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www/gnu gnu-linux-faq.html
|
From: |
Therese Godefroy |
|
Subject: |
www/gnu gnu-linux-faq.html |
|
Date: |
Mon, 30 Aug 2021 09:09:05 -0400 (EDT) |
CVSROOT: /webcvs/www
Module name: www
Changes by: Therese Godefroy <th_g> 21/08/30 09:09:05
Modified files:
gnu : gnu-linux-faq.html
Log message:
s/Linux and the GNU Project/Linux and the GNU System/
Move announcement down; http > https; only list copyrightable years;
add <p> when final <dd> child is an anonymous box (for better
rendering by Firefox in reading mode); restyle the ToC;
use one div for article layout.
CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/gnu/gnu-linux-faq.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.167&r2=1.168
Patches:
Index: gnu-linux-faq.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /webcvs/www/www/gnu/gnu-linux-faq.html,v
retrieving revision 1.167
retrieving revision 1.168
diff -u -b -r1.167 -r1.168
--- gnu-linux-faq.html 7 Apr 2021 17:55:36 -0000 1.167
+++ gnu-linux-faq.html 30 Aug 2021 13:09:05 -0000 1.168
@@ -1,30 +1,23 @@
-<!--#include virtual="/server/html5-header.html" -->
+<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" -->
<!-- Parent-Version: 1.96 -->
+<!-- This page is derived from /server/standards/boilerplate.html -->
<title>GNU/Linux FAQ
- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
<!--#include virtual="/gnu/po/gnu-linux-faq.translist" -->
<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" -->
-<h2 class="c">GNU/Linux FAQ</h2>
+<div class="article reduced-width">
+<h2>GNU/Linux FAQ</h2>
-<address class="byline c">by Richard Stallman</address>
+<address class="byline">by Richard Stallman</address>
-<div class="reduced-width">
-<hr class="no-display" />
-<div class="announcement">
-<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>
-</div>
-<hr class="thin" />
-
-<div class="article">
<p>
When people see that we use and recommend the name GNU/Linux for a
system that many others call just “Linux”, they ask many questions.
Here are common questions, and our answers.</p>
+<div class="toc">
+<hr class="no-display" />
+<h3 class="no-display">Table of Contents</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="#why">Why do you call the system we use GNU/Linux and not
Linux?</a></li>
@@ -285,7 +278,16 @@
get more of their support by a different road?</a></li>
</ul>
-<hr class="thin" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="announcement comment" role="complementary">
+<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 System</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>
+<hr class="no-display" />
+</div>
<dl>
@@ -326,10 +328,13 @@
<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
+<dd>
+<p>
+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>
+together.</p>
+</dd>
<dt id="howerror">How did it come about that most
people call the system “Linux”? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#howerror">#howerror</a>)</span></dt>
@@ -442,11 +447,12 @@
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>
+<p>
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.
+those values of freedom brought the system into existence.</p>
</dd>
<dt id="everyoneknows">Since everyone knows the role
@@ -476,11 +482,12 @@
why does it matter what name I use? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#everyoneknows2">#everyoneknows2</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
+<p>
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
“Linux”, that it was started by Linus Torvalds, and that
it was intended to be “open source”. If you don't tell
-them, who will?
+them, who will?</p>
</dd>
<dt id="windows">Isn't shortening “GNU/Linux”
@@ -587,16 +594,18 @@
<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>
+<p>
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.
+the brain in a human.</p>
</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.
+<p>
+No, many components take a lot of work.</p>
</dd>
<dt id="nokernel">An operating system requires a kernel.
@@ -682,11 +691,12 @@
feel of Linux”? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#feel">#feel</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
+<p>
There is no such thing as the “feel of Linux” 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 “feel” comes from them.
+and the “feel” comes from them.</p>
</dd>
<dt id="long">The problem with “GNU/Linux” is that it is too long.
@@ -777,7 +787,7 @@
may simply not recognize we're talking about the same system. If we
say “GNU/Linux”, they can make a connection to what they have heard
about.</li>
-</ul><p></p>
+</ul>
</dd>
<dt id="trademarkfee">I would have
@@ -831,11 +841,12 @@
GNU/systemd/Linux? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#others">#others</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
+<p>
systemd is a fairly important component, but not as important as the
kernel (Linux), nor as important as the basis of the system as a whole
(GNU). However, if you want to emphasize the presence of systemd
by calling the system “GNU/systemd/Linux”, there is nothing
-wrong with doing so.
+wrong with doing so.</p>
</dd>
<dt id="others">Many other projects contributed to
@@ -907,7 +918,7 @@
<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
+a <a href="https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Linux-libre";>separate version of
Linux</a>, since the “standard” version contains non-free
firmware “blobs”. If this were part of the GNU Project,
it could be considered “GNU Linux”; but we would not want
@@ -1205,7 +1216,7 @@
(there were already many of them, for various systems), but instead of
calling it by a dull name like “<em>somethingorother</em> TECO”, he
thought of a clever amusing name. (That's what hacking
-means: <a href="http://stallman.org/articles/on-hacking.html";>playful
+means: <a href="https://stallman.org/articles/on-hacking.html";>playful
cleverness</a>.)</p>
<p>
Other hackers enjoyed that name so much that we imitated the approach.
