Richard Stallman responds to readers’ comments:
Steve Philp – Subject: AndYou’re pushing away those
you need to attract (1999-03-18 00:58:11) You had the chance to
make your mark in the operating systems arena, but Hurd’s been
wallowing in the muck for years…The more you shout GNU/Linux, the
more Linux enthusiasts close their ears.
If you consider yourself a Linux enthusiast, either you have a
special interest in kernels, or your enthusiasm is really about the
GNU operating system. If it’s the former, I can get into that. But
if it’s the latter, I’d like you and others like you to know that
what you’re appreciating was principally the work of the GNU
Project (though many others have contributed too). When people are
told the whole system is “Linux”, they naturally reach inaccurate
suppositions about this.
That ambiguous usage also leads to general confusion about how a
kernel relates to the operating system it is part of. (The idea of
measuring the success or impact of the GNU Project by its kernel
development project, the GNU HURD, might be an instance of this.) I
hope future press coverage of the GNU system and the Linux kernel
to reflect a full awareness of the difference and relationship
between the two.
Jason Burke – Subject: GNU Linux != Stallman’s
Linux (1999-03-19 08:57:37) …take a look at all the people who
are a part of the GNU project. Well let me tell you it’s a long
list, …
It’s not as long as it ought to be. If you have been a major
developer of a piece of GNU software, and you’re not listed in
www.gnu.org/people/people.html, please send webmasters@gnu.org an
item about you to add to the list. (Please don’t mention or link to
unrelated business activities, or anything about non-free software,
in the item.)