Hey, just, uh, wanted to clear the air a bit. You know when you’re saying “Linux,” what you’re probably referring to is what some folks call “GNU plus Linux,” if you really want to get into the weeds of it. But don’t sweat it, alright? I’m not here to be a buzzkill or anything.

See, what we call “Linux” is actually just a part of the whole thing, man. It’s the kernel, the core, the… engine, you could say, of the operating system. But the GNU stuff, that’s the body of the car, the seats, the steering wheel. You need both to take a drive, you know?

But look, it’s not a big deal. We’re all just trying to get from point A to point B, right? So, whether you’re saying “Linux” or “GNU plus Linux”, it doesn’t change the journey. It’s just semantics.

Sure, I get it. Richard Stallman and the gang over at the Free Software Foundation, they put in a lot of effort into the GNU software, and I respect that. But sometimes you gotta go with the flow, man. And right now, that flow is “Linux”. It’s simpler, it’s what people know, and frankly, it’s the Linux kernel that’s making the whole thing work in the first place.

So next time you want to get technical, feel free to drop a “GNU plus Linux”. Stallman would probably give you a nod of approval. But if you’re just chilling out, hanging back, and you say “Linux”… well, it’s all good, man. Linux is just Linux. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

  • nodoze313@lemmy.worldEnglish
    51·
    1 year ago

    “I use Linux as my operating system,” I state proudly to the > > unkempt, bearded man. He swivels around in his desk chair > > with a devilish gleam in his eyes, ready to mansplain with > extreme precision. “Actually,” he says with a grin, “Linux is just > the kernel. you use GNU+Linux.” I don’t miss a beat and reply > with a smirk, “I use alpine, a distro that doesn’t include the > GNU coreutils, or any other GNU code. It’s Linux, but it’s not > GNU+Linux.”

    The smile quickly drops from the man’s face. His body begins > convulsing and he foams at the mouth as he drop to the floor > > with a sickly thud. As he writhes around he screams “I-IT > WAS COMPILED WITH GCC! THAT MEANS IT’S STILL GNU!” > Coolly, I reply “if windows was compiled with gcc, would that > make it GNU?” I interrupt his response with “and work is being > made on the kernel to make it more compiler-agnostic. Even > if you were correct, you won’t be for long.”

    With a sickly wheeze, the last of the man’s life is ejected from > his body. he lies on the floor, cold and limp. I’ve > womansplained him to death.

    • flashgnash@kbin.social
      2·
      1 year ago

      This is a very good advert for alpine Linux

      Does anyone actually use it as their main desktop though? Thought it was designed for containers and lightweight systems

      • nodoze313@lemmy.world
        1·
        1 year ago

        I have it on my main desktop, works well, but I have to containerize a few things that do not build with musl.