ç³»ï¼Ÿ</a></li>
+
+<li><a
+href="#windows">把&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;缩写为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;不正好和把&ldquo;Microsoft
+Windows&rdquo;缩写&ldquo;Windows&rdquo;类似吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#tools">难道GNU作为编程工具的集合不是包
含在Linux之中了?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#osvskernel">操作系统和内核有什么不同?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#house">系统的内æ 
¸æ­£å¦‚房屋的基础。在没有基础的时候,房屋怎么就几
乎完成了?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#brain">内核不是系统的大脑吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#kernelmost">编写内æ 
¸ä¸æ˜¯æž„建操作系统的主要工作吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a
+href="#notinstallable">如果我拿不到一个叫&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;的东西并安è£
…之,GNU怎么能叫一个操作系统?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#afterkernel">我们用内æ 
¸æ¥ç§°å‘¼æ•´ä¸ªç³»ç»Ÿï¼ŒLinux。用内æ 
¸å‘½åæ“ä½œç³»ç»Ÿä¸æ˜¯æ­£å¸¸çš„吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#feel">另外的系统能不能有&ldquo;Linux的感觉&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#long">问题是&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;太长了。用一个更短的名字怎么æ
 ·ï¼Ÿ</a></li>
+
+<li><a
+href="#long1">该系统叫&ldquo;GliNUx&rdquo;(替换掉&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;)怎么æ
 ·ï¼Ÿ</a></li>
+
+<li><a
+href="#long2">问题是&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;太长了。为什么我要自找麻烦说&ldquo;GNU/&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a
+href="#long3">不幸的是,&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;有5个音节。人们不会使用这么长的术语。ä½
 éš¾é“不该找个更短的术语?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#justgnu">由于Linux是次要的贡献,难道简单称该系统为&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;有错吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a
+href="#trademarkfee">如果产品名称使用&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;要付费,那么使用&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;也一æ
 
·ä»˜è´¹ã€‚难道使用&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;而不带&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;不是可以省去该费用?</a></li>
+
+<li><a
+href="#many">到今天,许多项目都为该系统做出了贡献;其中包
括TeX、X11、Apache、Perl和许多其他程序。你
的论点不是意味着它们也应该获得荣誉?(但是这æ 
·çš„话名字就长得可笑了。)</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#others">到今天,许多项目都为该系统做出了贡献,但是它们并没有坚持要叫XYZ/Linux。为什么要对GNU特殊对å¾
…呢?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#allsmall">如今,GNU只是系统的一小部分,为什么我们要提及它呢?</a></li>
+
+<li><a
+href="#manycompanies">如今,许多å…
¬å¸ä¸ºç³»ç»Ÿåšå‡ºäº†è´¡çŒ®ï¼›éš¾é“我们不应该称之为GNU/Red&nbsp;Hat/Novell/Linux?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#whyslash">为什么要写成&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;而不是&ldquo;GNU
+Linux&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a
+href="#whyorder">为什么是&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;而不是&ldquo;Linux/GNU&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#distronames0">发行版的开发者叫它&ldquo;Foobar
+Linux&rdquo;,但是该名字没有å…
³äºŽç³»ç»Ÿç»„成的任何信息。他们为什么不能愿意叫什么就叫什么呢?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#distronames">我的发行版叫&ldquo;Foobar 
Linux&rdquo;;难道它不就是Linux吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#distronames1">我的发行版正式名称是&ldquo;Foobar
+Linux&rdquo;;不叫它&ldquo;Foobar Linux&rdquo;不就错了吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#companies">难道让诸如Mandrake、Red
+Hat和IBM之类的å…
¬å¸ç§°å®ƒä»¬çš„发行版为&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;不是比普通群众更有效?</a></li>
+
+<li><a
+href="#reserve">把名称&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;保留给完å…
¨çš„自由软件不是更好吗?归æ 
¹ç»“底,这就是GNU的理想嘛。</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#gnudist">为什么不构造
一个Linux(sic)的GNU发行版并称之为GNU/Linux?</a></li>
+
+<li><a
+href="#linuxgnu">为什么不简单地说&ldquo;Linux是GNU的内æ 
¸&rdquo;并把现有的GNU/Linux版本用&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;发布?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#condemn">GNU工程早期指责和反对过使用Linux吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#wait">为什么你们等了这么久
才请求人们使用GNU/Linux这个名称?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#allgpled">GNU/<i>name</i>这一命名规则要应用于所有的GPL程序吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a
+href="#unix">由于GNU基本来自Unix,难道GNU不应该尊重Unix并以&ldquo;Unix&rdquo;作为名字的一部分?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#bsd">我们也应该说&ldquo;GNU/BSD&rdquo;吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#othersys">如果我在Windows上安装了GNUå·¥å…
·ï¼Œè¿™æ„å‘³ç€æˆ‘要说我运行了GNU/Windows系统?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#justlinux">Linux没有GNU就不能用了吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#howmuch">需要多少GNU的系统才要叫做GNU/Linux系统?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#linuxsyswithoutgnu">有没有不带GNU的完整的Linux系统[sic]?</a></li>
+
+<li><a
+href="#usegnulinuxandandroid">如果我们指的是使用GNU/Linux和Android,那么我们说&ldquo;使用Linux&rdquo;对吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#helplinus">为什么不就干脆叫该系统为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;,并以此强化Linus
+Torvalds作为社区的广告人物?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#claimlinux">难道我们把Linus Torvalds的成果æ 
‡è®°ä¸ºGNU不是错误吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#linusagreed">Linus Torvalds同意Linux只是内æ 
¸çš„说法吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#finishhurd">为什么不完成GNU Hurd内æ 
¸ã€å‘布整个GNU系统并把GNU/Linux的问题抛在脑后?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#lost">战斗已经失败了&mdash;社区已经做出了选择而我们无
法更改,为什么还纠结这事儿?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#whatgood">社区已经做出了选择而我们无
法更改,如果我说&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;又有什么用呢?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#explain">把系统叫做&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;再花10分钟教育人们å…
¶æ¥é¾™åŽ»è„‰ä¸æ˜¯æ›´å¥½å—?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#treatment">当你
让他们叫该系统为GNU/Linux时,人们会嘲笑你。你
何苦让自己受这个刺激呢?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#alienate">当你
让他们叫该系统为GNU/Linux时,人们会指责你
。疏远他们,不也是损失?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#rename">无论你做了什么贡献,你
有权重命名系统吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#force">强制人们叫它&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;系统不是错误吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#whynotsue">为什么不控告哪些叫整个系统为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;的人?</a></li>
+
+<li><a
+href="#BSDlicense">由于你
曾经反对原始BSD许可证要求通过广告致谢加
利福尼亚大学,所以你
现在要求致谢GNU工程不是虚伪吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#require">难道不能在GNU 
GPL中要求人们称该系统为&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#deserve">由于你没有在GNU
+GPL中要求人们称该系统为&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;,所以事情
就应该发生;为什么你现在又抱怨呢?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#contradict">如果你们不和这么多人作对,情
况不是更好吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#somanyright">由于许多人都叫它&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;,不正说明这是正确的?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#knownname">把系统名称按ç…
§å¤§å¤šæ•°ç”¨æˆ·å·²çŸ¥çš„名称来叫不是更好吗?</a></li>
+
+<li><a 
href="#winning">许多人在乎的是哪里方便或谁个获胜,而不是谁是谁非。通过不同的方式不是能获得更多的支持吗?</a></li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<dl>
+
+<dt id="why">为什么你称该系统为GNU/Linux而不是Linux?<span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#why">#why</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>大多数使用Linux内æ 
¸çš„操作系统发行版基本上是GNU操作系统的修改版。我们在1984年就开始开发GNU工程,比Linus
+Torvalds开始写他的内核要早好多年。我们的目æ 
‡æ˜¯å¼€å‘一个完å…
¨çš„自由操作系统。当然,我们没有自己开发所有的部件&mdash;但是我们指引了方向。我们开发了大多数æ
 
¸å¿ƒéƒ¨ä»¶ï¼Œå®ƒä»¬æž„成了整个系统单一的最大贡献部分。基础版本也来自我们的贡献。
+<p>
+为了公平,我们至少应该被平等对待。</p>
+
+<p>请参看<a href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">Linux和GNU系统</a>与<a
+href="/gnu/gnu-users-never-heard-of-gnu.html">从未听说过GNU的GNU用户</a>来了解更多说明,并参看<a
+href="/gnu/the-gnu-project.html">GNU工程</a>来了解历史。</p> </dd>
+
+<dt id="whycare">为什么名称是重要的?<span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#whycare">#whycare</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>虽然Linux内核的开发者
对自由软件社区做出了贡献,但是其中许多人并不å…
³å¿ƒè‡ªç”±ã€‚认为整个系统就是Linux的人往往弄混淆了,他们赋予了这些å†
…核开发者实际上他们在社区中æ 
¹æœ¬æ²¡æœ‰æ‰®æ¼”的历史角色。然后,他们就给这些开发者
的观点以超乎寻常的份量。
+<p>
+称该系统为GNU/Linux确认了我们的理想在社区建设中的角色,并<a
+href="/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html">帮助公众了解这些理念的实际
重要性</a>。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="what">GNU和Linux究竟是什么关系?<span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#what">#what</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>GNU操作系统和Linux内æ 
¸æ˜¯ç‹¬ç«‹çš„软件项目,它们完成互补的工作。通常,它们会打åŒ
ɌϬ<a
+href="/distros/distros.html">GNU/Linux发行版</a>里,并被一起使用。</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="howerror">为什么大多数人会叫该系统为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;?<span
 class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#howerror">#howerror</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>称该系统为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;是一个混淆,该混淆传
播得比正确的信息要快。
+<p>
+把Linux和GNU系统结合在一起的人不曾意识到他们的努力合起来是什么。他们的注意力集中在Linux部分,而没有意识到GNU才是更大的部分。他们开始称之为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;,虽然这个名字并不适合他们所获得的系统。å‡
 
年后我们才意识到这个问题,并请求人们更改。那时,这个混淆已经遥遥领å
…ˆäº†ã€‚</p>
+<p>
+大多数称该系统为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;的人从来没有听说过为什么这不对。他们看到å
…
¶ä»–人这么用,就理所当然地认为这一定是对的。&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;这个名字还ä¼
 æ’­äº†é”™è¯¯çš„系统渊源,因
为人们一般会认为系统的历史一定和该名字相å…
³ã€‚比如,他们通常相信系统的开发是由Linus
+Torvalds在1991年开始的。这个错误的场景又会加
强系统应该叫做&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;的想法。</p>
+<p>
+本文中的许多问题表达了人们想要为他们习
以为常的名字辩护的诉求。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="always">我们是否总要说&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;而不要说&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#always">#always</a>)</span></dt>
+<dd>
+不是总要&mdash;只有当我们在谈论整个系统时。如果你特指内
核,那么你应该说&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;,其开发者选择的名字。
+<p>
+当人们称整个系统为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;时,其后果就是他们用内
核的名字来称呼整个系统。这造成了许多混淆,因
为只有专家才可以辨别什么时候说的是内æ 
¸ä»€ä¹ˆæ—¶å€™è¯´çš„是整个系统。把整个系统称为&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;,并把å†
…核称为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;,你就避免了歧义。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="linuxalone">如果没有GNU,Linux还会这么成功吗?<span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#linuxalone">#linuxalone</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+如果是那样的话,可能就不会有像今天这æ 
·çš„GNU/Linux系统,而且可能没有任何的自由操作系统。除了GNU工程和(后来的)Berkeley
+CSRG,在20世纪80年代没有人会开发自由的操作系统,CSRG也是在GNU工程的明确请求下开始代ç
 è‡ªç”±åŒ–的。
+<p>
+Linus
+Torvalds部分受到1990年在芬兰的一场å…
³äºŽGNU的演讲的影响。没有这个演讲,他也可能会写出一个类Unix的å†
…æ 
¸ï¼Œä½†æ˜¯å®ƒå¯èƒ½ä¸ä¼šæ˜¯è‡ªç”±è½¯ä»¶ã€‚Linux在1992年,当Linus把它按GNU
+GPL发布时,成为自由软件。(参看0.12版的发布说明。)</p>
+<p>
+即使Torvalds使用其他自由许可证发布Linux,单单一个自由的内
核也无法改变世界。Linux正好适合一个更大的框架、一个完å…
¨çš„自由操作系统:GNU/Linux,这样它才变得显眼。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="divide">如果你们不按这æ 
·çš„要求分裂人群,对社区不是更好吗?<span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#divide">#divide</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+当我们请求人们说&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;时,我们不是在分裂群众。我们是在请求他们给予GNU操作系统的GNU工程荣誉。这并没有批评或驱赶任何人。
+<p>
+不过,有人不喜欢我们这æ 
·è¯´ã€‚有时,这些人会反过来驱赶我们。有个别情
况,这些人是如此粗鲁以至于我们不得不想,他们是不是存心要胁迫我们保持沉默。这没有使我们沉默,但是这确实要分裂社区,所以我们希望ä½
 ä»¬èƒ½å¤Ÿè¯´æœä»–们不要这样做。</p>
+<p>
+不过,这只是分裂社区的一个次要因素
。社区最大的分裂在于欣赏自由软件作为社会和道德问题并认为专属软件是社会问题的人(自由软件运动的支持è€
…)和那些只讨论实际
利益并只把自由软件当作有效的开发模式的人(开源运动者
)之间的分裂。</p>
+<p>
+这种分歧不只是名称的问题&mdash;这是基本价值观的不同。社区看到和思考这个分歧很重要。&ldquo;自由软件&rdquo;和&ldquo;开源&rdquo;这两个名字就是这两部分的旗帜。请参看<a
+href="/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html">为什么开源错失了自由软件的重点</a>。</p>
+<p>
+这个价值分歧和人们å…
³æ³¨GNU工程在社区中角色中的份量部分吻合。看重自由价值的人们更倾向于叫这个系统为&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;,而了解该系统为&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;的人也更倾向于å
…
³æ³¨æˆ‘们对于自由和社区的哲学观点(这就是为什么系统名称的选择使社区非常不同的原å›
 
)。然而,即使每个人都知道系统的真正渊源和正确名称,分歧也可能还会存在,å›
 
为问题真的在那里。只有看重自由的我们说服每个人(不太容易)或è€
…我们被完全打败(希望不要如此),问题才会消失。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="freespeech">难道GNU工程不支持每个人按自己的选择为系统命名的言论自由吗?<span
 class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#freespeech">#freespeech</a>)</span></dt>
+<dd>
+是的,确实,我们相信你
有按自己的意愿称呼该操作系统的言论自由权利。我们请求大家称之为GNU/Linux是为了å
…¬æ­£åœ°å¯¹å¾…
GNU工程、是为了促进GNU代表的自由价值、是为了告诉大家正是这些自由价值才使该系统能够存在。
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="everyoneknows">由于每个人都知道GNU在系统开发中的角色,难道名字里不说&ldquo;GNU/&rdquo;不是一æ
 ·å—?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#everyoneknows">#everyoneknows</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>经验告诉我们该系统的用户以及普通的计算机用户通常对GNU并不了解。å
…³äºŽè¯¥ç³»ç»Ÿçš„大多数文章没有提及&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;这个名字或者
是GNU代表的理念。<a
+href="/gnu/gnu-users-never-heard-of-gnu.html">从未听说过GNU的GNU用户</a>一文有更详细的解释。
+<p>
+问这个问题的人可能认为他们认识的极客<sup><a
+href="#TransNote1">1</a></sup>抱有这个想法。极客通常知道GNU,但是很多极客å
…³äºŽGNU的概念是完全错误的。比如,许多人认为GNU是一个<a
+href="#tools">&ldquo;工具&rdquo;</a>集合,或者GNU是一个开发工å…
·çš„项目。</p>
+<p>
+此问题的用词也反映出了另一个å…
¸åž‹çš„常见错误。谈及&ldquo;GNU在开发中的角色&rdquo;时认为GNU是一群人。GNU是一个操作系统。讨论GNU工程的角色或å
…¶ä»–活动才有意义,而不是谈论GNU。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="everyoneknows2">我了解GNU在系统中的角色,为什么我用什么名字还有å
…³ç³»ï¼Ÿ<span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#everyoneknows2">#everyoneknows2</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+如果你说的话没有表达出你的认识,那么你
不是在教育别人。大多数听到过GNU/Linux系统的人认为这就是&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;,而它是由Linus
+Torvalds开始的,并且它要做的是&ldquo;开源&rdquo;。如果你
不告诉人们事实,谁来告诉他们呢?
