The following Michael Tiemann's answer to the question, “What is Linux?” . . .

Asking the question “What Is Linux?” is like asking “What is Freedom?” or “What Is Enlightenment?”. The questions are not only open-ended, but the answers tell you more about the person who is answering than anything else.

To me, Linux is everything that it is. If you remove any essential nature of Linux, it ceases to be Linux. That is not to say that Linux cannot be scaled down in size, features, complexity, etc. Rather, it means that essential connections cannot be broken (or duplicated in proprietary software) without destroying the integrity that _is_ Linux.

Thus, a version of Linux that cannot function without proprietary software, or a version of Linux that cannot be built without proprietary tools, or a version of Linux that does not make it possible for one to make enhancements and see those enhancements come to life, these are not true versions of Linux.

 
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