We call the operating system made by Richard Stallman "Linux".
We call the kernel used in Linux and made by Linus Torvalds "the kernel".
Got it?
Linux Jargon Explained
Ryder Parker
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Jason Adams
I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're referring to as The Kernel, is in fact, Linux/The Kernel, or as I've recently taken to calling it, Linux plus The Kernel. The Kernel is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning Linux system made useful by the Linux corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.
Many computer users run a modified version of the Linux system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of Linux which is widely used today is often called "The Kernel", and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the Linux system, developed by the Linux Project.
There really is a The Kernel, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. The Kernel is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. The Kernel is normally used in combination with the Linux operating system: the whole system is basically Linux with The Kernel added, or Linux/The Kernel. All the so-called "The Kernel" distributions are really distributions of Linux/The Kernel.
Wyatt Garcia
The problem with the name "Linux" is that it's too damn sexy. It's short, pronounceable, unique and sounds cool. The GNU project never saw this coming. Semi-ironically Linus didn't even come up with that name himself, he tried to call it Freax. Some other people coined this name for him because they liked it better.
If you're talking about application clients then it's usually enough if you categorize "Windows/Mac/Linux" and everyone knows what it means, even if it's not technically the correct way of saying it. It's just so practical. The only way to dethrone the name "Linux" is to come up with something even better that everyone starts to use. Since people are often opposed to any change in their lives, it might be pretty much impossible.
Nathan Bell
lel
Jeremiah Hall
i use linux+gnu+systemd+apt+xorg+i3
Zachary Sullivan
Stallman didn't make anything he's just riding off of other peoples work.
Jace Campbell
It's the other way around.
Adam Hill
the problem is that the FSF is anti-business, which alienates all the major corps that use Linux.
Add to that the fact GNU didn't roll it's own distribution, they just accepted many distros as "fine to use".
Liam Hill
RMS approves this: gnu.org
Colton King
It's called "GNU".