that old GNU/Linux argument

[Alexandre Oliva]

On Jul 21, 2008, Les Mikesell <lesmikesell at gmail.com> wrote:

> Alexandre Oliva wrote:
>> On Jul 20, 2008, Les Mikesell <lesmikesell at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> I can't recall ever having any reason to
>>> have a name for a subset of a distribution that only included the GNU
>>> components and the kernel.  Can someone who uses this term explain the
>>> circumstances where it is useful?
>> 
>> /me mumbles something about UNIX and UNIX-like

> I expect unix-like operating systems to supply apache and sendmail
> these days, and have X at least as an option - unless you are just
> talking about a kernel.

I'll assume you mean the Apache http Server, not the Apache Software
Foundation or any other of its projects.  

You're probably right about sendmail (that the GNU operating system
was designed to use as its MTA), but I wouldn't think apache is
supplied as part of a majority of the proprietary UNIX or UNIX-like
commercial distributions these days, let alone as part of the
operating system.

Saying apache is part of the operating system is pushing it a bit.
Everyone these days wants to send mail, but not everyone needs an http
server.  Especially, say, on a Live CD, that most definitely contains
a complete operating system in spite of the absence of the apache http
server.


In fact, per the ASF's trademark rules, very few people are actually
running something that can be called the Apache http Server, since the
ASF demands (and has legal grounds to demand, rather than just
request) people to not claim modified versions of its software are the
Apache http server.  Most distributors of http servers containing ASF
code actually modify it.  So, in most cases it can't be called Apache.
http://www.apache.org/foundation/licence-FAQ.html#Name-changes

Isn't it funny that the same people who refuse to retain the due
credit to the GNU project and respond to the request with "GNU can't
force me to", will refuse to remove the credit to the ASF, even though
it can legally demand it?

-- 
Alexandre Oliva         http://www.lsd.ic.unicamp.br/~oliva/
Free Software Evangelist  oliva@{lsd.ic.unicamp.br, gnu.org}
FSFLA Board Member       ¡Sé Libre! => http://www.fsfla.org/
Red Hat Compiler Engineer   aoliva@{redhat.com, gcc.gnu.org}