Hi Brian,
Very difficult topic to bring up without getting mired in politics :D
On 18/09/09 23:07, Brian Cameron wrote:
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) encourages the usage of the term
"GNU/Linux" instead of the term "Linux", and also discourages referring
to free software and licenses as "open source". Their argument, which
I think is valid, is that doing so helps to highlight free software and
bring positive attention towards the free software community.
I would make a few points, which I think all stand independently, and I
think there are a variety of different choices to make:
- in general, the most important thing from the point of view of
the project is - in my opinion - to be consistent about usage.
- I think it's important to say "free" as in "freedom", but also
"open source" is a well-known term - rather than have that dichotomy,
"free and open source" seems to be an inclusive alternative. There is
the gratis mix-up still in there, but I'm not sure it matters, since
either is true.
- I'm not sure "GNU/Linux" versus "Linux" is a political issue
alone any more. Android is a "Linux phone", but it's not GNU and GNOME
apps will not run on it (as I understand it, anyway). Assuming people
are likely to encounter mobile devices, this distinction is important,
particularly with respect to GNOME Mobile.
For maximum clarity to the end-user, my vote (sic) would be "free and
open source" and "GNU/Linux" respectively for the above reasons. I
think some of the other points people have raised are somewhat apropos,
I don't think this is an issue of being close to the FSF or not per se.
Cheers,
Alex.
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