BSD vs Linux

I run FreeBSD on my computers. A lot of my friends run Linux, or at least one of the distributions of it. Naturally, then, we agree that a Unix-style operating system is the right choice, but we disagree on which to use.

It's been my impression (which I'm not interested in having long drawn-out debates about) that the BSD communit{y,ies}, in general, understand Linux far better than the Linux communit{y,ies} understand BSD. Thus, this rant; as a BSD person, I want to try to explain how BSD works in a way that soaks in to Linux people.

While there's overwhelming similarity between the operating systems in most cases, there's a lot of differences. As you probe more into the differences, you find that they emerge from deep-seated disagreements. Some are disagreements over development methodology, some over deployment and usage, some about what's important, some about who's important, and some about which flavor of ice cream is superior. Just comparing the surface differences doesn't tell you anything; it's the deeper differences that both explain and justify why each group does things the way they do.