Re: [ART] Background image for GRUB

[Bruno Félix Rezende Ribeiro]

Andreas Enge wrote:

> Actually, you could use the Guix logo as given on its home page: 
> https://www.gnu.org/software/guix/graphics/ with the text "The GNU 
> System" underneath. This is what I usually mean when speaking of the 
> Guix logo.

Andreas, I want you to know that I understand your feelings about Guix
and I admire the intensity of the passion you've got towards it.
Moreover, you are trying to be flexible and I *do* appreciate that.

GNU Guix is a wonderful and quite revolutionary piece of software ---
the GNU way --- if you know what I mean.  No doubts about that!
Hopefully, it will help the free software community to get to the next
milestone in the forefront of software package management, improving
users' practical exercise of freedom, collaboration and defense
against digital threats.

However, the most relevant contribution of Guix as I see, is that it
will bring us the opportunity to conclude the GNU operating system as
envisioned by RMS 30 years ago with the foundation of the GNU project.
That's the reason I feel strongly grateful and indebted to Ludovic.
This is a great thing, I can tell you, and I'm very, very pleased to
have the opportunity to help make that become true.  That's a purpose
bigger than my desires, self-esteem and myself, because I feel morally
responsible for it, and so should feel every good neighbor who cares
about freedom in computing and its future.

For that noble purpose, I want to ask you to understand that we can't
take the risk of fading out the GNU image and name by promoting a
misplaced and misleading particular GNU package brand, as if it were
as important and meaningful as the GNU system itself, just because we
feel like doing so.  There are technical and strategical arguments
against it, since common sense has shown not to be enough.  Actually,
there is a lot more at stake here than just bringing notoriety to the
project you love so much.

This is particularly true about that Guix logo with the text "The GNU
System" underneath it, that you are talking about.  It misleads people
to think that Guix is another distribution of the GNU operating
system.

First of all, from the technical standpoint, Guix is not a
distribution at all, but the package manager of the GNU operating
system.  Please, face it!  A distribution is, by definition, a variant
of the GNU operating system arranged by an organization of people who
have set out to distribute it.  The GNU project is the organization
arranging and distributing the software that have been packaged to be
handled by Guix.  Therefore, what you want to call "the Guix
distribution" is in fact the GNU project distribution.  Guix is
clearly not an organization because it's software by it's very nature:
another GNU package that gets distributed.  However, what probably
makes you conflate the two, is the remarkable fact that Guix is also
the tool intended to help distribute the GNU system, but, again, it's
*not* the distribution itself.  Furthermore, by definition, the system
distributed by the GNU project is the GNU operating system and clearly
Guix is just a proper part of it, namely its package manager.  Also,
it's important to stress that the GNU project's distribution is the
trivial and original one that was dubbed simply "GNU" since its
conception.

Now, from the strategical perspective, for conveying the GNU project's
philosophy, we could have a lot of GNU distributions, and we *do* have
a lot of them; however, people don't need another distribution of the
GNU operating system, rather they need ***the GNU system***, so they
may know that we have completed what we set out to do, and henceforth
it's been proven that idealistic goals can be achieved for the
betterment of society.

I'm sure everyone in this list loves Guix, and wishes that it gets to
its rightful and prominent place within the GNU system and project.
Just let's keep our reasoning clear, feel responsible for the
consequences of our own choices, and finally do the right thing for
the greater good of GNU and ultimately software users' freedom.

-- 
 ,= ,-_-. =.  Bruno Félix Rezende Ribeiro (oitofelix) [0x28D618AF]
((_/)o o(\_)) There is no system but GNU;
 `-'(. .)`-'  GNU Linux-Libre is one of its official kernels;
     \_/      All software must be free as in freedom;

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