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Forty years of GNU and the free software movement
(www.fsf.org)
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this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2023
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Linux
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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The hurd kernel exists, and is a theoretical alternative to the Linux kernel
Right, but if they prefer we call linux "GNU/Linux", wouldn't they want to call their OS "GNU/Hurd" instead of just "GNU"?
Nope, because Hurd is created by the GNU project. Linux is entirely independent.
They want you to call it GNU / HURD now so they can contrast it with GNU / Linux. You are correct though that the real “GNU Operating System” includes HURD.
See Debian / HURD for example:
https://www.debian.org/ports/hurd/