Editing GNU/Linux naming controversy (section)

=== Linux ===
Proponents of naming the operating systems "Linux" state that "Linux" is used far more often than "GNU/Linux".<ref name="MakeUseOf" /><ref name="OReilly" />

[[Eric S. Raymond]] writes (in the "Linux" entry of the [[Jargon File]]):

{{ quote
|Some people object that the name "Linux" should be used to refer only to the kernel, not the entire operating system. This claim is a proxy for an underlying territorial dispute; people who insist on the term GNU/Linux want the FSF to get most of the credit for Linux because [Stallman] and friends wrote many of its user-level tools. Neither this theory nor the term GNU/Linux has gained more than minority acceptance.
}}

When Linus Torvalds was asked in the documentary ''[[Revolution OS]]'' whether the name "GNU/Linux" was justified, he replied:

{{ quote
|Well, I think it's justified, but it's justified if you actually make a GNU distribution of Linux&nbsp;... the same way that I think that "Red Hat Linux" is fine, or "SUSE Linux" or "Debian Linux", because if you actually make your own distribution of Linux, you get to name the thing, but calling Linux in general "GNU Linux" I think is just ridiculous.<ref>{{ cite video | people = Moore, J.T.S. (Produced, Written, and Directed) | title = [[Revolution OS]] | medium = DVD | date = 2001 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Linus Torvalds, Linux, GNU/Linux |website = [[YouTube]]| date=3 September 2009 | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZlOCHYu1Vk }}</ref>}}

An earlier comment by Torvalds on the naming controversy was:

{{ quote
| Umm, this discussion has gone on quite long enough, thank you very much. It doesn't really matter what people call Linux, as long as credit is given where credit is due (on both sides). Personally, I'll very much continue to call it "Linux",&nbsp;...

The GNU people tried calling it GNU/Linux, and that's ok.  It's certainly no worse a name than "Linux Pro" or "Red Hat Linux" or
"Slackware Linux"&nbsp;...

Lignux is just a punny name—I think Linux/GNU or GNU/Linux is a bit more "professional"&nbsp;...<ref>{{cite newsgroup |url=https://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.linux.misc/msg/7781d4221fceedb2 |author=Linus Torvalds |title=Lignux, what's the matter with you people? |newsgroup=comp.os.linux.misc |date=3 June 1996}}</ref>
}}

The name "GNU/Linux," particularly when using Stallman's preferred pronunciation, has been criticized for its perceived clumsiness and verbosity,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.howtogeek.com/139287/the-great-debate-is-it-linux-or-gnulinux/ |title= The Great Debate: Is it Linux or GNU/Linux? |last=Hoffman |first=Chris |date= 4 March 2013 |access-date=22 December 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://everything2.com/user/ssd/writeups/It%2527s+GNU%252FLinux%253B+stop+calling+it+%2522Linux%2522 |title=It's GNU/Linux; stop calling it "Linux" (idea) |date=28 April 2001 |access-date=19 December 2016 }}</ref> a factor that Torvalds has cited as the downfall of operating systems such as [[386BSD]].<ref>{{cite web| url= http://groups.google.com/group/comp.unix.pc-clone.32bit/msg/80bb74847934edc7 | title= Post | work = comp.unix.pc-clone.32bit | publisher = Google Groups | date= 16 March 1993 | author =Torvalds, Linus| access-date=19 February 2011 | quote=No. That's it. The cool name, that is. We worked very hard on creating a name that would appeal to the majority of people, and it certainly paid off: thousands of people are using linux just to be able to say "OS/2? Hah. I've got Linux. What a cool name". 386BSD made the mistake of putting a lot of numbers and weird abbreviations into the name, and is scaring away a lot of people just because it sounds too technical.}}</ref>

The ''[[Linux Journal]]'' speculated that Stallman's advocacy of the combined name stems from frustration that "Linus got the glory for what [Stallman] wanted to do."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://linux4u.jinr.ru/usoft/WWW/LJ/issue30/issue30.html#ftp30 | title = From the Publisher: On the Politics of Freedom | publisher = [[Linux Journal]] No. 30 (October 1996) | quote = Perhaps RMS is frustrated because Linus got the glory for what RMS wanted to do. | access-date = 12 June 2004 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20041208112435/http://linux4u.jinr.ru/usoft/WWW/LJ/issue30/issue30.html#ftp30 | archive-date = 8 December 2004 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

Others have suggested that, regardless of the merits, Stallman's persistence in what sometimes seems a lost cause makes him and GNU look bad. For example, [[Larry McVoy]] (author of [[BitKeeper]], once used to manage Linux kernel development) opined that "claiming credit only makes one look foolish and greedy".<ref>{{cite mailing list |url=http://www.ussg.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9904.0/0301.html |author=Larry McVoy |title=Re: GNU/Linux |mailing-list=linux-kernel |date=3 April 1999 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629031248/http://www.ussg.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9904.0/0301.html |archive-date=29 June 2012  }}</ref>

Many users and vendors who prefer the name "Linux," such as [[Jim Gettys]], one of the original developers of the [[X Window System]], point to the inclusion of non-GNU, non-kernel tools, such as [[KDE]], [[LibreOffice]], and [[Firefox]], in end-user operating systems based on the Linux kernel:

{{ quote
| There are lots of people on this bus; I don't hear a clamor of support that GNU is more essential than many of the other components; can't take a wheel away, and end up with a functional vehicle, or an engine, or the seats. I recommend you be happy we have a bus.<ref>{{cite mailing list |url=http://www.ussg.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9904.0/0497.html |author=Jim Gettys |title=Re: GNU/Linux |mailing-list=linux-kernel |date=5 April 1999 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120806004757/http://www.ussg.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9904.0/0497.html |archive-date=6 August 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
}}