On 12/29/06, jtd <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
The fact as it stands in today's world is that the freedom message is being diluted and hidden all the while. In many cases actively subverted. Linux and the entire FOSS ecosystem has flourished because of the GPL and it's staunch defendants. All the others would have been academic curiosities, milked for their freebie technology and ditched at the first opportunity. Just count the number (never mind usefullness) of libre software developed exclusively on a non-free platform.
I think GNU is an important part of the FOSS ecosystem. What irritates me is that GNU fanatics (Def: excessive or overweening devotion to a cause or belief. Fanatic further implies unbalanced or obsessive behavior) berate other FOSS programs and spout FUD. BSD predated the GPL and has made important contributions to the FOSS ecosystems like vi and the C shell. Also it is not an academic curiosity. BSD is widely used and supported by a lot of organisation. In fact some of the ideas for the "GNU system" have come from the BSD world. -- Vinayak -- http://mm.glug-bom.org/mailman/listinfo/linuxers
