Re: A matter of manners

[Alfred M\. Szmidt]

   For example: if your car is a Ford Focus 4-Dr Sedan ZX4, do you
   allways refer to it as a "Ford Focus 4-Dr Sedan ZX4"?

Your comparison doesn't make sense.  A car one might say is a
operating system, so this would be GNU.  Ford is a distributor of
cars, Debian is a distributor of operating systems. Focus 4-Dr ZX4 is
a specfic version of a car.  For Debian this would be `3.1'. Seden is
a model of one so in Debians case this might be the list of packages.
Linux is the engine.  You don't go around calling a car for a engine
do you? :-)

When I'm lazy, I just say that I'm using a GNU variant, or when it
comes to cars, a Saab.

You also have to note that Ford made all their parts, so calling a
Ford Focus 4-Dr ZX4 Sedan for just `Ford' doesn't say that someone
else made the car. Compare this to calling GNU/Linux just `Linux';
this is saying that the GNU project didn't have any kind of involvment
in writting all the programs that are needed for a working operating
system, like compilers, libraries, utilties, and what not.

   At least here in Sweden that kind of shortening a product name is
   fairly common, so I might have fallen into a cultural trap. If this
   has given offence, I apologize for this.

Having lived in this cold place that is known as Sweden for 20 years,
I have never experienced this "behaviour" in people...  Infact, I'd
say the exact opposite is common, atleast by younger people, think
mobile phones.