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="windows">把&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;缩写为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;不正好和把&ldquo;Microsoft
+Windows&rdquo;缩写&ldquo;Windows&rdquo;类似吗?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#windows">#windows</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+把一个常用名称缩写是有用的,但是该缩写不能引起误解。
+<p>
+事实上,在发达国家里,几
乎所有人都知道是Microsoft(微软)开发了&ldquo;Windows&rdquo;系统,所以把&ldquo;Microsoft
+Windows&rdquo;缩写为&ldquo;Windows&rdquo;不会使人们误解该系统的属性和来源。但是,把&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;缩写为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;的确误导了该系统的起源。</p>
+<p>
+此问题本身就具有误导性,因
为GNU和Microsoft并不类似。Microsoft是一家å…
¬å¸ï¼›GNU是一个操作系统。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="tools">难道GNU作为编程工具的集合不是包
含在Linux之中了?<span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#tools">#tools</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+认为Linux就是整个操作系统的人,如果对GNU有所耳闻,对什么是GNU的概念往往是错误的。他们或许认为GNU是一个程序集合的名字&mdash;他们常常称之为&ldquo;编程工å
…·&rdquo;,因为我们的一些编程工å…
·æœ¬èº«ä¹Ÿæ‹›äººå–œæ¬¢ã€‚&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;就是操作系统的名字这一概念很难被贴上&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;æ
 ‡ç­¾çš„操作系统这一概念所接纳.
+<p>
+GNU工程由于GNU操作系统而得名&mdash;它是开发GNU系统的工程。(请参看<a
+href="/gnu/initial-announcement.html">1983的初始声明</a>。)</p>
+<p>
+我们开发了诸如GCC、GNU
+Emacs、GAS、GLIBC、BASH等程序,因
为GNU操作系统需要它们。GCC,GNU编译器集合是我们为GNU操作系统编写的编译器。我们,为GNU工程工作的一群人,也为GNU工程开发了Ghostscript、GNUCash、GNU
+Chess和GNOME。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="osvskernel">操作系统和内核有什么不同?<span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#osvskernel">#osvskernel</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+操作系统,对我们来说,代表着程序的集合,它们足以支持使用电脑完成多种多æ
 
·çš„任务。一个通用的操作系统,如果是完备的,就应该能够处理许多用户想要完成的所有任务。
+<p>
+内核是操作系统的程序之一&mdash;它为其他程序的运行分é…
æœºå™¨çš„资源。内核也负责开始和终止其他程序。</p>
+<p>
+混淆事情
的是,有些人也使用&ldquo;操作系统&rdquo;一词表示&ldquo;内æ 
¸&rdquo;。这两个意思都可以追溯到多年以前。使用&ldquo;操作系统&rdquo;一词表示&ldquo;å†
…æ 
¸&rdquo;的例子可以在80年代的一些系统设计教科书中找到。与此同时,也在80年代,&ldquo;Unix操作系统&rdquo;是按ç
…§åŒ…含所有系统程序来理解的,而Berkeley版的Unix甚至还包
括游戏。由于我们意在使GNU成为一个类Unix的操作系统,所以我们在使用&ldquo;操作系统&rdquo;一词时是指和Unix一æ
 ·çš„意思。</p>
+<p>
+大多数时间,人们谈及&ldquo;Linux操作系统&rdquo;时,他们用&ldquo;操作系统&rdquo;指的就是我们所说的意思:他们说的是整个程序集合。如果ä½
 æŒ‡çš„是这个,那么请叫它&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;。如果你
只是指内核,那么&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;是正确的名字,但是请你
也加上&ldquo;内核&rdquo;来避免混淆你要指明的程序。</p>
+<p>
+如果你
更爱使用诸如&ldquo;系统发行版&rdquo;之类的词来表示整个系统集合,而不用&ldquo;操作系统&rdquo;一词,也没问题。这时,ä½
 å¯èƒ½åº”该说GNU/Linux系统发行版。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="house">系统的内æ 
¸æ­£å¦‚房屋的基础。在没有基础的时候,房屋怎么就几
乎完成了?<span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#house">#house</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+内核并不像房屋的基础,因为构建操作系统并不像建造
房屋一样。
+
+<p>房屋是由许多通用的小部件构造
的,这些小部件在施工现场切割和组装。它们必
须由下而上组装在一起。因此,如果根基没有建好,你无
法建造其他部分;你只能看到一个地坑。</p>
+
+<p>
+相反,操作系统由许多复杂的部件构成,它们可以以任何顺序开发。当ä½
 å¼€å‘了大多数部件时,你
就完成了大部分工作。这更像是构造一个国际
空间站,而不是一个房屋。如果空间站的大多数部件都进å…
¥è½¨é“,只是在等一两个重要模块,那么这就类似GNU系统在1992年的æƒ
…形。
+</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="brain">内核不是系统的大脑吗?<span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#brain">#brain</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+电脑系统和人体不一样,其中没有一个部件担当和人脑一æ 
·çš„角色。
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="kernelmost">编写内æ 
¸ä¸æ˜¯æž„建操作系统的主要工作吗?<span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#kernelmost">#kernelmost</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+不,许多部件都要花费大量的劳动。
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="notinstallable">如果我拿不到一个叫&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;的东西并安è£
…之,GNU怎么能叫一个操作系统?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#notinstallable">#notinstallable</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+有许多<a
+href="/distros/distros.html">打好包的、可安装
的GNU版本</a>。它们都不是简单地叫做&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;,但是它们基本上就是GNU。
+
+<p>
+我们本来预计发布GNU系统的安装
版,不过该计划被一些活动取代了:其他人在1992年已经打包
了带有Linux的GNU分支。从1993年起,我们开始资助构建一个更好、更自由的GNU/Linux发行版,它就是<a
+href="/distros/common-distros.html#Debian">Debian
+GNU/Linux</a>。Debian的创建者
选的这个名字。我们不曾请他为之取名&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;,因
为GNU这个名字将用于带GNU
+Hurd内核的系统版本&mdash;当时还未就绪。</p>
+
+<p>
+GNU Hurd内核还没有充分准备好;我们仅向对为其工作感å…
´è¶£çš„人推荐GNU Hurd。所以我们没有将GNU和GNU
+Hurd内核一起打包。不过,Debian打包的Debian 
GNU/Hurd就是这个组合。</p>
+
+<p>
+目前我们正在开发一个叫做Guix的基于Scheme的先进包
管理系统,以及一个基于其上的完整系统发行版,叫做<a
+href="/software/guix">Guix系统发行版</a>或GuixSD。它重新打包
了大量的GNU系统的软件包。</p>
+
+<p>
+我们从来没有踏出最后一步&mdash;用&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;之名打包
GNU,但是这并不改变GNU的本质。GNU是一个操作系统。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="afterkernel">我们用内核来称呼整个系统,Linux。用内æ 
¸å‘½åæ“ä½œç³»ç»Ÿä¸æ˜¯æ­£å¸¸çš„吗?<span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#afterkernel">#afterkernel</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+这个用法似乎非常罕见&mdash;除了被错用的&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;之外,我们没有找到å
…
¶ä»–的例子。通常,操作系统是作为一个统一的项目开发的,而且å
…¶å¼€å‘人员会为整个系统选择一个名字。内æ 
¸é€šå¸¸æ²¡æœ‰è‡ªå·±çš„名字&mdash;反过来,人们会说&ldquo;某某系统的å†
…æ ¸&rdquo;或者是&ldquo;某某的系统内核&rdquo;。
+<p>
+由于这两种用法是同义词,所以&ldquo;Linux内æ 
¸&rdquo;很容易被误解为&ldquo;Linux的内核&rdquo;并暗示Linux必
定不单单是一个内核。你可以通过说或者写&ldquo;该内æ 
¸ï¼ŒLinux&rdquo;或&ldquo;Linux,内核&rdquo;来避å…
å¤§å®¶å¯èƒ½çš„误解。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="feel">另外的系统能不能有&ldquo;Linux的感觉&rdquo;?<span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#feel">#feel</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+并没有一种叫&ldquo;Linux的感觉&rdquo;的东西,因
为Linux没有用户界面。和所有当代内核一æ 
·ï¼ŒLinux是运行程序的基础;用户界面属于系统的å…
¶ä»–部分。人们在GNU/Linux上的交互总是通过å…
¶ä»–程序,而这就是&ldquo;感觉&rdquo;的来源。
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="long">问题是&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;太长了。用一个更短的名字怎么æ
 ·ï¼Ÿ<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#long">#long</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+有段时间,我们用了&ldquo;LiGNUx&rdquo;这个名字,它合并了&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;和&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;两个词。反应很不好。人们更接受&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;。
+<p>
+该系统最短的合法名称是&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;,不过我们称之为&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;,<a
+href="#justgnu">道理如下</a>。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="long1">该系统叫&ldquo;GliNUx&rdquo;(替换掉&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;)怎么æ
 ·ï¼Ÿ<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#long1">#long1</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+<p>&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;一词没有出现在&ldquo;Glinux,&rdquo;这个名字里,所以大多数人不会注意到GNU。即使写成大写的&ldquo;GliNUx,&rdquo;,大多数人也不会意识到这是在说GNU。</p>
+
+<p>它就像是在写&ldquo;GNU/Linux,&rdquo;,但是把&ldquo;GNU/&rdquo;写得很小,而让大多数人æ
 ¹æœ¬çœ‹ä¸åˆ°å®ƒã€‚</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="long2">问题是&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;太长了。为什么我要自找麻烦说&ldquo;GNU/&rdquo;?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#long2">#long2</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+<p>说出或者写出&ldquo;GNU/&rdquo;只需一秒钟。如果你
对我们开发的系统心怀感激,难道你
不愿意花一秒钟来表示肯定?</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="long3">不幸的是,&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;有5个音节。人们不会使用这么长的术语。ä½
 éš¾é“不该找个更短的术语?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#long3">#long3</a>)</span></dt>
+<dd><p>实际
上,&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;只有四个音节。&ldquo;Unfortunately(不幸一词)&rdquo;有五个音节,但是人们会毫不迟疑地使用它。</p></dd>
+
+<dt 
id="justgnu">由于Linux是次要的贡献,难道简单称该系统为&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;有错吗?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#justgnu">#justgnu</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+虽然这么说没错,但是这么做未见得最好。这里讲一下我们称整个系统版本为&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;而不ä»
…仅是&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;的原因:
+
+<ul>
+<li>
+它不是严格意义上的GNU&mdash;它带有不同的内æ 
¸ï¼ˆå°±æ˜¯ï¼ŒLinux)。区分GNU/Linux和GNU是有用的。</li>
+<li>
+请求人们<em>停止</em>给予Linus
+Torvalds荣誉不是绅
士所为。他确实编写了系统的一个重要部件。我们希望因
为发起和维护了该系统的开发而得到荣誉,但这并不是说我们要像那些称该系统为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;的人对å¾
…我们一样对待
Linus。我们强烈反对他的政治观点,但是我们对此采取真诚和å
…
¬å¼€çš„做法,而不是试图削弱他在系统贡献方面应得的荣誉。</li>
+<li>
+由于许多人对该系统的认识是&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;,如果我们说&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;,他们可能不会意识到我们说的是同一个系统。如果我们说&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;,他们就能够和他们原å
…ˆå¬è¯´çš„系统建立联系。</li>
+</ul><p></p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="trademarkfee">如果产品名称使用&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;要付费,那么使用&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;也一æ
 
·ä»˜è´¹ã€‚难道使用&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;而不带&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;不是可以省去该费用?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#trademarkfee">#trademarkfee</a>)</span></dt>
+<dd>
+将该系统叫做&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;并没有错;基本上,该系统就是这æ
 ·çš„。给予Linus
+Torvalds应得的荣誉也很好,但是你
并没有义务要为此支付费用。
+<p>
+所以如果你想简单称该系统为&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;,并以此避免因
为叫它&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;而付费,我们不会指责你。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="many">到今天,许多项目都为该系统做出了贡献;å…
¶ä¸­åŒ…括TeX、X11、Apache、Perl和许多其他程序。你
的论点不是意味着它们也应该获得荣誉?(但是这æ 
·çš„话名字就长得可笑了。)<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#many">#many</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+我们说的是你应该给予系统的主要开发者
应得的荣誉。主要开发者
就是GNU工程,而且该系统基本上就是GNU。
+<p>
+如果你还是强烈地想要给予人们应得的荣誉,那么你
会觉得一些次要的贡献者也应该在系统名称中得到荣誉。这æ 
·çš„话,我们也就没什么好争论的了。如果你
觉得X11应该体现在系统名称中,而且你
想称之为GNU/X11/Linux,没问题。如果你
觉得Perl也值得致意,而且想把系统名称写成GNU/Linux/Perl,尽管去做吧。</p>
+<p>
+由于像GNU/X11/Apache/Linux/TeX/Perl/Python/FreeCiv这æ 
·é•¿çš„名字会变得滑稽,所以你
终究会限制一个长度而许多次要的贡献将无法写å…
¥è¯¥åç§°ã€‚因为限制长度并没有明显的对错,所以无论你
怎么做,我们都不会反对。</p>
+<p>
+不同的长度会形成不同的系统名称。但是一个名字,无
论怎么样的长度限制,都不会是因为考虑到å…
¬å¹³å’Œè£èª‰è€Œå‡ºçŽ°çš„,它就是&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;。给予一个次要贡献è€
…(Linux)所有的荣誉而忽略主要的贡献者(GNU)不可能是å…
¬å¹³çš„。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="others">到今天,许多项目都为该系统做出了贡献,但是它们并没有坚持要叫XYZ/Linux。为什么要对GNU特殊对å¾
…呢?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#others">#others</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+今天的GNU/Linux系统通常包
含有数千个项目开发的程序。它们的贡献都应该得到荣誉,但是整体来看它们不是系统的主要开发è€
…,所以它们没有要求类似的荣誉。
+<p>
+GNU不同,因
为它的贡献不只是一个程序,也不只是一个程序集合。GNU是整个系统得以构建的框架。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="allsmall">如今,GNU只是系统的一小部分,为什么我们要提及它呢?<span
 class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#allsmall">#allsmall</a>)</span></dt>
+<dd>
+在2008年,我们发现GNU包在gNewSense
+GNU/Linux发行版的&ldquo;主&rdquo;包中占有15%的份额。Linux占
有1.5%的份额。所以,同æ 
·çš„争议对&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;这一名称更有挑战性。
+
+<p>
+今天,GNU是系统的一小部分,而Linux就更小了。但是他们是系统的æ
 ¸å¿ƒï¼›ç³»ç»Ÿç”±äºŒè€…合并而成。因
此,称之为&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;还是合适的。
+</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="manycompanies">如今,许多å…
¬å¸ä¸ºç³»ç»Ÿåšå‡ºäº†è´¡çŒ®ï¼›éš¾é“我们不应该称之为GNU/Red&nbsp;Hat/Novell/Linux?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#manycompanies">#manycompanies</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+<p>
+不能把GNU和Red
+Hat或Novell相比较;GNU不是一个å…
¬å¸ï¼Œä¹Ÿä¸æ˜¯ä¸€ä¸ªç»„织,更不是一个活动。GNU是一个操作系统。(当我们说GNU工程时,我们指的是开发GNU系统的工程。)GNU/Linux系统基于GNU,而这就是为什么GNU应该出现在系统名称里。
+</p>
+<p>
+这些公司对GNU/Linux系统的贡献在于他们对多个GNU包的代ç 
è´¡çŒ®ï¼Œå…¶ä¸­åŒ…括GCC和GNOME。命名GNU/Linux就是给予这些å…
¬å¸ä»¥åŠæ‰€æœ‰å…¶ä»–GNU开发者荣誉。
+</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="whyslash">为什么要写成&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;而不是&ldquo;GNU 
Linux&rdquo;?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#whyslash">#whyslash</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+根据英语语法规则,在&ldquo;GNU
