this post was submitted on 18 Jul 2023
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Showerthoughts
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Generally, Linux as a term refers to the Freedesktop standards, Linux kernel, and GNU userland. ChromeOS fulfills the latter two, but it lacks the Freedesktop standards, which are an essential part of the Linux platform. Therefore, it is logical to distinguish ChromeOS from standard Linux distributions since it diverges significantly from them. This differentiation has nothing to do with the Terminal, as it isn't necessary to use it at all on most distributions. Elementary OS and Endless OS adhere to the Freedesktop standards, they are parts of the same platform as other Linux distributions.
Forgive me, but I've been around the Linux/FOSS community for a couple decades and I have never heard someone mention the Freedesktop spec as a requirement to be considered 'Linux.' Considering that the Freedesktop spec is mostly targeted towards systems with graphical UIs, would that mean that any headless system running a Linux kernel and GNU userland is not considered 'Linux?' Furthermore, that kind of flies in the face of the idea of using Linux as a testing ground for alternative computing ideas.
Now, there's been a lot of discussion around fragmentation, and I get the arguments towards enforcing standards, but to me this is a truly bizarre line to draw in the sand. You could just as easily say "Any systems not using SysV are not 'real' Linux." Or any system that gets rid of /usr. Or any system that isn't POSIX compliant (bye bye, NixOS...).
Seriously. I don't get it. Please show me what I'm missing.
Sorry for the late response. I mentioned Freedesktop in the context of the Linux desktop. Freedesktop is responsible for the desktop ecosystem typically associated with Linux, and it's what application developers refer to when discussing Linux compatibility. Steam for ChromeOS is not referred as Steam for Linux for a reason, it's an entirely different application. Of course, there are exceptions, such as NixOS and Alpine for example, but both of them still aim to be part of the "Linux desktop" ecosystem, whereas ChromeOS does not, and yes, it's "Linux" under the GUI stack, but referring to ChromeOS as a Linux desktop would only confuse those less familiar with the topic or worse, mislead them.
I don't think you are missing anything except the creeping in scope of the term "Linux" to exclude what they don't like. Embedded Linux works with 0 GUI, and dont conforms to Freedesktop standards (obviously), yet it's ridiculous for anyone to argue that isnt Linux. Alpine Linux also do not use GNU land, yet saying it is not "Linux" is also asinine. ChromeOS imo is Linux, it's locked down Linux, but Linux nonetheless.