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+[[!meta copyright="Copyright © 1999, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013 Free Software
+Foundation, Inc."]]
+
+[[!meta license="""[[!toggle id="license" text="GFDL 1.2+"]][[!toggleable
+id="license" text="Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this
+document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or
+any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant
+Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.  A copy of the license
+is included in the section entitled [[GNU Free Documentation
+License|/fdl]]."]]"""]]
+
+[[!tag faq/general faq/_important]]
+
+[[!meta title="What are the advantages with the Hurd over Linux/BSD?"]]
+
+The Hurd will be considerably more flexible and robust
+than generic Unix.  Wherever possible, Unix kernel features have been
+moved into unprivileged space.  Once there, anyone who desires can
+develop custom replacements for them.  Users will be able to write and
+use their own file systems, their own `exec' servers, or their own
+network protocols if they like, all without disturbing other users.
+
+The Linux kernel has now been modified to allow user-level file
+systems, so there is proof that people will actually use features such
+as these.  It will be much easier to do under the Hurd, however,
+because the Hurd is almost entirely run in user space and because the
+various servers are designed for this sort of modification.
+
+> Notably, flexibility for the user:
+> 
+> transparent ftp
+> 
+>     $ cd /ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian
+>     $ ls
+> 
+> personal filesystem
+> 
+>     $ dd < /dev/zero > myspace.img bs=1M count=1024
+>     $ mke2fs myspace.img
+>     $ settrans myspace /hurd/ext2fs myspace.img
+>     $ cd myspace
+
+>> Just curious, but I keep seeing these (and other similar) concepts being
+>> brought up as the amazing selling points of the Hurd, but all of this is
+>> entirely doable now in Linux with FUSE or things like it.
+
+>>> Nowadays, at LAST, yes, partly.
+>>> And only on machines where fuse is enabled. Is it enabled on the servers you have an account on?
+
+>> I'm not sure if an ftp filesystem has been implemented for FUSE yet, but its
+>> definately doable; and loopback filesystems like in your second example have
+>> been supported for years.
+
+>>> As a normal user?  And establish a tap interface connected through ppp over
+>>> ssh or whatever you could want to imagine?
+
+>>  What, then, are the major selling points or benefits?
+
+>>> These were just examples, Linux is trying to catch up in ugly ways indeed
+>>> (yes, have a look at the details of fuse, it's deemed to be inefficient).
+>>> In the Hurd, it's that way from the _ground_ and there is no limitation
+>>> like having to be root or ask for root to add magic lines, etc.
+
+> It also for instance provides userland drivers, for instance the network
+> drivers are actually Linux drivers running in a separate userland process.
+
+> It also for instance provides very fine-grain virtualization support, such as
+> VPN for only one process, etc.
+
+> etc. etc. The implications are really very diverse...