+Linux&rdquo;中,&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;一词修饰&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;。它或者
是说&ldquo;GNU版的Linux&rdquo;,或者是说&ldquo;Linux,是一个GNU包
。&rdquo;哪个意思都不适合当下的情况。
+<p>
+Linux不是一个GNU包
;就是说,它不是在GNU工程的庇护下开发的,也不是专门贡献给GNU工程的。Linus
+Torvalds独立编写了Linux,作为他自己的项目。所以&ldquo;Linux,是一个GNUåŒ
…&rdquo;的说法不对。</p>
+<p>
+我们不是在讨论特别针对GNU的Linux内æ 
¸ç‰ˆæœ¬ã€‚GNU/Linux发行版确实有一个<a
+href="http://directory.fsf.org/project/linux";>独立的Linux版本</a>,这是由于&ldquo;æ
 
‡å‡†çš„&rdquo;版本带有非自由的固件&ldquo;blobs&rdquo;。如果这曾是GNU工程的一部分,那么可以考虑叫它&ldquo;GNU
+Linux&rdquo;;不过我们不想这么叫,因为这太令人迷惑了。</p>
+<p>
+我们讨论的是GNU操作系统的一个版本,它由于带有Linux内æ 
¸è€ŒåŒºåˆ«äºŽå…¶ä»–GNU版本。斜杠适合此情况,因
为它表示&ldquo;联合。&rdquo;(类似&ldquo;输å…
¥/输出&rdquo;。)该系统是GNU和Linux的联合;因
此,它叫&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;。</p>
+<p>
+还有其他的方法表示&ldquo;联合&rdquo;。如果你认为加号更清
楚,请使用加号。在法语中,横线就很清
楚:&ldquo;GNU-Linux&rdquo;。在西班牙语中,我们有时说&ldquo;GNU
+con Linux&rdquo;。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="whyorder">为什么是&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;而不是&ldquo;Linux/GNU&rdquo;?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#whyorder">#whyorder</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+<p>
+首先论及主要的贡献者
是正当和合理的。GNU对系统的贡献不仅
大于Linux,而且也早于Linux。实际
上,是我们发起了整个活动。</p>
+<p>
+另外,&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;这个名字对Linux是系统最底层而GNU是技术面的更上层这一æƒ
…况也是恰当的。</p>
+<p>
+不过,如果你
更愿意说&ldquo;Linux/GNU&rdquo;,这也比大多数人完å…
¨ä¸æGNU而把整个系统当作Linux要好得多。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="distronames0">发行版的开发者叫它&ldquo;Foobar
+Linux&rdquo;,但是该名字没有å…
³äºŽç³»ç»Ÿç»„成的任何信息。他们为什么不能愿意叫什么就叫什么呢?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#distronames0">#distronames0</a>)</span></dt>
+<dd>
+称系统为&ldquo;Foobar 
Linux&rdquo;暗示它是&ldquo;Linux,&rdquo;的一个分支,并且人们<a
+href="#distronames">也是这样理解的</a>。
+
+<p>
+如果有人说一个GNU/Linux发行版&ldquo;Foobar
+BSD&rdquo;,你会说这是个错误。你可能会这æ 
·å‘Šè¯‰ä»–们,&ldquo;这个系统不是BSD&rdquo;。不过,它也不是Linux。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="distronames">我的发行版叫&ldquo;Foobar 
Linux&rdquo;;难道它不就是Linux吗?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a 
href="#distronames">#distronames</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+<p>这意味着制作&ldquo;Foobar
+Linux&rdquo;发行版的人在重复这个常见的错误。我们感谢Debian、Dragora、Musix、Trisquel和Venenux等发行版采纳了GNU/Linux作为它们的正式名称的一部分,而且如果ä½
 å‚与了其他的发行版,我们鼓励你也这样做。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="distronames1">我的发行版正式名称是&ldquo;Foobar 
Linux&rdquo;;不叫它&ldquo;Foobar
+Linux&rdquo;不就错了吗?<span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#distronames1">#distronames1</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd><p>当有人通过将&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;改为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;并称å…
¶ç³»ç»Ÿç‰ˆæœ¬ä¸º&ldquo;Foobar
+Linux&rdquo;来散布错误信息时,你通过叫该系统为&ldquo;Foobar 
GNU/Linux&rdquo;而纠正错误是正确的做法。</p></dd>
+
+<dt id="companies">难道让诸如Mandrake、Red
+Hat和IBM之类的å…
¬å¸ç§°å®ƒä»¬çš„发行版为&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;不是比普通群众更有效?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#companies">#companies</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+这不是二选一的问题&mdash;我们请求å…
¬å¸ã€ç»„织和个人都来帮助我们传
播正确的信息。事实上,我已经请求上述三个å…
¬å¸è¿™ä¹ˆåšã€‚Mandrake说它有时会使用&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;的名字,但是IBM和Red
+Hat不愿意帮忙。å…
¶ä¸­ä¸€ä¸ªç®¡ç†æ›¾è¯´ï¼Œ&ldquo;这是一个纯粹的商业决定;我们希望通过叫系统为&lsquo;Linux&rsquo;而赚到更多的金钱。&rdquo;换句话说,该å
…¬å¸ä¸å…³å¿ƒä»€ä¹ˆæ˜¯æ­£ç¡®çš„。
+<p>
+我们不能让它们对此做正确的事,但是我们不会因
为历程艰难而放弃。或许你的影响力无法和IBM或Red
+Hat相提并论,但是你还是可以帮忙的。我们一起可以将事情
改变到一个程度,此时称系统为&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;的å…
¬å¸ä¼šèµšåˆ°æ›´å¤šã€‚</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="reserve">把名称&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;保留给完å…
¨çš„自由软件不是更好吗?归æ 
¹ç»“底,这就是GNU的理想嘛。<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#reserve">#reserve</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+对我们的社区来说,在GNU/Linux系统里添加
非自由软件的普遍做法是一个主要问题。它教育用户非自由软件是可以的,而且使用非自由软件是&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;精神的一部分。许多&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;用户组把帮助用户使用非自由的附åŠ
 
组件当成自己的一个使命,甚至不惜邀请销售人员来为此营销。他们接纳了以下目æ
 ‡ï¼š&ldquo;帮助GNU/Linux用户&rdquo;(包
括帮助他们使用非自由的应用和驱动),甚或是以自由为代价让系统更流行。
+<p>
+问题是怎么才能改变这个情况。</p>
+<p>
+由于大多数使用GNU加
Linux的社区用户并没有意识到他们用的是什么,所以让我们和这些掺假的版本脱离å
…
³ç³»ï¼Œè¯´å®ƒä»¬ä¸æ˜¯çœŸæ­£çš„GNU,并不能更多地教育用户自由的价值。他们将不能获得应得的信息。他们首å
…ˆåªä¼šååº”出他们从来没想到该系统是GNU。</p>
+<p>
+让这些用户看到该系统和自由的å…
³è”的方法正好相反:告诉他们所有这些系统版本<em>都是</em>GNU,这些系统都是建立在一个特意为用户自由而存在的系统之上的。有了这æ
 ·çš„理解,他们就能够开始意识到包
含非自由软件的发行版是反常的、掺假的GNU版本,而不再认为它们是合理和适当的&ldquo;Linux版本&rdquo;。</p>
+<p>
+发起GNU/Linux用户组会非常有用,它会称系统为GNU/Linux并接纳GNU工程是系统的基础这一理念。如果ä½
 å½“地的Linux用户组有以上提及的问题,那么我们建议你或者
发起改变其倾向(和名称)的活动,或者
开展一个新的用户组。关注表面目æ 
‡çš„人们有权顾及他们的观点,但是请不要让他们把你
带到沟里去!</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="gnudist">为什么不构造
一个Linux(sic)的GNU发行版并称之为GNU/Linux?<span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#gnudist">#gnudist</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+所有的&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;发行版实际上都是GNU系统的版本加
上Linux内æ 
¸ã€‚&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;这一名称就是来沟通这个重点。开发一个新的发行版并单独叫&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;势å¿
…会模糊我们的重点。
+<p>
+å…
³äºŽå¼€å‘一个GNU/Linux发行版,我们已经做过一次,就是我们资助Debian
+GNU/Linux早期开发的时候。再做一次看来并不会有用;新的发行版要耗费大量工作,并且除非它比å
…¶ä»–发行版有非常大的实际优势,它的目的不明确。</p>
+<p>
+反之,我们会帮助100%自由的GNU/Linux发行版的开发者
,比如gNewSense和Ututo的开发者。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="linuxgnu">为什么不简单地说&ldquo;Linux是GNU的内æ 
¸&rdquo;并把现有的GNU/Linux版本用&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;发布?
+<span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a 
href="#linuxgnu">#linuxgnu</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+回到1992年,采纳Linux作为GNU的内æ 
¸ä¹Ÿè®¸æ˜¯ä¸€ä¸ªå¥½ä¸»æ„ã€‚假如我们那时就意识到要使GNU
+Hurd能够工作会花多长时间的话,我们也许会那么做。(呜呼,这是一个马后炮。)
+<p>
+如果我们使用一个现有的GNU/Linux版本并重新冠
名为&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;,那么它差不多就和使用一个GNU版本并冠
以&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;之名一æ 
·ã€‚这不对,而且我们不想这么做。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="condemn">GNU工程早期指责和反对过使用Linux吗?<span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#condemn">#condemn</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+我们早期没有采纳Linux作为内æ 
¸ï¼Œä½†æ˜¯æˆ‘们也没有指责或反对过它。在1993年,我们开始讨论资助Debian
+GNU/Linux开发的事情。我们还寻求和修改了某些GNU包
以使之能和Linux一起工作的人来协作。我们曾想把他们的更改åŒ
…含在标准发布中,这样这些GNU包
和Linux就可以直接工作了。但是这些改变经常是专门的、不可移植的;它们需要æ¸
…理才能安装。
+<p>
+这些做出更改的人对和我们合作并没有什么兴趣。实际
上,其中一个人告诉我们他不关心GNU工程的工作,因
为他是一个&ldquo;Linux用户&rdquo;。这使我们震惊,因为将GNU包
移植到å…
¶ä»–系统的人一般希望和我们一起工作来使这些更改进入安装
程序。不过这些人,开发了一个基本上是基于GNU的系统,是第一个(实é™
…上还是仅有的一个)不愿意和我们一起工作的团体。</p>
+<p>
+正是这个经历第一次向我们展示了人们会把一个GNU系统的版本叫做&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;,而且这种混淆淡化了我们的工作。请求ä½
 
叫系统为&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;是我们对此问题的回应,也是对&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;这一误称带来的å
…¶ä»–问题的回应。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="wait">为什么你们等了这么久
才请求人们使用GNU/Linux这个名称?<span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#wait">#wait</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+<p>事实上,我们没有。我们在1994年就开始私下和开发者
以及贡献者谈论此事,并在1996年采取了更å…
¬å¼€çš„活动。只要有必要,我们会继续下去。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="allgpled">GNU/<i>name</i>这一命名规则要应用于所有的GPL程序吗?<span
 class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#allgpled">#allgpled</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+我们从未使用&ldquo;GNU/<i>name</i>&rdquo;来指代单个的程序。当一个程序是一个GNUåŒ
…时,我们也许会叫它&ldquo;GNU
+<i>name</i>&rdquo;。
+<p>
+GNU,作为操作系统,是由很多不同的程序构成的。GNU中的有些程序是作为GNU工程的一部分或è€
…是专门为GNU编写的;这些是GNU包
,而且我们经常在它们的名字里使用&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;一词。</p>
+<p>
+一个程序是否贡献出来成为GNU包是由其开发者
决定的。如果你开发了一个程序,并且想让它成为一个GNU包
,那么请写信给<a
+href="mailto:address@hidden";>&lt;address@hidden&gt;</a>,这æ 
·æˆ‘们就能够评估并决定是否需要它。</p>
+<p>
+为每个按照GPL发布的程序都加上GNU之名是不公平的。如果你
写了一个程序并按ç…
§GPL发布,这并不意味着GNU工程写了该程序或者是你
为我们写了该程序。例如,Linux内核,是按照GNU
+GPL发布的,但是Linus并不是作为GNU工程的一部分来写它的&mdash;他独立地编写了它。如果东西不是GNUåŒ
…,GNU工程不会拿走这个荣誉,而且在其名称上添加
&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;也是不合适的。</p>
+<p>
+反之,我们确实应得GNU操作系统作为整体的荣誉,即使不是å›
 ä¸ºå…¶ä¸­æ¯ä¸€ä¸ªç¨‹åºã€‚这个系统之所以存在就是因
为我们的决心和锲而不舍,从1984年起,比Linux的开始早许多年。</p>
+<p>
+Linux在å…
¶ä¸­å˜å¾—流行的操作系统基本上就是GNU操作系统。它不是完å…
¨ç›¸åŒï¼Œå› ä¸ºæœ‰ä¸åŒçš„内核,但是几乎就是一æ 
·çš„系统。它是GNU的一个变化版。它就是GNU/Linux系统。</p>
+<p>
+Linux主要还是继续在该系统的演化版中使用&mdash;在今天的GNU/Linux系统中使用。系统身份的代表是位于å
…¶ä¸­å¿ƒçš„GNU和Linux,而不是Linux自己。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="unix">由于GNU基本来自Unix,难道GNU不应该尊重Unix并以&ldquo;Unix&rdquo;作为名字的一部分?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#unix">#unix</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+实际
上,没有GNU的成分是从Unix来。Unix曾是专属软件(现在还是),在GNU中使用任何Unix代ç
 éƒ½æ˜¯ä¸åˆæ³•çš„。这并非巧合;这正是我们开发GNU的原因
:由于你使用Unix或者当时的其他操作系统时,无
法获得自由,所以我们需要一个自由系统来代替它们。我们不能复制Unix程序,甚至一部分也不行;所有程序å¿
…须重新写起。
+<p>
+GNU中没有Unix的代码,但GNU是一个å…
¼å®¹Unix的系统;所以,许多GNU的想法和规æ 
¼ç¡®å®žæ¥è‡ªUnix。&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;,代表&ldquo;GNU并非Unix&rdquo;,就是给予Unix致意的幽默方式,这也遵循了70年代黑客使用递归缩写的ä¼
 ç»Ÿã€‚</p>
+<p>
+第一个这样的递归缩写是TINT,表示&ldquo;TINT不是TECO(TINT Is 
Not
+TECO)&rdquo;。TINT的作者
写了TECO的另一种实现(当时有很多实现,用在不同的系统上),但是不再叫它为æ—
 èŠçš„&ldquo;<em>另一种</em>TECO&rdquo;,该作者
想出了这个精灵、有趣的名字。(这就是黑客的意义:<a
+href="http://stallman.org/articles/on-hacking.html";>玩得机灵</a>。)</p>
+<p>
+å…
¶ä»–黑客非常喜欢这个名字,他们开始模仿这个做法。这成了一个ä¼
 ç»Ÿï¼Œå½“ä½ 
重新开始写一个和现有程序类似的程序时(设想现有程序名字叫&ldquo;Klever&rdquo;),ä½
 å°±å¯ä»¥ç»™æ–°ç¨‹åºèµ·é€’归缩写名,比如代表&ldquo;MINK
+Is Not
+Klever&rdquo;的&ldquo;MINK&rdquo;。本着这种精神,我们替代Unix的系统就叫做&ldquo;GNU并非Unix&rdquo;。</p>
+<p>
+历史上,开发了Unix的AT&amp;T却不想å…
¶ä»–人在类似的系统上使用&ldquo;Unix&rdquo;的名字来向它致意,即使是99%复制Unix的系统也也不行。实é™
…上,AT&amp;T曾威胁会起诉这æ 
·åšçš„人。这就使每一个Unix的修改版(和Unix一æ 
·ï¼Œéƒ½æ˜¯ä¸“属软件)都有一个不带&ldquo;Unix&rdquo;的完å…
¨ä¸åŒçš„名字,</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="bsd">我们也应该说&ldquo;GNU/BSD&rdquo;吗?<span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#bsd">#bsd</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+我们不叫BSD系统(比如FreeBSD。)为&ldquo;GNU/BSD&rdquo;系统,因
为这样叫不符合BSD系统的历史。
+<p>
+BSD系统是由UC
+Berkeley在80年代开发的非自由系统,并在90年代早期成为自由软件。现今的自由操作系统å‡
 ä¹Žå¯ä»¥ç¡®å®šä¸æ˜¯GNU系统的变化版,就是BSD系统的一种。</p>
+<p>
+人们有时会问BSD是否也是GNU的一个变化版,就像GNU/Linux一æ 
·ã€‚它不是。BSD的开发者受到GNU工程的榜样激励而把代ç 
å˜æˆè‡ªç”±è½¯ä»¶ï¼Œè€Œä¸”明确受到来自GNU活动家的请求,这些请求帮助说服他们开始走向自由软件,但是他们的代ç
 å’ŒGNU没有什么重合。</p>
+<p>
+今天,BSD系统使用一些GNU包,正如GNU系统及å…
¶å˜åŒ–版会使用一些BSD程序;不过,整体来看,他们是两个分开发展的不同系统。BSD开发è€
…没有编写一个内核并添加到GNU系统中,所以GNU/BSD这æ 
·çš„名字不适合此情况。</p>
+<p>
+GNU/Linux和GNU的å…
³è”要紧密得多,而且这就是为什么&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;这个名字是合适的。</p>
+<p>
+有一个版本的GNU系统使用来自NetBSD的内核。其开发者
称之为&ldquo;Debian
+GNU/NetBSD&rdquo;,但是&ldquo;GNU/kernelofNetBSD&rdquo;可能更准确些,这是å›
 ä¸ºNetBSD是整个系统,而不仅仅是内æ 
¸ã€‚这不是一个BSD系统,因为å…
¶ç³»ç»Ÿçš„大部分和GNU/Linux系统一样。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="othersys">如果我在Windows上安装了GNUå·¥å…
·ï¼Œè¿™æ„å‘³ç€æˆ‘要说我运行了GNU/Windows系统?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#othersys">#othersys</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+这和我们说&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;并不一样。GNU的工å…
·åªæ˜¯GNU软件的一部分,也就只是GNU系统的一部分,而且在它们的下层ä½
 è¿˜æœ‰å¦ä¸€ä¸ªå®Œæ•´çš„操作系统,该操作系统和GNU没有å…
±åŒçš„代码。总而言之,这和GNU/Linux的情况大不相同。
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="justlinux">Linux没有GNU就不能用了吗?<span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#justlinux">#justlinux</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+Linux自己也在一些应用中被使用,或者是和å…
¶ä»–一些小程序一起。这些小的软件系统远没法和GNU/Linux系统相提并论。比如,用户不会在电脑上安è£
…
它们,而且会感到这些应用令人失望。这些运行Linux的应用可以用来展示它们和GNU/Linux系统有多么的不同。
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="howmuch">需要多少GNU的系统才要叫做GNU/Linux系统?<span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#howmuch">#howmuch</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+&ldquo;多少&rdquo;不是一个有意义的问题,因
为GNU系统并没有准确的边界。
+<p>
+GNU是一个由社区维护的操作系统。它包含的内容远远多于仅
仅是GNU软件包
(对此我们有一个列表),并且人们一直在添加更多的包
。除了这些更改,它还是GNU系统,加
上Linux就产生了GNU/Linux。如果你
使用了一部分GNU系统,那么说你
用了&ldquo;多少&rdquo;并没有什么意义。</p>
+<p>
+如果我们看看包的级别,Linux是GNU/Linux系统的一个重要的包
