this post was submitted on 30 Dec 2023
574 points (95.8% liked)

memes

10197 readers
2105 users here now

Community rules

1. Be civilNo trolling, bigotry or other insulting / annoying behaviour

2. No politicsThis is non-politics community. For political memes please go to [email protected]

3. No recent repostsCheck for reposts when posting a meme, you can only repost after 1 month

4. No botsNo bots without the express approval of the mods or the admins

5. No Spam/AdsNo advertisements or spam. This is an instance rule and the only way to live.

Sister communities

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 
top 45 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 34 points 10 months ago (3 children)

GNU/Linux

GNU+Linux

Pick one type of arithmetic,you insufferable cunts πŸ˜‚

[–] [email protected] 17 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 13 points 10 months ago (2 children)

That's way too large of a software project.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

GNU ^ Linux

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Ok, how about Gnu Γ· Linux

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Gnu ❀️‍Linux

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Shouldn't be gnu*linux or gnu-linux? Cuz as is they're kinda the opposite operations

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago

Sorry I fell asleep halfway through your comment, could you type it again?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago
<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML">
  <mfrac>
    <mtext>GNU</mtext>
    <mtext>Linux</mtext>
  </mfrac>
</math>
[–] [email protected] 32 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I generally respond with "Yeah, wake me up when Gnu has it's own bootable kernel... it's only been 34 years..."

[–] [email protected] 13 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Nobody's even HURD about it.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

And maybe some day it will have a stable release... today, is not that day. Tomorrow aint looking good either. :)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

And still not bootable or stable 34 years later.

Gnu wouldn't exist without Linux, not the other way around.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Counterpoint. No one uses GNU alone as their interface on their personal computer.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 10 months ago

Now I'm picturing her turning around and saying this to him

[–] [email protected] 25 points 10 months ago (2 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)Β != (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 whereever 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.

You seem to like the lines-of-code metric. There are many lines of GNU code in a typical Linux distribution. You seem to suggest that (more LOC) == (more important). However, I submit to you that raw LOC numbers do not directly correlate with importance. I would suggest that clock cycles spent on code is a better metric. For example, if my system spends 90% of its time executing XFree86 code, XFree86 is probably the single most important collection of code on my system. Even if I loaded ten times as many lines of useless bloatware on my system and I never excuted that bloatware, it certainly isn't more important code than XFree86. Obviously, this metric isn't perfect either, but LOC really, really sucks. Please refrain from using it ever again in supporting any argument.

Last, I'd like to point out that we Linux and GNU users shouldn't be fighting among ourselves over naming other people's software. But what the heck, I'm in a bad mood now. I think I'm feeling sufficiently obnoxious to make the point that GCC is so very famous and, yes, so very useful only because Linux was developed. In a show of proper respect and gratitude, shouldn't you and everyone refer to GCC as 'the Linux compiler'? Or at least, 'Linux GCC'? Seriously, where would your masterpiece be without Linux? Languishing with the HURD?

If there is a moral buried in this rant, maybe it is this:

Be grateful for your abilities and your incredible success and your considerable fame. Continue to use that success and fame for good, not evil. Also, be especially grateful for Linux' huge contribution to that success. You, RMS, the Free Software Foundation, and GNU software have reached their current high profiles largely on the back of Linux. You have changed the world. Now, go forth and don't be a nag.

Thanks for listening.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

I had a "wait a moment" when I saw this picture. Your comment cleared it up. Also found it funny how Linux is hinted at as being part of the GNU project.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

So Windows 10 is not an OS. The OS is NTOSKRNL. Right?

[–] [email protected] 18 points 10 months ago

I thought it was just called Ubuntu!

[–] [email protected] 17 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Alpine has entered the chat...

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (3 children)

What is the subtext of this comment?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

Alpine is an alternative to GNU that can also be used with the Linux kernel.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

As has Android.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The G, N, and U in GNU are silent.

I think Android/Linux is the other common variant.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago

If you say GNU Linux it sounds like Linux has died and it's name is being sent up and down the clacks.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 13 points 10 months ago (1 children)

At that time, if he was rich he could just talk to her father about the marriage.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Ah yes back in the day before computers he’d be cast off as a lunatic tho

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I mean we have computers now and to most this will still sound as if lunacy.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

Agreed. I’d like to try linux but this kind of talk and seemingly very complex nature keeps me away. I’m not learning command line stuff

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

Just try it and don't tell anyone ( you'd be the first though I'm pretty sure).

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

Don't let it stop you!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

No, when you're rich, you're "eccentric".

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Where can I find the original?

[–] [email protected] 14 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Check [email protected]

There was a good quality image posted there not too long ago

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

Ngl, love the misdirect of using lemmynsfw.com url.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

People here think Gentoo is what you do on Saturday, don't they?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago

I don't get it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Similarly, Mac OSX is POSIX compliant and therefore more truly UNIX than Linux is, fight me. :-P

[–] [email protected] 12 points 10 months ago
L i n u x  
I s  
N o t  
U n i   
X