LinuxMusicians

Why do you use Linux?
What do you think about GNU, its philosophy, its development and such?
What do you stand for "give and take"?
...
Feel free to honestly tell us what GNU means to you.
https://www.gnu.org/

Thank you very much!

Gnu will soon become superfluous / insignificant or ~dying?
(Similar to how systemd could become a complete operating system (with a Linux kernel)?
This is again a separate topic, but parallel.)
I'm not a computer nerd.

Linux without GNU is Android. *pukes*

So an easy-to-use Linux? *duck_and_run*

I think GNU and the FSF play an important role in reminding us that FLOSS does not have to be limited to being a technical hobby, but can also be part of "something bigger", something more fundamental.

I appreciate their work in identifying trends that endanger computer user freedom not only on a technical, but also on a more political/society level - and bringing people together to collaborate on taking action and providing alternatives.

falkTX wrote:Sooner or later it is going to happen.

i hope sooner than GNU Hurd release?

returning on topic.
i love GNU philosophy, when it's not too radical.

raboof wrote:I think GNU and the FSF play an important role in reminding us that FLOSS does not have to be limited to being a technical hobby, but can also be part of "something bigger", something more fundamental.

I appreciate their work in identifying trends that endanger computer user freedom not only on a technical, but also on a more political/society level - and bringing people together to collaborate on taking action and providing alternatives.

But RMS doesn't care about non-free non-software, releases some of his content under CC-BY-ND and even said that games with non-free assets (like DOOM 3) are ok. So, RMS sucks big time.

Lyberta wrote:RMS doesn't care about non-free non-software, releases some of his content under CC-BY-ND and even said that games with non-free assets (like DOOM 3) are ok. So, RMS sucks big time.

My personal stance on this is: while I do think it is 'good' to promote free sharing (of both software and non-software), I don't think it is 'bad' to sometimes choose a different path. (I'm aware RMS disagrees on this for software - that's fine )

This is also why I find the perpetual discussion on whether GPL or BSD-style licenses are 'more free' utterly pointless: BSD is 'more free' in the sense that it places less restrictions on the use of the code, GPL is 'more free' in the sense that it actively promotes derivatives to be free as well. Both are infinitely 'more free' than closed software, so both are 'good' in my book.

raboof wrote:I think GNU and the FSF play an important role in reminding us that FLOSS does not have to be limited to being a technical hobby, but can also be part of "something bigger", something more fundamental.

Indeed. Every now and then I re-read the chapter titled The Last Of The True Hackers in Steven Levy's book Hackers to remind myself that there are larger issues, that those issues have actually been with us for a very long time, and that a "digital society" would have to deal with the consequences of its core technologies and their impact on the entire social order. IMO, Stallman was a deep visionary, he saw far beyond his own time and correctly anticipated the kind of impact computers have had on the world.

I appreciate their work in identifying trends that endanger computer user freedom not only on a technical, but also on a more political/society level - and bringing people together to collaborate on taking action and providing alternatives.

People like Paul Davis and Richard Stallman inspire me, I thank them every day.

Best,

dp

One of the most startling visionary warnings was a story written in the early 1900s. It's called "The machine Stops". Surprisingly the author, E. M. Forster was not a SciFi writer but more a social commentator.