。包含一个重要的GNU包已经足够我们要求在名称上平等对待
了。
+</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="linuxsyswithoutgnu">有没有不带GNU的完整的Linux系统[sic]?<span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#linuxsyswithoutgnu">#linuxsyswithoutgnu</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+有一些完整的系统带有Linux而没有GNU,Android就是一个例子。但是叫它们&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;系统是一个错误,正如叫GNU为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;系统是个错误一æ
 ·ã€‚
+<p>
+Android和GNU/Linux系统非常不同&mdash;因为它们两个共同的代ç 
å¾ˆå°‘。事实上,它们唯一的共同点就是Linux。</p>
+<p>
+如果你称整个GNU/Linux系统为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;,那么你
就会发现有些类似的东西的叫法使你犯难,比如&ldquo;Android包
含Linux,但它不是Linux,因为它没有你所说的Linux
+[sic]常常带有的库和应用[就是GNU系统]。&rdquo;</p>
+<p>
+Android和GNU/Linux带有的Linux一æ 
·å¤šã€‚它没有的是GNU系统。Android把GNU用Google软件代替,å…
¶å·¥ä½œæ–¹å¼ä¹Ÿå¤§æœ‰ä¸åŒã€‚使Android和GNU/Linux不同的原因
正是GNU的缺失。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="usegnulinuxandandroid">如果我们指的是使用GNU/Linux和Android,那么我们说&ldquo;使用Linux&rdquo;对吗?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#usegnulinuxandandroidlinuxsyswithoutgnu">#usegnulinuxandandroidlinuxsyswithoutgnu</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+完全不对。这种用法太牵强,人们是无法知道å…
¶ç¡®åˆ‡çš„意思的。
+<p>
+å…
¬ä¼—会觉得用&ldquo;使用Linux&rdquo;来说使用Android非常奇怪。就像ä½
 åœ¨å’Œåˆ«äººè°ˆè¯ï¼Œä½†æ˜¯ä½ è¯´ä½ æ˜¯åœ¨å’Œå†…脏或循环系统谈话一æ 
·ã€‚</p>
+<p>
+å…
¬ä¼—<em>会</em>把事实上的使用GNU/Linux理解为&ldquo;使用Linux&rdquo;,这就是常见的误解:认为整个系统就是&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;。</p>
+<p>
+使用Android和使用GNU/Linux是完å…
¨ä¸åŒçš„,就像开车和骑车不同一样。它们都包
含Linux和使用它们并没有å…
³ç³»ï¼Œå°±åƒæ±½è½¦å’Œè‡ªè¡Œè½¦éƒ½æœ‰é‡‘属和使用它们没有关系一æ 
·ã€‚如果你想谈的是开车和骑车,那么你
不会谈&ldquo;驾驶金属物体&rdquo;&mdash;除非你是在和读者
开玩笑。你会说,&ldquo;使用汽车和自行车&rdquo;。同æ 
·çš„,谈论使用GNU/Linux和Android的明确方法是说&ldquo;使用GNU/Linux和Android&rdquo;。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="helplinus">为什么不就干脆叫该系统为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;,并以此强化Linus
 Torvalds作为社区的广告人物?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#helplinus">#helplinus</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+Linus
+Torvalds是他自己追求的&ldquo;广告人物&rdquo;(å…
¶ä»–人挑选的词语,而不是我们说的),不是我们的。他的目的是使该系统更流行,而且他坚信该系统的社会价值ä»
…在于它提供的实用优势:其能力、可靠
性和易得性。他从来没有致力于把<a
+href="/philosophy/why-free.html">自由合作</a>作为一个道德原则,这就是å
…
¬ä¼—没有把&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;这一名称和该道德原则连接到一起的原å›
 ã€‚
+<p>
+Linuså…
¬å¼€é™ˆè¿°ä»–不同意自由软件运动的理念。他在工作中开发非自由软件多年(并且在&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;世界巡展上对众多听众这么说),而且å
…¬å¼€é‚€è¯·Linux内核的开发者
和他一起使用非自由软件来工作。他甚至走得更远,他指责那些建议工程师和科学家应该考虑技术进步对社会影响的人们&mdash;拒绝学ä¹
 åŽŸå­å¼¹çš„开发对社会的教训。</p>
+<p>
+为了学习和快乐编写一个自由软件并没有什么错;Linus因
此编写的内æ 
¸å¯¹æˆ‘们的社区是一个重要的贡献。但是这些动机并不是整个自由系统,GNU/Linux,存在的理由,而且它们也不能保证我们将来的自由。å
…¬ä¼—应该知道这个道理。Linus有权利推动å…
¶è§‚点;不过,人们应该知晓我们讨论的操作系统源自自由的理念,而不是他的观点。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="claimlinux">难道我们把Linus Torvalds的成果æ 
‡è®°ä¸ºGNU不是错误吗?<span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#claimlinux">#claimlinux</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+因为那是错误的,所以我们没有那æ 
·åšã€‚Torvalds的工作是Linux,内核;我们很谨æ…
Žï¼Œå¹¶æ²¡æœ‰æŠŠå®ƒä½œä¸ºGNU工程的贡献,也没有把它贴上&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;的æ
 
‡ç­¾ã€‚当我们谈论整个系统时,我们使用&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;的名字来给予他应得的荣誉。
+</dd>
+
+
+<dt id="linusagreed">Linus Torvalds同意Linux只是内核的说法吗?<span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#linusagreed">#linusagreed</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+<p>他一开始是这样看的。Linux最早的发布声明曾说,<a
+href="http://ftp.funet.fi/pub/linux/historical/kernel/old-versions/RELNOTES-0.01";>&ldquo;大多数和linux一起使用的工å
…·æ˜¯GNU软件,是使用GNU
+copyleft发布的。这些工具不在此发布之列——请向我(或者
是GNU)咨询详情&rdquo;</a>。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="finishhurd">为什么不完成GNU Hurd内æ 
¸ã€å‘布整个GNU系统并把GNU/Linux的问题抛在脑后?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#finishhurd">#finishhurd</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+无论使用哪个内核,我们都希望GNU操作系统获得荣誉。
+
+<p>要使GNU
+Hurd能够和Linux竞争是一个艰巨的工作,而且并没有明确的必
要。Linux作为内æ 
¸å”¯ä¸€çš„道德错误是它带有固件&ldquo;blobs&rdquo;;对å…
¶æœ€å¥½çš„解决方案是<a
+href="http://fsf.org/campaigns/priority-projects";>开发这些blobs的自由替代软件</a>。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="lost">战斗已经失败了&mdash;社区已经做出了选择而我们无
法更改,为什么还纠结这事儿?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#lost">#lost</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+这不是战斗,这是教育活动。系统应该叫什么不是一个单一的决定,它不应该由&ldquo;社会&rdquo;在短时间å†
…决定:每个人、每个组织都能决定使用什么名字。你
不能强求其他人说&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;,但是你
能够决定自己叫该系统为&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;&mdash;你这æ 
·åšï¼Œä½ å°±æ˜¯åœ¨æ•™è‚²å…¶ä»–人。
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="whatgood">社区已经做出了选择而我们无
法更改,如果我说&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;又有什么用呢?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#whatgood">#whatgood</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+这不是一个全部或者没有的情
况:正确和错误的概念或多或少地被人们传播着。如果你
称该系统为&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;,那么你
就是在帮助他人了解该系统的真正历史、渊源和存在的理由。ä½
 ä¹Ÿè®¸ä¸èƒ½å‡­å€Ÿä¸€å·±ä¹‹åŠ›æ›´æ­£æ‰€æœ‰çš„误传,但是你
能够起到帮助。哪怕仅有几百个人看到你
在使用&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;,你
也已经不费吹灰之力地教育了相当数目的人了。而且å…
¶ä¸­ä¼šæœ‰ä¸€äº›äººç»§ç»­å‘另外的人传播正确的概念。
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="explain">把系统叫做&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;再花10分钟教育人们å…
¶æ¥é¾™åŽ»è„‰ä¸æ˜¯æ›´å¥½å—?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#explain">#explain</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+如果你帮助我们这样向他人解释,我们感谢你
的努力,但是这并不是最好的方式。它不如直接叫系统为&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;有效,也没有有效地利用ä½
 çš„时间。
+<p>
+它效果不佳是因为它可能无法打动人心,而且无法广泛传
播。有些听你
解释的人会专心,并体会到系统渊源的正确历史画面。但是他们不大会在每次谈起该系统时都向人重复这æ
 
·çš„解释。他们可能只会称该系统为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;。不经意之间,他们会帮助扩散错误的画面。</p>
+<p>
+由于要花许多时间,所以它不那么有效率。每天说出和写出&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;只需花å‡
 ç§’钟,所以你
能够告诉非常多的人。在书面和口头区别Linux和GNU/Linux是目前帮助GNU工程的最有效的方法。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="treatment">当你
让他们叫该系统为GNU/Linux时,人们会嘲笑你。你
何苦让自己受这个刺激呢?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#treatment">#treatment</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+称该系统为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;会给人们展示该系统历史和存在理由的错误画面。那些嘲笑我们的请求的人可能已经看了错误的画面&mdash;他们以为Linus做了这一切,所以他们在我们请求荣誉时嘲笑我们。如果他们了解了事实,可能他们就不会笑了。
+<p>
+我们为什么要冒被嘲弄的风险来发出我们的请求呢?因
为通常这æ 
·åšå¯¹GNU工程是有帮助的。我们要冒着受不该受的侮辱的风险实现我们的目æ
 ‡ã€‚</p>
+<p>
+如果你看到如此可笑的不å…
¬å¹³äº‹ä»¶ï¼Œè¯·ä¸è¦åè§†ä¸ç®¡ã€‚请教育那些在嘲笑的人历史的真相。当他们看到我们的请求是合理的时候,任何有正义感的人都不会再笑了。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="alienate">当你
让他们叫该系统为GNU/Linux时,人们会指责你
。疏远他们,不也是损失?<span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#alienate">#alienate</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+损失不大。不感谢我们在系统开发中的角色的人也不大会努力帮助我们。如果他们做了推动我们目æ
 ‡çš„工作,比如发布自由软件等,那可能是由于å…
¶ä»–不相干的原因,并非因
为我们的请求。同时,他们在教育å…
¶ä»–人把我们的贡献赋予另外的人,这实际
上消弱了我们获得帮助的能力。
+<p>
+担心疏远那些本来就不那么合作的人毫无意义,为了避å…
æ¿€æ€’那些始作俑者
而规避主要矛盾会带来更大的伤害。所以我们会继续纠
正这个名称误用。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="rename">无论你做了什么贡献,你
有权重命名系统吗?<span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#rename">#rename</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+我们不是在命名所有的东西;我们自从1983年声明以来,就一直叫该系统为&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;。那些将系统改称为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;的人本不该那么做。</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="force">强制人们叫它&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;系统不是错误吗?<span
 class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#force">#force</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+如果我们是强制,那么我们错了;我们没有那æ 
·ã€‚我们称该系统为&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;,并且我们也请求你
这么做。
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="whynotsue">为什么不控告哪些叫整个系统为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;的人?<span
 class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#whynotsue">#whynotsue</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+控告没有法律基础,由于我们坚信言论自由,即使有理我们也不会诉之法律。我们请求人们称系统为&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;是å›
 ä¸ºè¿™æ˜¯åœ¨åšæ­£ç¡®çš„事。
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="require">难道不能在GNU 
GPL中要求人们称该系统为&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;吗?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#require">#require</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+GNU
+GPL的目的是保护用户的自由不受那些会把自由软件变成专属软件的人的限制。虽然称系统为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;的人经常会做些限制用户自由的事,比如在GNU/Linux中åŠ
 å…¥éžè‡ªç”±è½¯ä»¶ï¼Œç”šè‡³æ˜¯ä¸ºæ­¤å¼€å‘非自由软件,仅仅
是称系统为&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;本身并不剥夺用户的自由。让GPL限制人们对所用系统的名称并不合适。
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="BSDlicense">由于你
曾经反对原始BSD许可证要求通过广告致谢加
利福尼亚大学,所以你现在要求致谢GNU工程不是虚伪吗?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#BSDlicense">#BSDlicense</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+把GNU/Linux这一名称作为许可证要求也许是虚伪,而且我们没有那æ
 ·åšã€‚我们只是<em>请求</em>你给予我们应得的荣誉。
+
+<p>
+请注意至少有<a
+href="/licenses/bsd.html">两种不同的BSD许可证</a>。为了清
晰起见,请不要在没有明确是哪一个许可证时使用&ldquo;BSD许可证&rdquo;一词。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="deserve">由于你没有在GNU 
GPL中要求人们称该系统为&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;,所以事情
就应该发生;为什么你现在又抱怨呢?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#deserve">#deserve</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+此问题假定了一个相当矛盾的一般道德前提:如果人们没有强迫ä½
 å…¬å¹³å¯¹å¾…他们,那么你
就有权任意利用他们。换句话说,该问题认为这æ 
·çš„假定是对的。
+<p>
+希望你和我们一样不同意该假定。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="contradict">如果你们不和这么多人作对,情
况不是更好吗?<span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#contradict">#contradict</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+我们不认为我们应该由于数目大的人群被误导而跟随他们。我们也希望ä½
 çš„决定是因为事实更重要。
+<p>
+如果我们没有首å…
ˆæŒ‘战大多数人的信仰:专属软件是合理和可接受的,那么我们可能就永远不能开发出一个自由的操作系统。</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="somanyright">由于许多人都叫它&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;,不正说明这是正确的?<span
 class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#somanyright">#somanyright</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+我们认为将一个流行的错误当成事实是不对的。
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="knownname">把系统名称按ç…
§å¤§å¤šæ•°ç”¨æˆ·å·²çŸ¥çš„名称来叫不是更好吗?<span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+href="#knownname">#knownname</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+用户有学习的能力。由于&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;包
含了&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;,他们会了解你指的是什么。如果你
时不时地加
上&ldquo;(经常错误地被认为是&lsquo;Linux&rsquo;)&rdquo;,他们就å
…¨éƒ½æ˜Žç™½äº†ã€‚
+</dd>
+
+<dt 
id="winning">许多人在乎的是哪里方便或谁个获胜,而不是谁是谁非。通过不同的方式不是能获得更多的支持吗?<span
+class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#winning">#winning</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+只在乎哪里方便或谁个获胜是一个非道德的生活方式。非自由软件就是这种非道德方式的例子,而且å›
 ä¹‹ç¹è£ã€‚所以,长期来看,我们接受该方式就是搬起石头ç 
¸è‡ªå·±çš„脚。我们要继续在正确和错误的框架下讨论问题。
+<p>
+我们希望你是看重谁是谁非的一员。</p>
+</dd>
+
+</dl>
+
+<div class="translators-notes">
+
+<!--TRANSLATORS: Use space (SPC) as msgstr if you don't have notes.-->
+<h3>译注</h3>
+<ol>
+<li id="TransNote1">geek,极客。是指对某事、尤指电脑相å…
³çš„事非常痴迷或了解的人。</li>
+</ol></div>
+</div>
+
+<!-- for id="content", starts in the include above -->
+<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.zh-cn.html" -->
+<div id="footer">
+<div class="unprintable">
+
+<p>请将有å…
³è‡ªç”±è½¯ä»¶åŸºé‡‘会(FSF)&amp;GNU的一般性问题发送到<a
+href="mailto:address@hidden";>&lt;address@hidden&gt;</a>。也可以通过<a
+href="/contact/">å…
¶ä»–联系方法</a>联系自由软件基金会(FSF)。请将无效链接,å…
¶ä»–错误或建议发送给<a
+href="mailto:address@hidden";>&lt;address@hidden&gt;</a>。</p>
+
+<p>
+<!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph,
+        replace it with the translation of these two:
+
+        We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality
+        translations.  However, we are not exempt from imperfection.
