Actually the first application of that phrase to Linux came well before Eric appeared on the scene. I'd say that I first saw it on a t-shirt for Linux Expo in N

Actually the first application of that phrase to Linux came well before Eric appeared on the scene. I'd say that I first saw it on a t-shirt for Linux Expo in North Carolina in 97 or 98, and it was being used colloquially well before that. If I were to credit anyone, I'd maybe credit Jon Hall, who used it in his speeches when he was promoting Linux at DEC.