Editing GNU/Linux naming controversy (section)

{{Short description|Linguistic controversy about software projects}}
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| caption1 = [[Tux (mascot)|Tux]], mascot of the [[Linux kernel|Linux Kernel]]
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Since the 1990s, there has been an ongoing debate whether [[Operating system|computer operating systems]] that use [[GNU]] software and the [[Linux kernel]] should be referred to as "GNU/Linux" or "Linux" systems.<ref name="Noyes 2012">{{Cite web |last=Noyes |first=Katherine |date=10 May 2012 |title=To GNU or Not to GNU? That Is the Question |url=https://www.linuxinsider.com/story/75073.html |access-date=13 January 2023 |website=www.linuxinsider.com |language=en |archive-date=17 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717161818/https://www.linuxinsider.com/story/75073.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Proponents of the term ''Linux'' argue that it is far more commonly used by the public and media<ref name="MakeUseOf">{{Cite news |last=Kurp |first=Abraham |date=July 2008 |title=Learning The Linux Lingo |work=MakeUseOf |url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/learning-linux-lingo/ |access-date=10 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090308081934/http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/learning-linux-lingo/ |archive-date=8 March 2009}}</ref><ref name="OReilly">{{cite news | url = http://linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2005/10/06/what-is-linux.html | title = What Is Linux | access-date = 10 April 2011 | last = Siever | first = Ellen |date=June 2005 | work = Linux Dev Center | publisher = O'Reilly |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060718110305/http://linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2005/10/06/what-is-linux.html|archive-date = 18 July 2006}}</ref> and that it serves as a generic term for systems that combine that kernel with software from multiple other sources,<ref>{{ cite book | last = Eckert | first = Jason W. | year = 2012 | title = Linux+ Guide to Linux Certification | edition = Third | publisher = Cengage Learning | place = Boston, Massachusetts | page = 33 | isbn = 978-1111541538 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EHLH4S78LmsC&pg=PA33 | access-date = 14 April 2013 | quote = The shared commonality of the kernel is what defines a system's membership in the Linux family; the differing [[open-source software|OSS]] applications that can interact with the common kernel are what differentiate [[Linux distribution]]s. | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130509031220/http://books.google.com/books?id=EHLH4S78LmsC&pg=PA33 | archive-date = 9 May 2013 | df = mdy-all }}</ref> while proponents of the term ''GNU/Linux'' note that ''GNU'' alone would be just as good a name for [[GNU variants]] which combine the [[GNU operating system]] software with software from other sources.<ref>{{Cite book|title=How Open is the Future?: Economic, Social & Cultural Scenarios Inspired by Free & Open-source Software|last1=Wynants|first1=Marleen|last2=Cornelis|first2=Jan|date=2005|publisher=Asp / Vubpress / Upa|isbn=9789054873785|pages=71|language=en}}</ref>

The term ''GNU/Linux'' is promoted by the [[Free Software Foundation]] (FSF) and its founder [[Richard Stallman]]. Their reasoning is that the operating system is seen as a modified version of the GNU operating system. Linux as a kernel is just a part of an operating system, whereas the whole operating system is basically the GNU system.<ref name="linuxandgnu" /><ref name="FAQ" /> Several [[Linux distribution|distributions]] of operating systems containing the [[Linux kernel]] use the name that the FSF prefers, such as [[Debian]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.debian.org/intro/about|title=About Debian|publisher=Debian|access-date=22 February 2017}}</ref> [[Trisquel]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://trisquel.info/|title=Trisquel GNU/Linux|access-date=22 February 2017}}</ref> and [[Parabola GNU/Linux-libre]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.parabola.nu/|title=Parabola GNU/Linux-libre|access-date=22 February 2017}}</ref> Others claim that GNU/Linux is a useful name to make a distinction between those and Linux distributions such as [[Android (operating system)|Android]] and [[Alpine Linux]].