+        Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard
+        to <a href="mailto:address@hidden";>
+
+        &lt;address@hidden&gt;</a>.</p>
+
+        <p>For information on coordinating and submitting translations of
+        our web pages, see <a
+        href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
+        README</a>. -->
+若您想翻译本文,请参看<a 
href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">翻译须知</a>。</p>
+</div>
+
+<!-- Regarding copyright, in general, standalone pages (as opposed to
+     files generated as part of manuals) on the GNU web server should
+     be under CC BY-ND 4.0.  Please do NOT change or remove this
+     without talking with the webmasters or licensing team first.
+     Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the
+     document.  For web pages, it is ok to list just the latest year the
+     document was modified, or published.
+
+     If you wish to list earlier years, that is ok too.
+     Either "2001, 2002, 2003" or "2001-2003" are ok for specifying
+     years, as long as each year in the range is in fact a copyrightable
+     year, i.e., a year in which the document was published (including
+     being publicly visible on the web or in a revision control system).
+
+     There is more detail about copyright years in the GNU Maintainers
+     Information document, www.gnu.org/prep/maintain. -->
+<p>Copyright &copy; 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016,
+2017, 2018 Free Software Foundation, Inc.</p>
+
+<p>本页面使用<a rel="license"
+href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/";>Creative Commons
+Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>授权。</p>
+
+<!--#include virtual="/server/bottom-notes.zh-cn.html" -->
+<div class="translators-credits">
+
+<!--TRANSLATORS: Use space (SPC) as msgstr if you don't want credits.-->
+<b>审校</b>:尚卓燃,2018。<a
+href="mailto:address@hidden";>&lt;address@hidden&gt;</a><br></br>
+<b>翻译团队</b>:<a rel="team"
+href="https://savannah.gnu.org/projects/www-zh-cn/";>&lt;CTT&gt;</a>,2018。</div>
+
+<p class="unprintable"><!-- timestamp start -->
+最后更新:
+
+$Date: 2018/04/07 00:57:55 $
+
+<!-- timestamp end -->
+</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</body>
+</html>

Index: po/gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn-en.html
===================================================================
RCS file: po/gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn-en.html
diff -N po/gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn-en.html
--- /dev/null   1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 -0000
+++ po/gnu-linux-faq.zh-cn-en.html      7 Apr 2018 00:57:55 -0000       1.1
@@ -0,0 +1,1599 @@
+<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" -->
+<!-- Parent-Version: 1.84 -->
+<title>GNU/Linux FAQ
+- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
+<!--#include virtual="/gnu/po/gnu-linux-faq.translist" -->
+<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" -->
+<h2>GNU/Linux FAQ by Richard Stallman</h2>
+
+<div class="announcement">
+  <blockquote><p>To learn more about this issue, you can also read
+our page on <a href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">Linux and the GNU Project</a>, 
our
+ page on <a href="/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html">Why GNU/Linux?</a>
+and our page on <a href="/gnu/gnu-users-never-heard-of-gnu.html">GNU
+Users Who Have Never Heard of GNU</a>.</p></blockquote>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+When people see that we use and recommend the name GNU/Linux for a
+system that many others call just &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;, they ask many questions.
+Here are common questions, and our answers.</p>
+
+<ul>
+
+<li><a href="#why">Why do you call the system we use GNU/Linux and not 
Linux?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#whycare">Why is the name important?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#what">What is the real relationship between GNU and 
Linux?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#howerror">How did it come about that most
+    people call the system &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#always">Should we always say
+&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; instead of &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#linuxalone">Would Linux have achieved
+    the same success if there had been no GNU?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#divide">Wouldn't it be better for the
+    community if you did not divide people with this request?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#freespeech">Doesn't the GNU project
+    support an individual's free speech rights to call the system by
+    any name that individual chooses?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#everyoneknows">Since everyone
+    knows the role of GNU in developing the system, doesn't the
+    &ldquo;GNU/&rdquo; in the name go without saying?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#everyoneknows2">Since I know the role of
+    GNU in this system, why does it matter what name I use?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#windows">Isn't shortening
+    &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; to &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; just like
+    shortening &ldquo;Microsoft Windows&rdquo; to
+    &ldquo;Windows&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#tools">Isn't GNU a collection of programming
+    tools that were included in Linux?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#osvskernel">What is the difference between an operating
+    system and a kernel?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#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?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#brain">Isn't the kernel the brain of the
+    system?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#kernelmost">Isn't writing the kernel
+    most of the work in an operating system?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#notinstallable">How can GNU be an
+    operating system, if I can't get something called &ldquo;GNU&rdquo;
+    and install it?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#afterkernel">We're calling the whole
+    system after the kernel, Linux.  Isn't it normal to name an
+    operating system after a kernel?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#feel">Can another system have &ldquo;the
+    feel of Linux&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#long">The problem with
+    &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; is that it is too long.  How about
+    recommending a shorter name?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#long1">How about calling the system
+    &ldquo;GliNUx&rdquo; (instead of &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;)?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#long2">The problem with
+    &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; is that it is too long.  Why should
+    I go to the trouble of saying &ldquo;GNU/&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#long3">Unfortunately,
+    &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; is five syllables. People won't use such a
+    long term. Shouldn't you find a shorter one?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#justgnu">Since Linux is a secondary
+    contribution, would it be false to the facts to call the system
+    simply &ldquo;GNU&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#trademarkfee">I would have to pay a
+    fee if I use &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; in the name of a product, and
+    that would also apply if I say &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;.  Is it
+    wrong if I use &ldquo;GNU&rdquo; without &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;, to
+    save the fee?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#many">Many other projects contributed to 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.)</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#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?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#allsmall">GNU is a small fraction of the system
+    nowadays, so why should we mention it?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#manycompanies">Many companies
+    contributed to the system as it is today; doesn't that mean
+    we ought to call it GNU/Red&nbsp;Hat/Novell/Linux?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#whyslash">Why do you write
+    &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; instead of &ldquo;GNU
+    Linux&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#whyorder">Why &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;
+rather than &ldquo;Linux/GNU&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#distronames0">My distro's developers call it
+    &ldquo;Foobar Linux&rdquo;, but that doesn't say anything about
+    what the system consists of.  Why shouldn't they call it whatever
+    they like?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#distronames">My distro is called
+    &ldquo;Foobar Linux&rdquo;; doesn't that show it's really
+    Linux?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#distronames1">My distro's official
+    name is &ldquo;Foobar Linux&rdquo;; isn't it wrong to call the
+    distro anything but &ldquo;Foobar Linux&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#companies">Wouldn't it be more
+    effective to ask companies such as Mandrake, Red Hat and IBM to
+    call their distributions &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; rather than
+    asking individuals?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#reserve">Wouldn't it be better to
+    reserve the name &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; for distributions that
+    are purely free software?  After all, that is the ideal of
+    GNU.</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#gnudist">Why not make a GNU distribution of
+    Linux (sic) and call that GNU/Linux?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#linuxgnu">Why not just say &ldquo;Linux
+    is the GNU kernel&rdquo; and release some existing version of
+    GNU/Linux under the name &ldquo;GNU&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#condemn">Did the GNU Project condemn and
+    oppose use of Linux in the early days?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#wait">Why did you wait so long before
+    asking people to use the name GNU/Linux?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#allgpled">Should the GNU/<i>name</i> convention
+    be applied to all programs that are GPL'ed?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#unix">Since much of GNU comes from Unix,
+    shouldn't GNU give credit to Unix by using &ldquo;Unix&rdquo; in
+    its name?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#bsd">Should we say &ldquo;GNU/BSD&rdquo;
+too?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#othersys">If I install the GNU tools on
+    Windows, does that mean I am running a GNU/Windows system?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#justlinux">Can't Linux be used without
+GNU?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#howmuch">How much of the GNU system
+is needed for the system to be GNU/Linux?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#linuxsyswithoutgnu">Are there complete Linux systems [sic] 
without GNU?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#usegnulinuxandandroid">Is it correct to say &ldquo;using
+    Linux&rdquo; if it refers to using GNU/Linux and using Android?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#helplinus">Why not call the system
+    &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; anyway, and strengthen Linus Torvalds' role as
+    posterboy for our community?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#claimlinux">Isn't it wrong for us to label Linus
+    Torvalds' work as GNU?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#linusagreed">Does Linus Torvalds
+    agree that Linux is just the kernel?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#finishhurd">Why not finish
+    the GNU Hurd kernel, release the GNU system as a whole,
+    and forget the question of what to call GNU/Linux?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#lost">The battle is already
+    lost&mdash;society has made its decision and we can't change it,
+    so why even think about it?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#whatgood">Society has made its decision
+    and we can't change it, so what good does it do if I say
+    &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#explain">Wouldn't it be better to call
+    the system &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; and teach people its real origin
+    with a ten-minute explanation?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#treatment">Some people laugh at you when
+    you ask them to call the system GNU/Linux.  Why do you subject yourself
+    to this treatment?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#alienate">Some people condemn you when you
+    ask them to call the system GNU/Linux.  Don't you lose by
+    alienating them?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#rename">Whatever you contributed,
+    is it legitimate to rename the operating system?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#force">Isn't it wrong to force people to call
+    the system &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#whynotsue">Why not sue people who call
+    the whole system &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#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?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#require">Shouldn't you put something in
+    the GNU GPL to require people to call the system
+    &ldquo;GNU&rdquo;?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#deserve">Since you failed to put
+    something in the GNU GPL to require people to call the system
+    &ldquo;GNU&rdquo;, you deserve what happened; why are you
+    complaining now?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#contradict">Wouldn't you be better off
+    not contradicting what so many people believe?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#somanyright">Since many people call it
+    &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;, doesn't that make it right?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#knownname">Isn't it better to call the
+    system by the name most users already know?</a></li>
+
+<li><a href="#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?</a></li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<dl>
+
+<dt id="why">Why do you call the system we use GNU/Linux and not
+    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
+developing GNU in 1984, years before Linus Torvalds started to write
+his kernel.  Our goal was to develop a complete free operating system.
+Of course, we did not develop all the parts ourselves&mdash;but we led the way.
+We developed most of the central components, forming the largest single
+contribution to the whole system.  The basic vision was ours too.
+<p>
+In fairness, we ought to get at least equal mention.</p>
+
+<p>See <a href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">Linux and the GNU System</a>
+and <a href="/gnu/gnu-users-never-heard-of-gnu.html">GNU Users Who Have
+Never Heard of GNU</a> for more explanation, and <a
+href="/gnu/the-gnu-project.html">The GNU Project</a> for the
+history.</p> </dd>
+
+<dt id="whycare">Why is the name
+    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.
+People who think the whole system is Linux tend to get confused and
+assign to those developers a role in the history of our community
+which they did not actually play.  Then they give inordinate weight to
+those developers' views.
+<p>
+Calling the system GNU/Linux recognizes the role that our idealism
+played in building our community, and
+<a href="/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html">helps the public recognize the
+practical importance of these ideals</a>.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="what">What is the real relationship between GNU and Linux? <span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#what">#what</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>The GNU operating system and the Linux kernel are separate
+software projects that do complementary jobs.  Typically they are
+packaged in a <a href="/distros/distros.html">GNU/Linux distribution</a>, and 
used
+together.</dd>
+
+<dt id="howerror">How did it come about that most
+    people call the system &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;? <span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#howerror">#howerror</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>Calling the system &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; is a confusion that has spread 
faster
+than the corrective information.
