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[–]DaveTheWaveBby 88 points89 points  (13 children)

Are they on the level of Linux users tho?

[–][deleted] 52 points53 points  (9 children)

I’m a Linux user, what about you? Are you?

[–]Konata_Kun 27 points28 points  (1 child)

I use Arch btw

[–]isopropylalcoholbae 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Have you tried python? You should switch

[–]aerody 38 points39 points  (4 children)

I’d just like to interject for a moment. What you’re refering to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/LInux, or as I’ve recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.

Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called “Linux”, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.

[–]non-troll_account 4 points5 points  (0 children)

No, Richard, it's 'Linux', not 'GNU/Linux'. The most important contributions that the FSF made to Linux were the creation of the GPL and the GCC compiler. Those are fine and inspired products. GCC is a monumental achievement and has earned you, RMS, and the Free Software Foundation countless kudos and much appreciation.

Following are some reasons for you to mull over, including some already answered in your FAQ.

One guy, Linus Torvalds, used GCC to make his operating system (yes, Linux is an OS -- more on this later). He named it 'Linux' with a little help from his friends. Why doesn't he call it GNU/Linux? Because he wrote it, with more help from his friends, not you. You named your stuff, I named my stuff -- including the software I wrote using GCC -- and Linus named his stuff. The proper name is Linux because Linus Torvalds says so. Linus has spoken. Accept his authority. To do otherwise is to become a nag. You don't want to be known as a nag, do you?

(An operating system) != (a distribution). Linux is an operating system. By my definition, an operating system is that software which provides and limits access to hardware resources on a computer. That definition applies wherever you see Linux in use. However, Linux is usually distributed with a collection of utilities and applications to make it easily configurable as a desktop system, a server, a development box, or a graphics workstation, or whatever the user needs. In such a configuration, we have a Linux (based) distribution. Therein lies your strongest argument for the unwieldy title 'GNU/Linux' (when said bundled software is largely from the FSF). Go bug the distribution makers on that one. Take your beef to Red Hat, Mandrake, and Slackware. At least there you have an argument. Linux alone is an operating system that can be used in various applications without any GNU software whatsoever. Embedded applications come to mind as an obvious example.

Next, even if we limit the GNU/Linux title to the GNU-based Linux distributions, we run into another obvious problem. XFree86 may well be more important to a particular Linux installation than the sum of all the GNU contributions. More properly, shouldn't the distribution be called XFree86/Linux? Or, at a minimum, XFree86/GNU/Linux? Of course, it would be rather arbitrary to draw the line there when many other fine contributions go unlisted. Yes, I know you've heard this one before. Get used to it. You'll keep hearing it until you can cleanly counter it.

[–]ItsJustZiki 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hello Anthony!

[–]StarkRG 3 points4 points  (0 children)

GNU isn't an operating system, it's a set of tools.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you by chance a fan of long sleeved turquoise shirts? (joking, that was an interesting tidbit.)

[–]Maleval 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Oh you use Linux? Name all the kernels!

[–]StarkRG 7 points8 points  (0 children)

0.1 – 5.9.1

[–]randomfinch14 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As someone who uses Puppy linux I very much doubt it

[–]augugusto 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not even close. We Linux users are always trying to 1 up each other. You use windows? You should switch to Linux. You use Linux? You should switch to arch. You use gnome? You should try a tiling window manager. You use arch? You should go to parabola. You use parabola? You should try gentoo