Richard Stallman writes:
Right now the LUGs teach people to think of the system as "Linux" and teach them to think its sole purpose is its own success. (For example, ILUG-Delhu voted to endorse the non-free program KalCulate.) LUGs capture the energy that comes from enthusiasm for
similar to ILUG-Delhi, ILUG-Chennai has been running on a high "enthusiasm-fever" and has been supporting users to run non-free software like Oracle and Opera under "Linux" and has also been supporting other non-free Unices like Solaris and such. The main misconception being, most think anything UNIX is "cool" and anything non-UNIX is non-cool (and, free Vs non-free does not sell much in there).
In a recent debate ILUG-Chennai has openly agreed that it would support _any_ software that runs under "Linux" hence making it a "software user group" and _not_ a free software user group. When I had been a sinning[*] webmaster of this group ILUGC-Chennai made a decision that it would claim that it supports free software that runs under GNU/Linux and other free operating systems. While this claim can still be seen on its website, the group does not do what it says. Nor does it say what it does. and people who come out looking for free software (not necessarily only free as in freedom but also free as in gratis) get confused by the endless enthusiasm about "Linux" that they see in this list.
-Suraj
[*] Oh prophet, this was before your lotus feet touched Chennai soil and made the "other MIT"[**] a holy-shrine (yes, really... i tell students "look, thats the hall where rms spoke"). Having been the webmaster of a 'software users group' that does not care about the importance of free software, I understand I _am_ a sinner by large, now. and I hope the prophet's grace would shower and wash my sins away... and oh prophet, what is my penance? I'm already not using vi!
[**] RMS refers to Madras Institute of Technology as the "other MIT" in his speech.