+<p>
+The people who combined Linux with the GNU system were not aware that
+that's what their activity amounted to.  They focused their attention
+on the piece that was Linux and did not realize that more of the
+combination was GNU.  They started calling it &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; even though 
that
+name did not fit what they had.  It took a few years for us to realize
+what a problem this was and ask people to correct the practice.  By
+that time, the confusion had a big head start.</p>
+<p>
+Most of the people who call the system &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; have never heard why
+that's not the right thing.  They saw others using that name and
+assume it must be right.  The name &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; also spreads a false
+picture of the system's origin, because people tend to suppose that
+the system's history was such as to fit that name.  For
+instance, they often believe its development was started by Linus
+Torvalds in 1991.  This false picture tends to reinforce the idea
+that the system should be called &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;.</p>
+<p>
+Many of the questions in this file represent people's attempts to
+justify the name they are accustomed to using.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="always">Should we always say
+    &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; instead of &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;? <span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#always">#always</a>)</span></dt>
+<dd>
+Not always&mdash;only when you're talking about the whole system.  When
+you're referring specifically to the kernel, you should call it
+&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;, the name its developer chose.
+<p>
+When people call the whole system &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;, as a consequence
+they call the whole system by the same name as the kernel.
+This causes many kinds of confusion, because only experts can tell
+whether a statement is about the kernel or the whole system.
+By calling the whole system &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;, and calling the kernel
+&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;, you avoid the ambiguity.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="linuxalone">Would Linux have
+    achieved the same success if there had been no
+    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
+GNU/Linux system, and probably no free operating system at all.  No
+one attempted to develop a free operating system in the 1980s except
+the GNU Project and (later) Berkeley CSRG, which had been specifically
+asked by the GNU Project to start freeing its code.
+<p>
+Linus Torvalds was partly influenced by a speech about GNU in Finland
+in 1990.  It's possible that even without this influence he might have
+written a Unix-like kernel, but it probably would not have been free
+software.  Linux became free in 1992 when Linus rereleased it under
+the GNU GPL.  (See the release notes for version 0.12.)</p>
+<p>
+Even if Torvalds had released Linux under some other free software
+license, a free kernel alone would not have made much difference to
+the world.  The significance of Linux came from  fitting into a larger
+framework, a complete free operating system: GNU/Linux.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="divide">Wouldn't it be better for the
+    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 &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;, we are not dividing people. 
 We
+are asking them to give the GNU Project credit for the GNU operating
+system.  This does not criticize anyone or push anyone away.
+<p>
+However, there are people who do not like our saying this.  Sometimes
+those people push us away in response.  On occasion they are so rude
+that one wonders if they are intentionally trying to intimidate us
+into silence.  It doesn't silence us, but it does tend to divide the
+community, so we hope you can convince them to stop.</p>
+<p>
+However, this is only a secondary cause of division in our community.
+The largest division in the community is between people who appreciate
+free software as a social and ethical issue and consider proprietary
+software a social problem (supporters of the free software movement),
+and those who cite only practical benefits and present free software
+only as an efficient development model (the open source movement).</p>
+<p>
+This disagreement is not just a matter of names&mdash;it is a matter
+of differing basic values.  It is essential for the community to see
+and think about this disagreement.  The names &ldquo;free
+software&rdquo; and &ldquo;open source&rdquo; are the banners of the
+two positions.
+See <a href="/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html">Why Open
+Source misses the point of Free Software</a>.</p>
+<p>
+The disagreement over values partially aligns with the amount of
+attention people pay to the GNU Project's role in our community.
+People who value freedom are more likely to call the system
+&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;, and people who learn that the system is 
&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; are
+more likely to pay attention to our philosophical arguments for
+freedom and community (which is why the choice of name for the system
+makes a real difference for society).  However, the disagreement would
+probably exist even if everyone knew the system's real origin and its
+proper name, because the issue is a real one.  It can only go away if
+we who value freedom either persuade everyone (which won't be easy) or
+are defeated entirely (let's hope not).</p>
+</dd>
+
+<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? <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
+GNU/Linux as a matter of doing justice to the GNU project, to promote
+the values of freedom that GNU stands for, and to inform others that
+those values of freedom brought the system into existence.
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="everyoneknows">Since everyone knows the role
+    of GNU in developing the system, doesn't the &ldquo;GNU/&rdquo; in the
+    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
+articles about the system do not mention the name &ldquo;GNU&rdquo;, or the 
ideals
+that GNU stands for.  <a
+href="/gnu/gnu-users-never-heard-of-gnu.html">GNU Users Who Have Never
+Heard of GNU</a> explains further.
+<p>
+The people who say this are probably geeks thinking of the geeks they
+know.  Geeks often do know about GNU, but many have a completely wrong
+idea of what GNU is.  For instance, many think it is a collection
+of <a href="#tools">&ldquo;tools&rdquo;</a>, or a project to develop tools.</p>
+<p>
+The wording of this question, which is typical, illustrates another
+common misconception.  To speak of &ldquo;GNU's role&rdquo; in developing
+something assumes that GNU is a group of people.  GNU is an operating
+system.  It would make sense to talk about the GNU Project's role in
+this or some other activity, but not that of GNU.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="everyoneknows2">Since I know the role of GNU in this system,
+    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.
+Most people who have heard of the GNU/Linux system think it is
+&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;, that it was started by Linus Torvalds, and that
+it was intended to be &ldquo;open source&rdquo;.  If you don't tell
+them, who will?
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="windows">Isn't shortening &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;
+    to &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; just like shortening &ldquo;Microsoft 
Windows&rdquo; to &ldquo;Windows&rdquo;? <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
+abbreviation is misleading.
+<p>
+Almost everyone in developed countries really does know that the
+&ldquo;Windows&rdquo; system is made by Microsoft, so shortening 
&ldquo;Microsoft
+Windows&rdquo; to &ldquo;Windows&rdquo; does not mislead anyone as to that 
system's
+nature and origin.  Shortening &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; to &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; 
does give the
+wrong idea of where the system comes from.</p>
+<p>
+The question is itself misleading because GNU and Microsoft are
+not the same kind of thing.  Microsoft is a company;
+GNU is an operating system.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="tools">Isn't GNU a collection of
+    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
+hear about GNU at all, often get a wrong idea of what GNU is.  They
+may think that GNU is the name of a collection of programs&mdash;often they
+say &ldquo;programming tools&rdquo;, since some of our programming tools became
+popular on their own.  The idea that &ldquo;GNU&rdquo; is the name of an 
operating
+system is hard to fit into a conceptual framework in which that
+operating system is labeled &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;.
+<p>
+The GNU Project was named after the GNU operating system&mdash;it's the project
+to develop the GNU system.  (See <a
+href="/gnu/initial-announcement.html">the 1983 initial announcement</a>.)</p>
+<p>
+We developed programs such as GCC, GNU Emacs, GAS, GLIBC, BASH, etc.,
+because we needed them for the GNU operating system.  GCC, the GNU
+Compiler Collection is the compiler that we wrote for the GNU
+operating system.  We, the many people working on the GNU Project,
+developed Ghostscript, GNUCash, GNU Chess and GNOME for the GNU system
+too.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="osvskernel">What is the difference
+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
+programs that are sufficient to use the computer to do a wide variety
+of jobs.  A general purpose operating system, to be complete, ought to
+handle all the jobs that many users may want to do.
+<p>
+The kernel is one of the programs in an operating system&mdash;the program
+that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that are
+running.  The kernel also takes care of starting and stopping other
+programs.</p>
+<p>
+To confuse matters, some people use the term &ldquo;operating system&rdquo; to
+mean &ldquo;kernel&rdquo;.  Both uses of the term go back many years.  The
+use of &ldquo;operating system&rdquo; to mean &ldquo;kernel&rdquo; is found in 
a number of
+textbooks on system design, going back to the 80s.  At the same time,
+in the 80s, the &ldquo;Unix operating system&rdquo; was understood to include 
all
+the system programs, and Berkeley's version of Unix included even
+games. Since we intended GNU to be a Unix-like operating system, we
+use the term &ldquo;operating system&rdquo; in the same way.</p>
+<p>
+Most of the time when people speak of the &ldquo;Linux operating system&rdquo;
+they are using &ldquo;operating system&rdquo; in the same sense we use: they 
mean
+the whole collection of programs.  If that's what you are referring
+to, please call it &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;.  If you mean just the kernel, then
+&ldquo;Linux&rdquo; is the right name for it, but please say 
&ldquo;kernel&rdquo; also to
+avoid ambiguity about which body of software you mean.</p>
+<p>
+If you prefer to use some other term such as &ldquo;system distribution&rdquo; 
for
+the entire collection of programs, instead of &ldquo;operating system&rdquo;,
+that's fine.  Then you would talk about GNU/Linux system
+distributions.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<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? <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
+an operating system is not much like building a house.
+
+<p>A house is built from lots of little general parts that are cut and
+put together in situ.  They have to be put together from the bottom
+up.  Thus, when the foundation has not been built, no substantial part
+has been built; all you have is a hole in the ground.</p>
+
+<p>
+By contrast, an operating system consists of complex
+components that can be developed in any order.  When you have
+developed most of the components, most of the work is done.  This is
+much more like the International Space Station than like a house.  If
+most of the Space Station modules were in orbit but awaiting one other
+essential module, that would be like the GNU system in 1992.
+</p>
+</dd>
+
+<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,
+and no part of it plays a role comparable to that of
+the brain in a human.
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="kernelmost">Isn't writing the kernel most of the work in an
+operating system? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a 
href="#kernelmost">#kernelmost</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+No, many components take a lot of work.
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="notinstallable">How can GNU be an
+    operating system, if I can't get something called &ldquo;GNU&rdquo;
+    and install it? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a 
href="#notinstallable">#notinstallable</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+Many <a href="/distros/distros.html"> packaged and installable
+versions of GNU</a> are available.  None of them is called simply
+&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;, but GNU is what they basically are.
+
+<p>
+We expected to release the GNU system packaged for installation, but
+this plan was overtaken by events: in 1992 others were already
+packaging GNU variants containing Linux.  Starting in 1993 we
+sponsored an effort to make a better and freer GNU/Linux distribution,
+called <a href="/distros/common-distros.html#Debian">Debian
+GNU/Linux</a>.  The founder of Debian had already chosen that name.
+We did not ask him to call it just &ldquo;GNU&rdquo; because that was
+to be the name of a system version with the GNU Hurd kernel&mdash;which
+wasn't ready yet.</p>
+
+<p>
+The GNU Hurd kernel never became sufficiently ready; we only recommend
+it to those interested in working on it.  So we never packaged GNU
+with the GNU Hurd kernel.  However, Debian packaged this combination
+as Debian GNU/Hurd.</p>
+
+<p>
+We are now developing an advanced Scheme-based package manager called
+Guix and a complete system distribution based on it called the
+<a href="/software/guix">Guix System Distribution</a> or GuixSD.
+This includes repackaging a substantial part of the GNU system.</p>
+
+<p>
+We never took the last step of packaging GNU under the name
+&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;, but that doesn't alter what kind of thing GNU is.
+GNU is an operating system.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<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? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a 
href="#afterkernel">#afterkernel</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+That practice seems to be very rare&mdash;we can't find any examples other
+than the misuse of the name &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;.  Normally an operating system 
is
+developed as a single unified project, and the developers choose a
+name for the system as a whole.  The kernel usually does not have a
+name of its own&mdash;instead, people say &ldquo;the kernel of 
such-and-such&rdquo; or
+&ldquo;the such-and-such kernel&rdquo;.
+<p>
+Because those two constructions are used synonymously, the expression
+&ldquo;the Linux kernel&rdquo; can easily be misunderstood as meaning 
&ldquo;the kernel
+of Linux&rdquo; and implying that Linux must be more than a kernel.  You can
+avoid the possibility of this misunderstanding by saying or writing
+&ldquo;the kernel, Linux&rdquo; or &ldquo;Linux, the kernel.&rdquo;</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="feel">Can another system have &ldquo;the
+    feel of Linux&rdquo;? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a 
href="#feel">#feel</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+There is no such thing as the &ldquo;feel of Linux&rdquo; because
+Linux has no user interfaces.  Like any modern kernel, Linux is a base
+for running programs; user interfaces belong elsewhere in the system.
+Human interaction with GNU/Linux always goes through other programs,
+and the &ldquo;feel&rdquo; comes from them.
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="long">The problem with &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; is that it is too long.
+    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 &ldquo;LiGNUx&rdquo;, which combines the words 
&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;
+and &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;.  The reaction was very bad.  People accept 
&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;
+much better.
+<p>
+The shortest legitimate name for this system is &ldquo;GNU&rdquo;, but
+we call it &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; <a href="#justgnu"> for the reasons
+given below</a>.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="long1">How about calling the system
+    &ldquo;GliNUx&rdquo; (instead of &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;)?
+   <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#long1">#long1</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+<p>The name &ldquo;GNU&rdquo; does not visibly appear in
+&ldquo;Glinux,&rdquo; so most people would not notice it is there.
+Even if it is capitalized as &ldquo;GliNUx,&rdquo; most people would
+not realize that it contains a reference to GNU.</p>
+
+<p>It would be comparable to writing &ldquo;GNU/Linux,&rdquo; but
+putting &ldquo;GNU/&rdquo; in print so small that most people could
+not read it.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="long2">The problem with &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; is that it is too long.
+    Why should I go to the trouble of saying &ldquo;GNU/&rdquo;?
+    <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#long2">#long2</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+<p>It only takes a second to say or type &ldquo;GNU/&rdquo;.  If you
+appreciate the system that we developed, can't you take one second
+to recognize our work?</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="long3">Unfortunately, &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; is five
+  syllables. People won't use such a long term. Shouldn't you find a
+  shorter one?
+  <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#long3">#long3</a>)</span></dt>
+<dd><p>Actually, &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; is only four syllables.
+  &ldquo;Unfortunately&rdquo; is five syllables, yet people show no
+  sign of reluctance to use that word.</p></dd>
+
+<dt id="justgnu">Since Linux is a secondary
+    contribution, would it be false to the facts to call the system simply
+    &ldquo;GNU&rdquo;? <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
+do.  Here are the reasons we call that system version &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;
+rather than just &ldquo;GNU&rdquo;:
+
+<ul>
+<li>
+It's not exactly GNU&mdash;it has a different kernel (that is, Linux).
+Distinguishing GNU/Linux from GNU is useful.</li>
+<li>
+It would be ungentlemanly to ask people to <em>stop</em> giving any
+credit to Linus Torvalds.  He did write an important component of the
+system.  We want to get credit for launching and sustaining the
+system's development, but this doesn't mean we should treat Linus the
+same way those who call the system &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; treat us.  We strongly
+disagree with his political views, but we deal with that disagreement
+honorably and openly, rather than by trying to cut him out of the
+credit for his contribution to the system.</li>
+<li>
+Since many people know of the system as &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;, if we say 
&ldquo;GNU&rdquo; they
+may simply not recognize we're talking about the same system.  If we
+say &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;, they can make a connection to what they have heard
+about.</li>
+</ul><p></p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="trademarkfee">I would have
+    to pay a fee if I use &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; in the name of a product, and 
that
+    would also apply if I say &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;.  Is it wrong if I use 
&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;
+    without &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;, 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 &ldquo;GNU&rdquo;; basically, 
that's
+what it is.  It is nice to give Linus Torvalds a share of the credit
+as well, but you have no obligation to pay for the privilege of doing
+so.
+<p>
+So if you want to refer to the system simply as &ldquo;GNU&rdquo;, to avoid 
paying
+the fee for calling it &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;, we won't criticize you.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="many">Many other projects contributed to
+    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.) <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
+a share of the credit.  The principal developer is the GNU Project,
+and the system is basically GNU.
