[the-dude]

> the common man is coming less and less contact with GNU.

Compared to when? Would the Android experience differ substantially if it included the GNU userland?

I'd argue no : the common man does not compile, write shell scripts or writes it's own software.

Or are you argueing that somehow GNUCash for example would be more popular?

You can look at Windows or OSX to see what is important to the common man. And it is not build tools / infra, and I think that is fine.

[aerhq3h5]

I'm not really sure I see what you're driving at. I mean yes, GNU's never been thaaat relevant to most people. That doesn't change that in the context of the OPs original point it's hard to see GNU as having done anything but lost ground in contemporary times. Which in turn makes it hard to see a way it'd be a path towards whatever salvation was being opined on. If the primary vehicle for GNU's propagation before was situations that saw it bundled with Linux we're now in a time where there's countless mainstream Linux devices and virtually none of them incorporate GNU.

[the-dude]

> anything but lost ground in contemporary times.

Compared to when? The web is only growing and growing and is 90%+ GNU/Linux.

All/most SaaS'es which are displacing 'conventional' software are running GNU/Linux.

The 'AI revolution' is running GNU/Linux.