Somebody help me, I've heard a lot about unix,looked into it like it, and interested in adopting it, but quite worried and suspicioud about certain things I observed. and when I discussed this with my group they also exercise the same fear. For God's sake why all the strange and misterious terms and names used for/in unix softwares, applications, and in the entire environment?
Why names like SNAKE/MAIL,DAEMON,PYTHON, etc. and also in GNOME environment the pictures and images displayed or associated in thier sites and various publications continues to portray Beastly things.
Untill those behind GNOME and UNIX prove that they have nothing hidden, the world will continue to percieve them as cult having a hidden agenda.

Ian:

Are you kidding?

Unix/Linux is an OS and software development environment - nothing more and nothing less.

Python is a programming language, and daemon, in this case, isn't a demon, but are the OS background processes.

You and your "group" need to quit reading all that conspiracy material, and get out more.

Nails

...and UNIX has been around longer than Windows, and it has many forms, so it's kind of like paganism. Windows is like Christianity, and Bill Gates is our Saviour. Future OSs based on Windows NewTestament will protect us from UNIX.

here are some examples of UNIX cults:
BSD- Baal's Savage Dominion
AIX- Antichrist Initiates eXtinction
Tru64 - The Ravenous Undead '64
SCO- Sodomy Controlling Overwhelmingly
Linux- Lucifer's Intricate Network of Undead eXecutioners
Solaris- Savage Overloards Leading Astray Right-minded Innocent Societies
Mach- Masochists And Chaos-promoters from Hell

I hope you were kidding.

Look theres no kidding here Mr Nail! , I think you are short sighted from your vague comments (not even explanation)and I wish that your eyes be opened, by the way are you one of those behind this GNOME of a thing?. From your words ...unix is a software development bla bla ..., pyton is this..., and deamon is that.
You know, from General view everyone can see how microsoft comes up with it products and gives them circular name brand based on the science behind that product/s or its function/charactistic , which when everyone sees they can understand it and its trasperency ! But as of Unix/GNOME we keep seeing some questionable and misterious names which infact are quite disturbing. How do you relate SNAKE, PYTHON, DEAMONS to software as their name? what is simply the connection there? Does that mean that these software/program bahave like these CREATURES ? if so why?
Now listen Mr Nail, for execution of any process to completely take place, it undergoes two faces - The Abstract and then the Concrete side of it (or if you like the unseen and the seen faces). What you are seing now is understood by many (which I and my group are one of them)to give impetus for something else to emerge.
I really want to talk to one of those deeply behind this Unix/GNOME things, and still waiting to be put clear.

-Ian.

Jake:

You crack me up! I always thought Bill Gates was the devil -)

Ian:

If you must know, the Python programming language was named by it's author, Guido Van Rossum. Guido was a fan of the Monty Python series of films - M.P. and the Flying Circus, M.P. and the Holy Grail,etc so he named his language "Python". Has nothing at all to do with a snake.

The term daemon is a Greek mythology term referring to guardian spirits. That's rather what unix daemon processes are; They gaurd the system.

Also, I don't think you realize just how large, diverse, and splintered the Unix world is; There's AIX, Sun Solaris, FreeBSD, HP-UX, DG, not to mention how many versions of Linux.

Check this URL for the beginnings:

http://www.bell-labs.com/history/unix/

Also, I just installed Red Hat Linux 8 and it has GNOME. GNOME is a web browser - nothing more and nothing less! Just because somebody may have a website with pictures you don't approve of is no reason to stop using the technology.

Sounds to me like you and your "group" are on some weird spirtual journey. I don't think Unix will "trip" you up.

Calling Unix a cult just shows your ignorance.

Nails

Here's another one:

In order to make your file World accessible, you give it the permissions of "666".

The 1st numeric position is the SysAdmin priviledges. The 2nd is group priviledges, and the 3rd is everyone else.

Let's say we change the labels a little differently to reflect the New World Order:

1. SysAdmin = The AntiChrist
2. Group = The Nations of The earth
3. Everyone else = The people of those nations.

Now, let's say that I'm the AntiChrist. In order for your Nation to avoid economic sanctions, you must bow to me. In order for your people to eat, they must bow to me, also. If you don't, you will not have access to all of my kingdom's riches. If you do, access is yours. In short, you must bear my mark: 666.

FILE PERMISSIONS TODAY, GROCERIES TOMORROW.

******

Bottom Line: You can read a lot into the tongue-in-cheek humor, or you can just enjoy
unix for what is - a wonderful operating system. I think you are still eligible for Heaven either way.

The last definition From dictionary.com [cult]

6.An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest.

Who can disprove it? Anyone prepared to patch ?

Naivety is a cult , who can disprove it