FaiF and SaiS: a suggestion

[hazel]

I have noticed that some people are using the word FaiF (Free-as-in-Freedom) rather than just free, to describe free software. It has the advantage of being unambiguous in its meaning, while still placing the emphasis on freedom in a way that "open source" does not.

I have noticed a similar problem with distributions like Crux and Arch that emphasise simplicity of structure and are prepared to subordinate all other criteria to it. Not everybody places a high value on this of course. There are other things that many users value more highly: user-friendliness, eye candy, access to as wide a range of software as possible, access to the latest versions of software and so on. Crux scores low on all of these (though if you want "bleeding edge" you can always go to Arch). I'm quite happy for people to find a distro whose priorities match their own. Linux is about choice after all.

But it irritates me that when I write about the simplicity of Crux, people answer that it isn't simple at all; it only seems that way because it makes the user do everything. It's much simpler, they say, to just put your camera's flash card in the reader and have instant access to your snaps than to have to mount the device by hand. Of course, they mean that it is easier, which is not the same thing at all. To make a thing like that work, you need to have background daemons like udev and hal running. In other words, you need more complexity.

"Simple", like "free", has two meanings. Like the Latin "simplex", it originally was the opposite of complex or complicated. But it is more often used these days as a synonym for "easy". I think we need a new word and I suggest SaiS, on the analogy of FaiF. SaiS stands for "Simple-as-in-Simplicity". Crux and Arch are SaiS. They contain a minimum of components and a minimum of interaction between components, so they are robust, efficient and easy to understand. And once you understand the concept of SaiS, you are in a position to decide if it is one of your priorities when choosing a distro.

[elija]

FaiF. I've not heard that before.

[hazel]

FaiF. I've not heard that before.

well, here for example.

[elija]

well, here for example.

Yeah, looked that up It's an interesting way of making the distinction