Summary: Why it is reasonable to mention GNU when referring to the Free desktop system

BASED on some very rough assessment, a lot of people are reluctant to mention "GNU", as though it's some sort of a forbidden word. This is especially true in "the industry" where lack of a price tag is sometimes perceived as unfaithful to national values or incompatible with quality and procedures (must produce invoices).

It is not the case that GNU has been cursed to death, but surely enough, some companies have had an interest in harming the reputation of GNU, as if mentioning GNU makes someone "radical" or whatever. We live in a society that daemonises people who do the natural thing^*, which is to expand personal freedoms (including self expression). To display solidarity for our peers and fellow human beings or neighbours is not something to be shy about.

“To display solidarity for our peers and fellow human beings or neighbours is not something to be shy about.”Here in Boycott Novell we proudly say "GNU" (and "GNU/Linux"), which conveys more than just the value of code. Linux is a very well engineered kernel and we are thankful for it.

In order to weaken the 'cheapening' of FOSS and the neglect of freedom values, we encourage others to call it "GNU/Linux". It leads to other questions, such as, "what is the story of GNU and what are the associated philosophies?" To preach morals along with engineering is not necessarily a bad thing. What distinguishes advocates of Free software from boosters of Microsoft and Apple is that the former promote a certain behaviour whereas the others promote certain brands that only help enrich a few individuals who do so by taking away the rights of others. ⬆ _____ ^* Labels like "mad liberals" and "damn libertarians" are examples of this.