@@ -1262,22 +1273,24 @@
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>
+<p>
Not in the same sense that we mean by “GNU/Linux”. 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.
+that's a very different situation from GNU/Linux.</p>
</dd>
<dt id="justlinux">Can't Linux be used without GNU? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#justlinux">#justlinux</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
+<p>
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.
+are from GNU/Linux.</p>
</dd>
<dt id="howmuch">How much of the GNU system is needed for the system
@@ -1389,11 +1402,12 @@
work as GNU? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#claimlinux">#claimlinux</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
+<p>
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 “GNU”. When we talk about the whole
system, the name “GNU/Linux” gives him a share of the
-credit.
+credit.</p>
</dd>
@@ -1403,7 +1417,7 @@
<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";>
+href="https://ftp.funet.fi/pub/linux/historical/kernel/old-versions/RELNOTES-0.01";>
“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”</a>.</p>
@@ -1421,7 +1435,7 @@
a big job, and it's not clearly necessary. The only thing ethically
wrong with Linux as a kernel is its inclusion of firmware
“blobs”; the best fix for that problem
-is <a href="http://fsf.org/campaigns/priority-projects";> developing
+is <a href="https://www.fsf.org/campaigns/priority-projects";> developing
free replacement for the blobs</a>.</p>
</dd>
@@ -1430,12 +1444,13 @@
it? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#lost">#lost</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
+<p>
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
“society”: each person, each organization, can decide what
name to use. You can't make others say “GNU/Linux”, but
you can decide to call the system “GNU/Linux”
-yourself—and by doing so, you will help educate others.
+yourself—and by doing so, you will help educate others.</p>
</dd>
<dt id="whatgood">Society has made its
@@ -1443,6 +1458,7 @@
“GNU/Linux”? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#whatgood">#whatgood</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
+<p>
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 “GNU/Linux”, you will help others learn the system's
true
@@ -1450,7 +1466,7 @@
everywhere on your own, any more than we can, but you can help. If
only a few hundred people see you use the term “GNU/Linux”, you
will
have educated a substantial number of people with very little work.
-And some of them will spread the correction to others.
+And some of them will spread the correction to others.</p>
</dd>
<dt id="explain">Wouldn't it be better to call
@@ -1521,31 +1537,36 @@
is it legitimate to rename the operating system? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#rename">#rename</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
+<p>
We are not renaming anything; we have been calling this system
“GNU”
ever since we announced it in 1983. The people who tried to rename
-it to “Linux” should not have done so.</dd>
+it to “Linux” should not have done so.</p>
+</dd>
<dt id="force">Isn't it wrong to force people to call
the system “GNU/Linux”? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#force">#force</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
+<p>
It would be wrong to force them, and we don't try. We call the system
-“GNU/Linux”, and we ask you to do it too.
+“GNU/Linux”, and we ask you to do it too.</p>
</dd>
<dt id="whynotsue">Why not sue people who call
the whole system “Linux”? <span class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#whynotsue">#whynotsue</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
+<p>
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 “GNU/Linux” because that is the right thing to
do.
+to call the system “GNU/Linux” because that is the right thing to
do.</p>
</dd>
<dt id="require">Shouldn't you put something in
the GNU GPL to require people to call the system “GNU”? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a href="#require">#require</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
+<p>
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 “Linux” often do things that
limit
@@ -1553,7 +1574,7 @@
GNU/Linux system or even developing non-free software for such use,
the mere act of calling the system “Linux” does not, in itself,
deny
users their freedom. It seems improper to make the GPL restrict what
-name people can use for the system.
+name people can use for the system.</p>
</dd>
<dt id="BSDlicense">Since you objected to the original BSD license's
@@ -1601,17 +1622,19 @@
it “Linux”, doesn't that make it right? <span
class="anchor-reference-id">(<a
href="#somanyright">#somanyright</a>)</span></dt>
<dd>
-We don't think that the popularity of an error makes it the truth.
+<p>
+We don't think that the popularity of an error makes it the truth.</p>
</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>
+<p>
Users are not incapable of learning. Since “GNU/Linux”
includes “Linux”, they will recognize what you're talking
about. If you add “(often erroneously referred to as
-‘Linux’)” once in a while, they will all understand.
+‘Linux’)” once in a while, they will all understand.</p>
</dd>
<dt id="winning">Many people care about what's
@@ -1631,7 +1654,6 @@
</dl>
</div>
-</div>
</div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above -->
<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" -->
@@ -1680,7 +1702,7 @@
There is more detail about copyright years in the GNU Maintainers
Information document, www.gnu.org/prep/maintain. -->
-<p>Copyright © 2001, 2006-2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014-2018, 2020, 2021
+<p>Copyright © 2001-2011, 2013-2018, 2020, 2021
Free Software Foundation, Inc.</p>
<p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license"
@@ -1691,7 +1713,7 @@
<p class="unprintable">Updated:
<!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2021/04/07 17:55:36 $
+$Date: 2021/08/30 13:09:05 $
<!-- timestamp end -->
</p>
</div>
- www/gnu gnu-linux-faq.html,
Therese Godefroy <=