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What would you use if you couldn't use your current distribution/operating system?
| 47% | 83 votes |
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- Don't complain about lack of options. You've got to pick a few when you do multiple choice. Those are the breaks.
- Feel free to suggest poll ideas if you're feeling creative. I'd strongly suggest reading the past polls first.
- This whole thing is wildly inaccurate. Rounding errors, ballot stuffers, dynamic IPs, firewalls. If you're using these numbers to do anything important, you're insane.
What would you use if you couldn't use your current distribution/operating system?
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(1)
Beware of a tall black man with one blond shoe.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Subsentient on Sunday February 22, @01:02AM (2 children)
If I can use a different Linux distro, I'd switch from Fedora to Void. If I can't use Linux, probably OpenBSD.
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Sunday February 22, @02:25PM
Pretty much that, but ... I don't really know. I currently use Debian, and if no other Linux were feasible...until last year I would have said Apple, but a bit of checking has made me dubious. BSD doesn't really seem to fit my use case, but maybe one of them would work.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday March 03, @08:09PM
I'm on a Win11 box at the moment. I have a work issued Win11 laptop on my left (in the middle of a 45 minute mandatory "upgrade"), and an Ubuntu laptop beside that. Ubuntu and self-managed Win11 aren't all that different, for my UX - the work issued Win11 is an altogether less cooperative beast (what USB?, you aren't allowed to use USB memory sticks! but I filled out the special permission form and had it signed by my manager and it was working last month...)
My distro of choice, lately, is Debian. Once upon a time, the argument of "you get more recent versions / better selected packages / better configured desktop in Ubuntu" had some merit, no more - for me, at least. Maybe Mint still does this? People who love Mint still seem to love Mint. I'm tired of working through the filters, straight Debian is fine for me, it's what I have been installing on our HTPCs, and the next time I setup a Linux daily driver it will likely be Debian.
🌻🌻🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by mrpg on Sunday February 22, @02:29AM
FreeBSD. Root, toor.
(Score: 5, Funny) by cereal_burpist on Sunday February 22, @04:40AM
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 22, @09:53AM (1 child)
I'd put more effort into resurrecting my old Amiga(s).
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 22, @05:14PM
All heathens shall be purified in flame.
(Score: 1) by Undefined on Sunday February 22, @06:19PM (1 child)
I have Raspian (which is sort-of Debian), linux/Ubuntu, Windows and MacOS machines. Also a FLEX09 6809 instance existing in emulation on several of the different operating systems. Also some non-native VMs of various versions of Windows.
If one of the matching operating systems wasn't available, I guess I'd just not run it. Inasmuch as I pretty much already run everything that matters to me, so what would I replace it with that I don't already have? Anything linux can be replaced with another linix as well. I don't depend on a specific OS to do what I need to do. I just like Ubuntu ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Also... it'd be pretty difficult to get one of these out of my hands, as they're robustly and locally backed up in stable condition, I have duplicate hardware for all the physical machines, and I'm super careful about allowing "upgrades."
Because all too often "upgrades" break things. Apple and Microsoft are both particularly bad about that. They both seem to think QC means "Quick and Cheap."
Not just the OS. I watch out for Python "upgrades." They're really bad about breaking fundamental capabilities. It's a great language but bitrot is always a concern with it. Removing a long-standard module as an "upgrade"? Yeah, no thanks. When they say "this module is deprecated and will be removed" what they mean is "we plan to really fuck up your code." Then there was the Python 2 ⮕ 3 incompatibility debacle. Ugh.
Lastly, I'm old and decaying rapidly, so I honestly expect my current hardware to be the last I really need to buy. Apple might tempt me if another M-series Ultra looks crazy good, but... I don't actually need such a thing. But it might be fun.
I use a dedicated preprocessor to elaborate abbreviations.
Hover to reveal elaborations.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday March 03, @08:15PM
Oh, I forgot about all the little Raspbian beasts hiding around the house (and that's a compliment to them and their usefulness), several of those - especially in the Home Assistant related setup, but I rarely use them as a desktop environment. And there's a couple of LibreElec devices hanging around, too.