+<p>
+If you feel even more strongly about giving credit where it is due,
+you might feel that some secondary contributors also deserve credit in
+the system's name.  If so, far be it from us to argue against it.  If
+you feel that X11 deserves credit in the system's name, and you want
+to call the system GNU/X11/Linux, please do.  If you feel that Perl
+simply cries out for mention, and you want to write GNU/Linux/Perl, go
+ahead.</p>
+<p>
+Since a long name such as GNU/X11/Apache/Linux/TeX/Perl/Python/FreeCiv
+becomes absurd, at some point you will have to set a threshold and
+omit the names of the many other secondary contributions.  There is no
+one obvious right place to set the threshold, so wherever you set it,
+we won't argue against it.</p>
+<p>
+Different threshold levels would lead to different choices of name for
+the system.  But one name that cannot result from concerns of fairness
+and giving credit, not for any possible threshold level, is 
&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;.
+It can't be fair to give all the credit to one secondary contribution
+(Linux) while omitting the principal contribution (GNU).</p>
+</dd>
+
+<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? <span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#others">#others</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+Thousands of projects have developed programs commonly included in
+today's GNU/Linux systems.  They all deserve credit for their
+contributions, but they aren't the principal developers of the system
+as a whole, so they don't ask to be credited as such.
+<p>
+GNU is different because it is more than just a contributed program,
+more than just a collection of contributed programs.  GNU is the
+framework on which the system was made.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="allsmall">GNU is a small fraction of the system nowadays,
+    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
+&ldquo;main&rdquo; repository of the gNewSense GNU/Linux distribution.
+Linux made up 1.5%.  So the same argument would apply even more
+strongly to calling it &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;.
+
+<p>
+GNU is a small fraction of the system nowadays, and Linux is an
+even smaller fraction.  But they are the system's core; the system
+was made by combining them.  Thus, the name &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;
+remains appropriate.
+</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="manycompanies">Many companies
+    contributed to the system as it is today; doesn't that mean
+    we ought to call it GNU/Red&nbsp;Hat/Novell/Linux? <span
+    class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
+    href="#manycompanies">#manycompanies</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+<p>
+GNU is not comparable to Red Hat or Novell; it is not a company, or an
+organization, or even an activity.  GNU is an operating system.  (When
+we speak of the GNU Project, that refers to the project to develop the
+GNU system.)  The GNU/Linux system is based on GNU, and that's why GNU
+ought to appear in its name.
+</p>
+<p>
+Much of those companies' contribution to the GNU/Linux system lies in
+the code they have contributed to various GNU packages including GCC
+and GNOME.  Saying GNU/Linux gives credit to those companies along
+with all the rest of the GNU developers.
+</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="whyslash">Why do you write &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;
+instead of &ldquo;GNU Linux&rdquo;? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a 
href="#whyslash">#whyslash</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+Following the rules of English, in the construction &ldquo;GNU Linux&rdquo; the
+word &ldquo;GNU&rdquo; modifies &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;.  This can mean either 
&ldquo;GNU's version of
+Linux&rdquo; or &ldquo;Linux, which is a GNU package.&rdquo;  Neither of those 
meanings
+fits the situation at hand.
+<p>
+Linux is not a GNU package; that is, it wasn't developed under the GNU
+Project's aegis or contributed specifically to the GNU Project.  Linus
+Torvalds wrote Linux independently, as his own project.  So the
+&ldquo;Linux, which is a GNU package&rdquo; meaning is not right.</p>
+<p>
+We're not talking about a distinct GNU version of Linux, the kernel.
+The free GNU/Linux distros do have
+a <a href="http://directory.fsf.org/project/linux";>separate version of
+Linux</a>, since the &ldquo;standard&rdquo; version contains non-free
+firmware &ldquo;blobs&rdquo;.  If this were part of the GNU Project,
+it could be considered &ldquo;GNU Linux&rdquo;; but we would not want
+to call it that, because it would be too confusing.</p>
+<p>
+We're talking about a version of GNU, the operating system,
+distinguished by having Linux as the kernel.  A slash fits the
+situation because it means &ldquo;combination.&rdquo; (Think of
+&ldquo;Input/Output&rdquo;.)  This system is the combination of GNU
+and Linux; hence, &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;.</p>
+<p>
+There are other ways to express &ldquo;combination&rdquo;.  If you
+think that a plus-sign is clearer, please use that.  In French, a
+hyphen is clear: &ldquo;GNU-Linux&rdquo;.  In Spanish, we sometimes
+say &ldquo;GNU con Linux&rdquo;.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="whyorder">Why &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; rather
+than &ldquo;Linux/GNU&rdquo;? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a 
href="#whyorder">#whyorder</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+<p>
+It is right and proper to mention the principal contribution first.
+The GNU contribution to the system is not only bigger than Linux and
+prior to Linux, we actually started the whole activity.</p>
+<p>
+In addition, &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; fits the fact that Linux is the
+lowest level of the system and GNU fills technically higher levels.</p>
+<p>
+However, if you prefer to call the system &ldquo;Linux/GNU&rdquo;, that is a 
lot
+better than what people usually do, which is to omit GNU entirely and
+make it seem that the whole system is Linux.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="distronames0">My distro's developers call it
+    &ldquo;Foobar Linux&rdquo;, but that doesn't say anything about
+    what the system consists of.  Why shouldn't they call it whatever
+    they like? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a 
href="#distronames0">#distronames0</a>)</span></dt>
+<dd>
+Calling a system &ldquo;Foobar Linux&rdquo; implies that it's a flavor
+of &ldquo;Linux,&rdquo; and people <a href="#distronames">understand
+it that way</a>.
+
+<p>
+If they called a GNU/Linux distro &ldquo;Foobar BSD,&rdquo; you would
+call that a mistake.  &ldquo;This system is not BSD,&rdquo; you
+would tell them.  Well, it's not Linux either.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="distronames">My distro is called
+    &ldquo;Foobar Linux&rdquo;; 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 &ldquo;Foobar Linux&rdquo; distro are
+repeating the common mistake. We appreciate that distributions like Debian, 
Dragora, Musix, Trisquel, and Venenux have adopted
+GNU/Linux as part of their official name, and we hope that if you are involved 
with a different distribution, you will
+encourage it to do the same.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="distronames1">My distro's official name is &ldquo;Foobar
+    Linux&rdquo;; isn't it wrong to call the distro
+    anything but &ldquo;Foobar Linux&rdquo;? <span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a 
href="#distronames1">#distronames1</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd><p>When they spread misinformation by changing &ldquo;GNU&rdquo;
+to &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;, and call their version of it &ldquo;Foobar
+Linux&rdquo;, it's proper for you to correct the misinformation by
+calling it &ldquo;Foobar GNU/Linux&rdquo;.</p></dd>
+
+<dt id="companies">Wouldn't it be more
+    effective to ask companies such as Mandrake, Red Hat and IBM to
+    call their distributions &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; rather than asking
+    individuals? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a 
href="#companies">#companies</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+It isn't a choice of one or the other&mdash;we ask companies and
+organizations and individuals to help spread the word about this.  In
+fact, we have asked all three of those companies.  Mandrake said it
+would use the term &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; some of the time, but IBM
+and Red Hat were unwilling to help.  One executive said, &ldquo;This
+is a pure commercial decision; we expect to make more money calling it
+&lsquo;Linux&rsquo;.&rdquo; In other words, that company did not care
+what was right.
+<p>
+We can't make them do this right, but we're not the sort to give up
+just because the road isn't easy.  You may not have as much influence
+at your disposal as IBM or Red Hat, but you can still help.  Together
+we can change the situation to the point where companies will make
+more profit calling it &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="reserve">Wouldn't it be better to
+    reserve the name &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; for distributions that are purely
+    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
+system is a major problem for our community.  It teaches the users
+that non-free software is ok, and that using it is part of the spirit
+of &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;.  Many &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; User Groups make it part of 
their mission to
+help users use non-free add-ons, and may even invite salesmen to come
+and make sales pitches for them.  They adopt goals such as &ldquo;helping
+the users&rdquo; of GNU/Linux (including helping them use non-free
+applications and drivers), or making the system more popular even at
+the cost of freedom.
+<p>
+The question is how to try to change this.</p>
+<p>
+Given that most of the community which uses GNU with Linux already
+does not realize that's what it is, for us to disown these adulterated
+versions, saying they are not really GNU, would not teach the users to
+value freedom more.  They would not get the intended message.  They
+would only respond they never thought these systems were GNU in the
+first place.</p>
+<p>
+The way to lead these users to see a connection with freedom is
+exactly the opposite: to inform them that all these system
+versions <em>are</em> versions of GNU, that they all are based on a
+system that exists specifically for the sake of the users' freedom.
+With this understanding, they can start to recognize the distributions
+that include non-free software as perverted, adulterated versions of
+GNU, instead of thinking they are proper and appropriate &ldquo;versions of
+Linux&rdquo;.</p>
+<p>
+It is very useful to start GNU/Linux User Groups, which call the
+system GNU/Linux and adopt the ideals of the GNU Project as a basis
+for their activities.  If the Linux User Group in your area has the
+problems described above, we suggest you either campaign within the
+group to change its orientation (and name) or start a new group.  The
+people who focus on the more superficial goals have a right to their
+views, but don't let them drag you along!</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="gnudist">Why not make a GNU
+    distribution of Linux (sic) and call that GNU/Linux? <span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#gnudist">#gnudist</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+All the &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; distributions are actually versions of the GNU 
system
+with Linux as the kernel.  The purpose of the term &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; is 
to
+communicate this point.  To develop one new distribution and call that
+alone &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; would obscure the point we want to make.
+<p>
+As for developing a distribution of GNU/Linux, we already did this
+once, when we funded the early development of Debian GNU/Linux.  To do
+it again now does not seem useful; it would be a lot of work, and
+unless the new distribution had substantial practical advantages over
+other distributions, it would serve no purpose.</p>
+<p>
+Instead we help the developers of 100% free GNU/Linux distributions,
+such as gNewSense and Ututo.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="linuxgnu">Why not just say &ldquo;Linux is
+    the GNU kernel&rdquo; and release some existing version of GNU/Linux under
+    the name &ldquo;GNU&rdquo;? <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
+in 1992.  If we had realized, then, how long it would take to get the
+GNU Hurd to work, we might have done that.  (Alas, that is hindsight.)
+<p>
+If we were to take an existing version of GNU/Linux and relabel it as
+&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;, that would be somewhat like making a version of the GNU 
system
+and labeling it &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;.  That wasn't right, and we don't
+want to act like that.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="condemn">Did the GNU Project condemn
+    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
+it.  In 1993 we started discussing the arrangements to sponsor the
+development of Debian GNU/Linux.  We also sought to cooperate with the
+people who were changing some GNU packages for use with Linux.  We
+wanted to include their changes in the standard releases so that these
+GNU packages would work out-of-the-box in combination with Linux.  But
+the changes were often ad-hoc and nonportable; they needed to be cleaned
+up for installation.
+<p>
+The people who had made the changes showed little interest in
+cooperating with us.  One of them actually told us that he didn't care
+about working with the GNU Project because he was a &ldquo;Linux user&rdquo;.
+That came as a shock, because the people who ported GNU packages to
+other systems had generally wanted to work with us to get their
+changes installed.  Yet these people, developing a system that was
+primarily based on GNU, were the first (and still practically the
+only) group that was unwilling to work with us.</p>
+<p>
+It was this experience that first showed us that people were calling a
+version of the GNU system &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;, and that this confusion was
+obstructing our work.  Asking you to call the system &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; is
+our response to that problem, and to the other problems caused by the
+&ldquo;Linux&rdquo; misnomer.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="wait">Why did you wait so
+    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
+distributors about this in 1994, and made a more public campaign in
+1996.  We will continue for as long as it's necessary.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="allgpled">Should the GNU/<i>name</i>
+    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 &ldquo;GNU/<i>name</i>&rdquo;.  When 
a program
+is a GNU package, we may call it &ldquo;GNU <i>name</i>&rdquo;.
+<p>
+GNU, the operating system, is made up of many different programs.
+Some of the programs in GNU were written as part of the GNU Project or
+specifically contributed to it; these are the GNU packages, and we
+often use &ldquo;GNU&rdquo; in their names.</p>
+<p>
+It's up to the developers of a program to decide if they want to contribute
+it and make it a GNU package.  If you have developed a program and you
+would like it to be a GNU package, please write to
+<a href="mailto:address@hidden";>&lt;address@hidden&gt;</a>, so we can evaluate 
it
+and decide whether we want it.</p>
+<p>
+It wouldn't be fair to put the name GNU on every individual program
+that is released under the GPL.  If you write a program and release it
+under the GPL, that doesn't mean the GNU Project wrote it or that you
+wrote it for us.  For instance, the kernel, Linux, is released under
+the GNU GPL, but Linus did not write it as part of the GNU Project&mdash;he
+did the work independently.  If something is not a GNU package, the
+GNU Project can't take credit for it, and putting &ldquo;GNU&rdquo; in its name
+would be improper.</p>
+<p>
+In contrast, we do deserve the overall credit for the GNU operating
+system as a whole, even though not for each and every program in it.
+The system exists as a system because of our determination and
+persistence, starting in 1984, many years before Linux was begun.</p>
+<p>
+The operating system in which Linux became popular was basically the
+same as the GNU operating system.  It was not entirely the same,
+because it had a different kernel, but it was mostly the same system.
+It was a variant of GNU.  It was the GNU/Linux system.</p>
+<p>
+Linux continues to be used primarily in derivatives of that system&mdash;in
+today's versions of the GNU/Linux system.  What gives these systems
+their identity is GNU and Linux at the center of them, not particularly
+Linux alone.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="unix">Since much of GNU comes
+from Unix, shouldn't GNU give credit
+to Unix by using &ldquo;Unix&rdquo; 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
+(and still is), so using any of its code in GNU would have been
+illegal.  This is not a coincidence; this is why we developed GNU:
+since you could not have freedom in using Unix, or any of the other
+operating systems of the day, we needed a free system to replace it.
+We could not copy programs, or even parts of them, from Unix;
+everything had to be written afresh.
+<p>
+No code in GNU comes from Unix, but GNU is a Unix-compatible system;
+therefore, many of the ideas and specifications of GNU do come from
+Unix.  The name &ldquo;GNU&rdquo;, which stands for &ldquo;GNU's Not
+Unix&rdquo;, is a humorous way of giving credit to Unix for this,
+following a hacker tradition of recursive acronyms that started in the
+70s.</p>
+<p>
+The first such recursive acronym was TINT, &ldquo;TINT Is Not
+TECO&rdquo;.  The author of TINT wrote another implementation of TECO
+(there were already many of them, for various systems), but instead of
+calling it by a dull name like &ldquo;<em>somethingorother</em> TECO&rdquo;, he
+thought of a clever amusing name.  (That's what hacking
+means: <a href="http://stallman.org/articles/on-hacking.html";>playful
+cleverness</a>.)</p>
+<p>
+Other hackers enjoyed that name so much that we imitated the approach.
+It became a tradition that, when you were writing from scratch a
+program that was similar to some existing program (let's imagine its
+name was &ldquo;Klever&rdquo;), you could give it a recursive acronym name, 
such
+as &ldquo;MINK&rdquo; for &ldquo;MINK Is Not Klever.&rdquo;  In this same 
spirit we called our
+replacement for Unix &ldquo;GNU's Not Unix&rdquo;.</p>
+<p>
+Historically, AT&amp;T which developed Unix did not want anyone to
+give it credit by using &ldquo;Unix&rdquo; in the name of a similar
+system, not even in a system 99% copied from Unix.  AT&amp;T actually
+threatened to sue anyone giving AT&amp;T credit in that way.  This is
+why each of the various modified versions of Unix (all proprietary,
+like Unix) had a completely different name that didn't include
+&ldquo;Unix&rdquo;.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="bsd">Should we say &ldquo;GNU/BSD&rdquo;
+too? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#bsd">#bsd</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+We don't call the BSD systems (FreeBSD, etc.) &ldquo;GNU/BSD&rdquo; systems,
+because that term does not fit the history of the BSD systems.
