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(maintain.info)GNU and Linux

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GNU and Linux
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   The GNU Project was formed to develop a free Unix-like operating
system, GNU.  The existence of this system is our major accomplishment.
However, the widely used version of the GNU system, in which Linux is
used as the kernel, is often called simply "Linux".  As a result, most
users don't know about the GNU Project's major accomplishment--or more
precisely, they know about it, but don't realize it is the GNU Project's
accomplishment and reason for existence.  Even people who believe they
know the real history often believe that the goal of GNU was to develop
"tools" or "utilities."

   To correct this confusion, we have made a years-long effort to
distinguish between Linux, the kernel that Linus Torvalds wrote, and
GNU/Linux, the operating system that is the combination of GNU and
Linux.  The resulting increased awareness of what the GNU Project has
already done helps every activity of the GNU Project recruit more
support and contributors.

   Please make this distinction consistently in GNU software releases,
GNU documentation, and announcements and articles that you publish in
your role as the maintainer of a GNU package.  If you want to explain
the terminology and its reasons, you can refer to the URL
<http://www.gnu.org/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html>.