Re: Nvidia and its choice to read the GPL "differently"

Larry McVoy
2003-01-09T23:17:06Z

On Thu, Jan 09, 2003 at 06:14:37PM -0500, Richard Stallman wrote:
> If we remove all the work that you did not do, then
> it's vividly clear that Linux is a larger effort.
>
> If you assume that the whole system is Linux, and count every part
> that isn't GNU software as part of the "Linux effort", then the part
> you count as "Linux" will be much bigger than the GNU software, and
> this will "prove" the assumption you started with--that the whole
> system is Linux.

And isn't that exactly the line of reasoning which leads you to the
conclusion that Linux should be GNU/Linux? Why do you think that
you deserve special billing ahead of anyone else? You haven't
contributed any more than anyone else, that's for sure. GCC is
nice and all, but by your own reasoning if GCC didn't exist, a
different compiler would have shown up. The only reason they
didn't is that GCC made that itch go away.

It really seems like you are trying to leverage a comparitively tiny
amount of source into top billing. Why are you more important than
the entire windowing system, which is dramatically more source and
more effort?

And when are you going to start referring to your kernel by its
proper name: Linux/Hurd? Or do you have plans to remove the
Linux components?
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Larry McVoy lm at bitmover.com http://www.bitmover.com/lm