+<p>
+The BSD system was developed by UC Berkeley as non-free software in
+the 80s, and became free in the early 90s.  A free operating system
+that exists today is almost certainly either a variant of the GNU
+system, or a kind of BSD system.</p>
+<p>
+People sometimes ask whether BSD too is a variant of GNU, as GNU/Linux
+is.  It is not.  The BSD developers were inspired to make their code
+free software by the example of the GNU Project, and explicit appeals
+from GNU activists helped convince them to start, but the code had
+little overlap with GNU.</p>
+<p>
+BSD systems today use some GNU packages, just as the GNU system and
+its variants use some BSD programs; however, taken as wholes, they are
+two different systems that evolved separately.  The BSD developers did
+not write a kernel and add it to the GNU system, so a name like
+GNU/BSD would not fit the situation.</p>
+<p>
+The connection between GNU/Linux and GNU is much closer, and that's
+why the name &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; is appropriate for it.</p>
+<p>
+There is a version of GNU which uses the kernel from NetBSD.  Its
+developers call it &ldquo;Debian GNU/NetBSD&rdquo;, but 
&ldquo;GNU/kernelofNetBSD&rdquo;
+would be more accurate, since NetBSD is an entire system, not just
+the kernel.  This is not a BSD system, since most of the system
+is the same as the GNU/Linux system.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="othersys">If I install the GNU tools
+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 &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;.  The tools of 
GNU
+are just a part of the GNU software, which is just a part of the GNU
+system, and underneath them you would still have another complete
+operating system which has no code in common with GNU.  All in all,
+that's a very different situation from GNU/Linux.
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="justlinux">Can't Linux be used without GNU? <span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#justlinux">#justlinux</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+Linux is used by itself, or with small other programs, in some
+appliances.  These small software systems are a far cry from the
+GNU/Linux system.  Users do not install them on PCs, for instance, and
+would find them rather disappointing.  It is useful to say that these
+appliances run just Linux, to show how different those small platforms
+are from GNU/Linux.
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="howmuch">How much of the GNU system is needed for the system
+to be
+GNU/Linux? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a 
href="#howmuch">#howmuch</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+&ldquo;How much&rdquo; is not a meaningful question because the GNU
+system does not have precise boundaries.
+<p>
+GNU is an operating system maintained by a community.  It includes far
+more than just the GNU software packages (of which we have a specific
+list), and people add more packages constantly.  Despite these
+changes, it remains the GNU system, and adding Linux to that yields
+GNU/Linux.  If you use part of the GNU system and omit part, there is
+no meaningful way to say &ldquo;how much&rdquo; you used.</p>
+<p>
+If we look at the level of packages, Linux is one important package in
+the GNU/Linux system.  The inclusion of one important GNU package is
+enough to justify our request for equal mention.
+</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="linuxsyswithoutgnu">Are there complete Linux systems [sic] without 
GNU? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a 
href="#linuxsyswithoutgnu">#linuxsyswithoutgnu</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+There are complete systems that contain Linux and not GNU; Android is
+an example.  But it is a mistake to call them &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;
+systems, just as it is a mistake to call GNU a &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; system.
+<p>
+Android is very different from the GNU/Linux system&mdash;because
+the two have very little code in common.  In fact, the only thing they
+have in common is Linux.</p>
+<p>
+If you call the whole GNU/Linux system &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;,
+you will find it necessary to say things like, &ldquo;Android contains
+Linux, but it isn't Linux, because it doesn't have the usual Linux
+[sic] libraries and utilities [meaning the GNU system].&rdquo;</p>
+<p>
+Android contains just as much of Linux as GNU/Linux does.  What it
+doesn't have is the GNU system.  Android replaces that with Google
+software that works quite differently.  What makes Android different
+from GNU/Linux is the absence of GNU.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="usegnulinuxandandroid">Is it correct to say &ldquo;using Linux&rdquo; 
if it refers to using GNU/Linux and
+using Android? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a 
href="#usegnulinuxandandroidlinuxsyswithoutgnu">#usegnulinuxandandroidlinuxsyswithoutgnu</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+Far from it.  That usage is so strained that
+people will not understand the intended meaning.
+<p>
+The public will find it very strange to speak of using Android as
+&ldquo;using Linux&rdquo;.  It's like having a conversation, then
+saying you were conversing with the person's intestines or the
+person's circulatory system.</p>
+<p>
+The public <em>will</em> understand the idea of &ldquo;using
+Linux&rdquo; when it's really GNU/Linux, by way of the usual
+misunderstanding: thinking of the whole system as
+&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;.</p>
+<p>
+Use of Android and use of GNU/Linux are totally different, as
+different as driving a car and riding a bicycle.  The fact that the
+first two both contain Linux is irrelevant to using them, just as the
+fact that a car and a bicycle both have a structure of metal is
+irrelevant to using those two.  If you wish to talk about using cars
+and bikes, you wouldn't speak of &ldquo;riding metal objects&rdquo;
+&mdash; not unless you're playing games with the reader.  You would
+say, &ldquo;using cars and bikes.&rdquo; Likewise, the clear way to
+talk about using GNU/Linux and Android is to say &ldquo;using
+GNU/Linux and Android.&rdquo;</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="helplinus">Why not call the system
+    &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; anyway, and strengthen Linus Torvalds' role as 
posterboy for our
+    community? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a 
href="#helplinus">#helplinus</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+Linus Torvalds is the &ldquo;posterboy&rdquo; (other people's choice of word, 
not
+ours) for his goals, not ours.  His goal is to make the system more
+popular, and he believes its value to society lies merely in the
+practical advantages it offers: its power, reliability and easy
+availability.  He has never advocated
+<a href="/philosophy/why-free.html">freedom to cooperate</a> as an
+ethical principle, which is why the public does not connect the name
+&ldquo;Linux&rdquo; with that principle.
+<p>
+Linus publicly states his disagreement with the free software
+movement's ideals.  He developed non-free software in his job for many
+years (and said so to a large audience at a &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;World show), and
+publicly invited fellow developers of Linux, the kernel, to use
+non-free software to work on it with him.  He goes even further, and
+rebukes people who suggest that engineers and scientists should
+consider social consequences of our technical work&mdash;rejecting the
+lessons society learned from the development of the atom bomb.</p>
+<p>
+There is nothing wrong with writing a free program for the motivations
+of learning and having fun; the kernel Linus wrote for those reasons
+was an important contribution to our community.  But those motivations
+are not the reason why the complete free system, GNU/Linux, exists,
+and they won't secure our freedom in the future.  The public needs to
+know this.  Linus has the right to promote his views; however, people
+should be aware that the operating system in question
+stems from ideals of freedom, not from his views.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="claimlinux">Isn't it wrong for us to label Linus Torvalds'
+    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
+kernel; we are careful not to attribute that work to the GNU Project
+or label it as &ldquo;GNU&rdquo;.  When we talk about the whole
+system, the name &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; gives him a share of the
+credit.
+</dd>
+
+
+<dt id="linusagreed">Does Linus Torvalds
+    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
+said, <a
+href="http://ftp.funet.fi/pub/linux/historical/kernel/old-versions/RELNOTES-0.01";>
+&ldquo;Most of the tools used with linux are GNU software and are under the
+GNU copyleft. These tools aren't in the distribution - ask me (or GNU)
+for more info&rdquo;</a>.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="finishhurd">Why not finish the GNU Hurd kernel, release the GNU system
+    as a whole, and forget the question of what to call GNU/Linux?
+    <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a 
href="#finishhurd">#finishhurd</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+We would like credit for the GNU operating system no matter which
+kernel is used with it.
+
+<p>Making the GNU Hurd work well enough to compete with Linux would be
+a big job, and it's not clearly necessary.  The only thing ethically
+wrong with Linux as a kernel is its inclusion of firmware
+&ldquo;blobs&rdquo;; the best fix for that problem
+is <a href="http://fsf.org/campaigns/priority-projects";> developing
+free replacement for the blobs</a>.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="lost">The battle is already lost&mdash;society
+    has made its decision and we can't change it, so why even think about
+    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
+system is not a single decision, to be made at one moment by
+&ldquo;society&rdquo;: each person, each organization, can decide what
+name to use.  You can't make others say &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;, but
+you can decide to call the system &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;
+yourself&mdash;and by doing so, you will help educate others.
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="whatgood">Society has made its
+    decision and we can't change it, so what good does it do if I say
+    &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a 
href="#whatgood">#whatgood</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+This is not an all-or-nothing situation: correct and incorrect
+pictures are being spread more or less by various people.  If you call
+the system &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;, you will help others learn the system's 
true
+history, origin, and reason for being.  You can't correct the misnomer
+everywhere on your own, any more than we can, but you can help.  If
+only a few hundred people see you use the term &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;, you 
will
+have educated a substantial number of people with very little work.
+And some of them will spread the correction to others.
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="explain">Wouldn't it be better to call
+    the system &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; and teach people its real origin with a 
ten-minute
+    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
+effort, but that is not the best method.  It is not as effective as
+calling the system &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;, and uses your time inefficiently.
+<p>
+It is ineffective because it may not sink in, and surely will not
+propagate.  Some of the people who hear your explanation will pay
+attention, and they may learn a correct picture of the system's
+origin.  But they are unlikely to repeat the explanation to others
+whenever they talk about the system.  They will probably just call it
+&ldquo;Linux&rdquo;.  Without particularly intending to, they will help spread 
the
+incorrect picture.</p>
+<p>
+It is inefficient because it takes a lot more time.  Saying and
+writing &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; will take you only a few seconds a day, not
+minutes, so you can afford to reach far more people that way.
+Distinguishing between Linux and GNU/Linux when you write and speak is
+by far the easiest way to help the GNU Project effectively.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<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? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a 
href="#treatment">#treatment</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+Calling the system &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; tends to give people a mistaken picture 
of
+the system's history and reason for existence.  People who laugh at
+our request probably have picked up that mistaken picture&mdash;they think
+our work was done by Linus, so they laugh when we ask for credit for
+it.  If they knew the truth, they probably wouldn't laugh.
+<p>
+Why do we take the risk of making a request that sometimes leads
+people to ridicule us?  Because often it has useful results that help
+the GNU Project.  We will run the risk of undeserved abuse to achieve
+our goals.</p>
+<p>
+If you see such an ironically unfair situation occurring, please don't
+sit idly by.  Please teach the laughing people the real history.  When
+they see why the request is justified, those who have any sense will
+stop laughing.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="alienate">Some people condemn you
+    when you ask them to call the system GNU/Linux.  Don't you lose by
+    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
+system are unlikely to make substantial efforts to help us.  If they
+do work that advances our goals, such as releasing free software, it
+is probably for other unrelated reasons, not because we asked them.
+Meanwhile, by teaching others to attribute our work to someone else,
+they are undermining our ability to recruit the help of others.
+<p>
+It makes no sense to worry about alienating people who are already
+mostly uncooperative, and it is self-defeating to be deterred from
+correcting a major problem lest we anger the people who perpetuate it.
+Therefore, we will continue trying to correct the misnomer.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="rename">Whatever you contributed,
+    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 
&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;
+ever since we announced it in 1983.  The people who tried to rename
+it to &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; should not have done so.</dd>
+
+<dt id="force">Isn't it wrong to force people to call
+the system &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;? <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
+&ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;, and we ask you to do it too.
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="whynotsue">Why not sue people who call
+the whole system &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;? <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
+freedom of speech, we wouldn't want to do that anyway.  We ask people
+to call the system &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo; because that is the right thing to 
do.
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="require">Shouldn't you put something in
+    the GNU GPL to require people to call the system &ldquo;GNU&rdquo;? <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
+who would make proprietary versions of free software.  While it is
+true that those who call the system &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; often do things that 
limit
+the users' freedom, such as bundling non-free software with the
+GNU/Linux system or even developing non-free software for such use,
+the mere act of calling the system &ldquo;Linux&rdquo; does not, in itself, 
deny
+users their freedom.  It seems improper to make the GPL restrict what
+name people can use for the system.
+</dd>
+
+<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? <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
+requirement, and we don't.  We only <em>ask</em> you to give us the
+credit we deserve.
+
+<p>
+Please note that there are at least <a href="/licenses/bsd.html">
+two different BSD licenses</a>.  For clarity's sake, please don't use
+the term &ldquo;BSD license&rdquo; without specifying which one.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="deserve">Since you failed to put
+    something in the GNU GPL to require people to call the system 
&ldquo;GNU&rdquo;,
+    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
+premise: that if people do not force you to treat them fairly, you are
+entitled to take advantage of them as much as you like.  In other
+words, it assumes that might makes right.
+<p>
+We hope you disagree with that premise just as we do.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="contradict">Wouldn't you be better
+    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
+they have been misled.  We hope you too will decide that truth is
+important.
+<p>
+We could never have developed a free operating system without first
+denying the belief, held by most people, that proprietary software
+was legitimate and acceptable.</p>
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="somanyright">Since many people call
+it &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;, 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.
+</dd>
+
+<dt id="knownname">Isn't it better to call the
+    system by the name most users already know? <span 
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#knownname">#knownname</a>)</span></dt>
+
+<dd>
+Users are not incapable of learning.  Since &ldquo;GNU/Linux&rdquo;
+includes &ldquo;Linux&rdquo;, they will recognize what you're talking
+about.  If you add &ldquo;(often erroneously referred to as
+&lsquo;Linux&rsquo;)&rdquo; once in a while, they will all understand.
+</dd>
+
+<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? <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
+approach to life.  Non-free software is an example of that amoral
+approach and thrives on it.  Thus, in the long run it would be
+self-defeating for us to adopt that approach.  We will continue
+talking in terms of right and wrong.
+<p>
+We hope that you are one of those for whom right and wrong do matter.</p>
+</dd>
+
+</dl>
+
+</div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above -->
+<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" -->
+<div id="footer">
+<div class="unprintable">
+
+<p>Please send general FSF &amp; GNU inquiries to
+<a href="mailto:address@hidden";>&lt;address@hidden&gt;</a>.
+There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a>
+the FSF.  Broken links and other corrections or suggestions can be sent
+to <a href="mailto:address@hidden";>&lt;address@hidden&gt;</a>.</p>
+
+<p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph,
+        replace it with the translation of these two:
+
+        We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality
+        translations.  However, we are not exempt from imperfection.
+        Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard
+        to <a href="mailto:address@hidden";>
+        &lt;address@hidden&gt;</a>.</p>
+
+        <p>For information on coordinating and submitting translations of
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+        href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
+        README</a>. -->
+Please see the <a
+href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
+README</a> for information on coordinating and submitting translations
+of this article.</p>
+</div>
+
+<!-- Regarding copyright, in general, standalone pages (as opposed to
+     files generated as part of manuals) on the GNU web server should
+     be under CC BY-ND 4.0.  Please do NOT change or remove this
+     without talking with the webmasters or licensing team first.
+     Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the
+     document.  For web pages, it is ok to list just the latest year the
+     document was modified, or published.
+
+     If you wish to list earlier years, that is ok too.
+     Either "2001, 2002, 2003" or "2001-2003" are ok for specifying
+     years, as long as each year in the range is in fact a copyrightable
+     year, i.e., a year in which the document was published (including
+     being publicly visible on the web or in a revision control system).
+
+     There is more detail about copyright years in the GNU Maintainers
+     Information document, www.gnu.org/prep/maintain. -->
+
+<p>Copyright &copy; 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 
2016, 2017, 2018
+Free Software Foundation, Inc.</p>
+
+<p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license"
+href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/";>Creative
+Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.</p>
+
+<!--#include virtual="/server/bottom-notes.html" -->
+
+<p class="unprintable">Updated:
+<!-- timestamp start -->
+$Date: 2018/04/07 00:57:55 $
+<!-- timestamp end -->
+</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</body>
+</html>



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