Re: Draining the Swamp: A Technical User's Experience

[Richard Stallman <rms gnu org>]

It would sure be a nice thing to have a convenient GNOME feature to
change all the X server configuration options--and 200 other things
that users might want to configure.

The ultimate purpose of a GUI is to make the system convenient for
users; making the underlying GUI system technically powerful is a
secondary goal.  To make the GNU system convenient, we need GNOME to
flesh out its user-level features, to provide a coherent,
well-organized collection of GUIs for lots of straightforward jobs
that users want to do with their computers.

    They are highly skilled Linux users 

What they are skilled at using is surely the whole GNU/Linux operating
system, not Linux the kernel by itself.  So would you please call them
"skilled GNU/Linux users"?

Most users call the GNU/Linux system "Linux".  The easiest thing you
can do is follow them.  But that spreads the confusion impedes all the
GNU Project's endeavors, including GNOME development.  If the 20
million or more users of the GNU/Linux system thought of themselves as
GNU/Linux users and GNU/Linux enthusiasts, they'd feel an extra
inclination to help any project that is part of GNU, such as GNOME.

So please make the extra effort to write and say "GNU/Linux".  We may
never get "everyone" to switch, but it's not an all-or-nothing
sitation.  Each additional message, person or site that spreads the
word is a step forward.

See http://www.gnu.org/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html for an explanation of
the system's history and how it is the combination of GNU and Linux.
See http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html for more explanation
of why it makes a practical difference for people to know this.