Linux, GNU, and Freedom (was Re: The Stallman Factor)

[Victor Odhner]

sundar wrote:
> All he is asking is that GNU should be given its fair share.

1. I can't get excited about the name of this group,
  and I don't like GNU/Linux any more than I would
  like GM/Chevrolet/Corvette/StingRay.  We all know what
  a Sting Ray is, and don't need to quote the whole
  pathname.

2. Nonetheless, Stallman is correct in his concern
  for the underlying principles of the Free Software
  Movement.  And it would be a Good Thing if the
  alternative CVS he suggested could be built and
  maintained by someone who has already sold out   ;-)
  to the extent of having BitKeeper on their machine.

3. But sequences of machine codes and numbers with
  no corresponding source don't bother me if they
  are the key to a device.  It's the device itself
  that is non-Free, and we can't see the source code
  expressly because we don't even have access to
  knowledge of the device's workings.  In this
  context I have to say, Pick Your Battles.
  Clarify which devices do not have an open API,
  and Document those sequences of codes to reflect
  the boundaries of our knowledge.  Fact is, we will
  never have full control over the workings of all
  our hardware:  at a certain level we just have to
  use a "voodoo" approach that seems to work.
  (Maybe RMS has identified an adequate set of
  devices with open APIs, so that he can use a
  kernel devoid of those non-Free drivers.)

4. The fact is, we are largely a GNU/BSD users' group.
  Note that we welcome discussions of FreeBSD, for
  example.  A lot of what we discuss here has very
  little to do with Linux.  But Linux, like Sting Ray,
  is shorthand for the platform most of us are using
  as the basis for our Free Software operations.

5. Although I'm not a True Believer in Free Software
  (i.e., I don't believe all non-Free software is evil),
  still I think local True Believers assisted by some
  of us on the fringe would do well to start a Phoenix
  GNU Users' Group.  It would be a low-key activity,
  but it could concentrate on propagating the GNU
  message; on assembling and distributing systems
  that are literally Free Software (maybe with the
  exception of those numbers in the drivers?); and
  when Hurd emerges, they could assist in the public
  awareness effort.  And, of course, they would be
  the hosts when RMS came to town!

My 2 cents.

P.S. -- It just occurred to me that I can adjust a
  few words at the top of our web page to refer to
  GNU, BSD, Free Software, open source software,
  etc.  (I'll announce when I have done this, then
  y'all can take pot shots at my wording; but I
  think all will be satisfied.)

Vic