@Seirdy >Every now and then a fossbro tries to incorrect my terminology
You seem to be confusing free software enjoyers with proprietary software lovers ("FOSS").

It's likely that copypasta posters are probably "fossbros", as they should know it's incorrect: https://www.gnu.org/gnu/incorrect-quotation.html

You really should call it GNU or systemd, as whatever kernel is in use is usually irrelevant.


“I use Linux as my operating system,” I state proudly to the unkempt, bearded man. He swivels around in his desk chair with a devilish gleam in his eyes, ready to mansplain with extreme precision. “Actually,” he says with a grin, “Linux is only a kernel. You likely use GNU+Linux.” I don’t miss a beat and reply with a smirk, “I use Alpine, a distro that doesn’t include the GNU coreutils, or any other GNU code. It’s Linux, but it’s not GNU+Linux.”

The grin enhanced on the man's face: "GNU is not just a set of coreutils and tools although we wrote those, GNU is a whole OS. Alpine attempts to replace GNU with BusyBox (licensed under the GNU General Public License v2), so that makes it BusyBox/Linux, but even then, it's common to install GNU bash and other GNU software so you can have a properly usable computer. Additionally, if you were to follow the compile time dependency tree, you'd find lots of GNU everywhere. Sure Linux is used as the kernel, but that's mostly irrelevant. For example, while GNU/Hurd is still is development, most software written for GNU/Linux just works after compiling without needing any changes, even though the kernel is completely different."

With a sickly wheeze, the last of my life was ejected from my body. I lay on the floor, cold and limp - he mansplained me to death.


@lunacb >Yeah, the term basically exists because RMS likes getting credit for things, as far as I can tell.
It isn't about credit.

The naming exists because there are so many users of GNU who have never heard of GNU and think it's just "Linux" and "open source": https://www.gnu.org/gnu/gnu-users-never-heard-of-gnu.en.html
If rms wanted credit, he would say to call it Stallmanx.
Just GNU is a correct name, but rms says GNU+Linux as he wants to give credit to Linux: https://www.gnu.org/gnu/gnu-linux-faq.html#nokernel

>There isn't an argument for it in modern linuxes.
The kernel Linux doesn't even work by itself, see here if you don't believe be: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/init/main.c#n1569
Therefore, calling an OS "Linux" will always be incorrect unless Linux is turned into an OS.
Feel free to prove me wrong with a source the same quality as mine.

>I think it's basically synonymous with "linux distribution"
A Linux distribution would be a distribution of the kernel, Linux.
I like this distribution of the kernel, Linux: https://www.fsfla.org/ikiwiki/selibre/linux-libre/

>RMS is the original fossbro!
rms does free software and not anything related to "open source": https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html