GNU

( /gnoo/, not, /noo/)

   1.   [acronym:   `GNU's   Not  Unix!',  see  {recursive  acronym}]  A
   Unix-workalike  development  effort  of  the Free Software Foundation
   headed  by  Richard  Stallman.  GNU EMACS and the GNU C compiler, two
   tools  designed  for  this  project,  have  become  very  popular  in
   hackerdom  and  elsewhere.  The  GNU  project  was designed partly to
   proselytize for RMS's position that information is community property
   and all software source should be shared. One of its slogans is "Help
   stamp  out  software  hoarding!"  Though  this  remains controversial
   (because  it implicitly denies any right of designers to own, assign,
   and sell the results of their labors), many hackers who disagree with
   RMS   have  nevertheless  cooperated  to  produce  large  amounts  of
   high-quality software for free redistribution under the Free Software
   Foundation's   imprimatur.   The  GNU  project  has  a  web  page  at
   http://www.gnu.org/. See {EMACS}, {copyleft}, {General Public Virus},
   {Linux}.

   2.  Noted  Unix  hacker  John  Gilmore  <[email protected]>},  founder  of
   Usenet's anarchic alt.* hierarchy.

[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {Amiga Persecution Complex}{copyleft}{creeping featurism}{EMACS}{FIXME}{FSF}{General Public Virus}{GNUMACS}{hacker ethic}{Linux}{NSA line eater}{recursive acronym}{software hoarding}]