To GNU or not to GNU seems really the question right now and as one of
the few lurkers (who doesn't exactly fall under the proactively
participating members category) I would like to fire my unofficial vote
at +GNU. Giving credit where credit is due is one of the virtues of open
source programmers and the contributions by GNU software in Linux
distributions should be acknowledged IMHO.
One of the motivational factors of opensource is the recognition it
provides. Being a gift culture (as put by ESR in his seminal Cathedral
and the Bazaar) the more one gives away the more merit and status one
gains in the community. Basically a system of meritocracy. And this
cannot function without proper acknowledgement. ESR puts this more
nicely in Homesteading the Noosphere IIRC.
While there are many players involved in a GNU/Linux distribution, such
as Apache, BSD etc. I think we could safely say that the major players
are GNU and Linux. Out of which the GNU/Linux symbiosis is formed with
which most of us are in love (and some happily married... with kids).
I for one, am far less religious and idealogical than I once used to be
and I perceive that as a good thing as it lets me see things in an
objective light.... most of the time anyway. And even then, the
GNU/Linux debate seems to me to be appropriate as in one sense it seems
unfair that GNU is left out.
Switching from LKLUG to LKGLUG (if at all) is going to be tough and
would frankly prefer the former to remain as the acronym and do a
/Linux/GNU\/Linux/ for the rest.
Any more lurkers to fire an opinion?
--
Anuradha Weeraman
[ http://www.lug.lk/~anu ]
Arise, you have nothing to lose but your barbed wire fences!
-- The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto
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