As evidence, take the POSIX (Portable Operating System Interface) standard, which included portions of the user-space C library in the POSIX.1 (Core Services) published in 1988. While the name "POSIX" was suggested by RMS, the notion that it might have been part of an agenda to claim credit for Linux violates causality (the very first version of Linux was released in 1991).
POSIX.2 is "Shell And Utilities", and was published in 1992.
Clearly, the notion that the operating system extended beyond the kernel was not a fringe one.
As evidence, take the POSIX (Portable Operating System Interface) standard, which included portions of the user-space C library in the POSIX.1 (Core Services) published in 1988. While the name "POSIX" was suggested by RMS, the notion that it might have been part of an agenda to claim credit for Linux violates causality (the very first version of Linux was released in 1991).
POSIX.2 is "Shell And Utilities", and was published in 1992.
Clearly, the notion that the operating system extended beyond the kernel was not a fringe one.