Please stop spamming this list with Microsoft related messages

[Christopher Browne]

On 3/25/06, Leah Cunningham <leah-L9i2b+zLJ9LIrURfT66hzQ at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> I almost never post a message like this, and I apologize to those this does
> not apply to.
>
> I am really getting fed up with "Look what Microsoft has done now that is
> stupid" (or even not stupid) type posts to this mailing list, which is
> supposed to be a mailing list for a group of Linux users.  This is not
> related to the subject of this list, and entirely irrelevant to a group of
> Linux users.

I agree that this thread headed clearly "over the line," but have to
point out that there an excellent reason to consider there to be
considerable ambiguity as to what *is* appropriate.

The trouble is that "the line" is ambiguously broad.

The root cause is that "Linux" is, to a degree, whatever anyone
interprets it to be.

There is the strict definition, by which "Linux" is an operating
system kernel written by Linus Torvalds and a cast of thousands.  If
that be the definition, then anything not about the kernel isn't a
proper topic.

After all, Bash isn't part of Linux, nor is X11, Emacs, TeX,
OpenOffice.org, GNOME, KDE, or anything of the like.

Under that definition, my talk next month is "out of scope," as the
software I'll be speaking of is neither related to the Linux kernel
nor licensed under the same license.

(Actually, I'm somewhat uncomfortable with the GPL bias that there is
in some of the GTALUG publicity material; it is decidedly inconsistent
with the notion of "inclusiveness" which I'm about to get to...)

There is, of course, another rather more inclusive definition of
Linux.  This is that of the notion of "Linux distributions," which
consist of the Linux kernel as well as a boatload of other software,
of widely varying interest, under widely varying licenses.  In order
to distinguish FreeBSD from Linux, we really need to head back to the
"strict constructivist" definition, where Linux is the kernel, not the
assembly of parts under other names/licenses.

Unfortunately, once you head down the road of being interested in,
say, OpenOffice.org, it is very easy for anything *forcibly*
identifiable with Linux to be forgotten.
--
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absolutely no good." -- Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784)
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