🌻🌻🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by jelizondo on Sunday February 22, @11:44PM (1 child)
I currently run Fedora, I know someone is going to say there are "better" diistros, but I kind of like it, particularly with KDE... If I couldn't run it, I would switch to BSD, it does not quite fit my workflow, but if not Linux, it would be BSD. NEVER Windows or Mac, hate both with all my guts.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday February 23, @06:14PM
Fedora is a perfectly cromulent distribution. I don't have the same hate for Microsoft/Apple though. I grew up on DOS and used an Apple II in school. ChromeOS / Chrome books however, definitely get my ire. Part of it was the horrible laptops they had for ChromeOS at the start. The second part is essentially giving up control of your Software and Hardware to Google. That is dumb. Microsoft has gone from the "try to be compatible with everything" to "sell out to everything" OS. I don't want Candy Crush installed at all, let alone when I first setup my computer! The Windows Recall "feature" is just a new way for them to get even more data off you. At least Apple has been reasonably consistent since Jobs adjusted their trajectory after they tried to be Windows. High priced, very targeted specs, and typically very stable Hardware/OS. While I'm not interested in overpriced hardware, etc. Looking at you Apple with the extortinate priced RAM upgrades or literal lack of ability to upgrade. They certainly have produced some interesting and good hardware over the years. My household is now a fully Linux household as of October 2025. Wife and kiddo were on Linux from the start as it was a nice way to save $120 per machine as I never did Windows Home as a product. They were a good place to start as I built new computers for them them both when the building was good a year or two ago.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 1) by Raventail on Monday February 23, @05:51AM (1 child)
Yes, a Windows user here.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by mhajicek on Monday February 23, @02:38PM (12 children)
I'm stuck on Windows for Solidworks and Mastercam. If I couldn't use those I'd be out of business; there are no suitable alternatives that run on any other operating system.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 24, @09:50PM (11 children)
A whole 24 hours and there hasn't been a "Well have you tried X because X sounds like it does some of what Mastercam/SolidWorks does" comment from anyone? No one wanted to pontificate about how software they've never personally run is a replacement for other software they've never ran? Y'all let me down.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by shrewdsheep on Wednesday February 25, @08:29AM (10 children)
More than anything else, GP has to be pitied. There are certainly enough open source replacements to do what GP does but not exactly that way and maybe with a certain feature missing. It is about personal workflows and sometimes clients do insist. The latter is often a real deal-breaker for Linux thanks to all that M$ bullying.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Wednesday February 25, @06:39PM (9 children)
You just made the ACs point. There is NOTHING on Linux that even comes close to meeting my professional needs.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by dx3bydt3 on Wednesday February 25, @09:26PM (7 children)
CAD/CAM I think is really one of the areas most lacking in solid Linux compatible solutions.
I have no suggestions for a mastercam replacement, but I can say that onshape is really good for 3d modelling. I used solidworks regularly up until the 2008 version - which I continued to use for around 10 more years until I started using onshape, which is significantly more useable than that older version of solidworks in my opinion. Downsides are all that it is cloud based, and could disappear at any time, and the only backups you can have of your models in practice are .step or similar solids, the feature trees will be gone.
Note, I am not suggesting either that you should switch, just putting it out there that a competitive 3d modelling solution that can be used on Linux does exist.
FreeCAD continues to improve too, and is quite usable for simple parts, but isn't yet in the same ballpark of usability as onshape or solidworks. Proponents may claim otherwise, but I find the UI fights me with every attempt to do anything moderately complex. I will keep trying it though, the prospect of having model files in a format that isn't locked down, and software that isn't a subscription is worth the effort.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Wednesday February 25, @11:34PM (3 children)
Yeah, cloud is a nonstarter. Most of my work is covered by NDAs.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 26, @02:03AM
I talked to a machinist I know at length about this. Beyond the NDAs that are common in the industry, even worse would be hacks of the service. If the SaaS provider were breached, then their designs that are verified to work could leak. And his competitors or even his own clients (who could take it to a competitor) with access to that information could ruin him. Worse, he could do everything right and still get screwed. Very easy to say "no" to cloud in those circumstances.
(Score: 3, Touché) by dx3bydt3 on Thursday February 26, @03:33AM (1 child)
Regarding NDAs and special compliance requirements like ITAR I find it surprising that there hasn't been a lockdown version of windows made available. Sure, Pro allows you to adjust more things, but all versions as far as I know send some undisclosed telemetry to MS. How does that work with an NDA?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 26, @01:48AM (2 children)
Mastercam is so expensive precisely because there is literally no replacement for them, paid or otherwise, once you get to a certain level of advanced design or equipment. I can't say if op is at that level or not, but if he says he is then I believe him. He wouldn't be dropping thousands per year on software if it were just to avoid learning a new system or it was just a missing convenience feature. At a minimum, he and hundreds of thousands who use it (it is the most used CAM software in the world after all) agree it is paying for itself. And all that money is part of the reason why it is so hard for competitors to catch up. Mastercam even warrants the results of their software wont damage your equipment if you are a big enough costumer with the right setup. To be honest, any open source competitor will never catch up, let alone be close, and cloud is a no-go for many professional machinists for NDA and competitive reasons.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Thursday February 26, @07:35PM (1 child)
There are a few practical alternatives to Mastercam, but they're all similarly priced, and they're all Windows only.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 26, @10:04PM
Thanks for the correction. I probably took the machinist I mentioned in another comment too literally when he said there are none. He could also have meant it as a "none worth using" sort of sense as everyone there already used Mastercam, the new people coming in from college know Mastercam, and they are all similarly priced anyway. But what do I know? I can just relate what he told me before I stood there watching like an amazed child as the almost-million-dollar machine turned a rod of metal into usable parts identical to fractions of a millimeter in a matter of minutes.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by turgid on Monday February 23, @03:07PM (5 children)
Now that SystemD dependencies have leaked into User Space and are affecting GUI applications, there are effectively two variants of Linux distributions: those that depend on SystemD and those that do not. I'm a diehard Slackware user (since 1995) but I also use things like Ubuntu and Mint, and over the years I've used RedHat and variants like CentOS plus "real Unix" Solaris.
If something terrible happens in the Linux world, and SystemD takes over completely, I'll go to BSD.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 3, Informative) by Freeman on Monday February 23, @06:00PM (1 child)
SystemD has nearly destroyed every other good option in Linux. There are a few holdouts, but it's definitely infected most everything.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 3, Informative) by Dr Spin on Tuesday February 24, @03:06PM
Devuan works for me, although I also use OpenBSD for work and Mac for play.
Have not used Windows since XP - I did try more recent versions, but they re too confusing.
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 3, Informative) by Gaaark on Saturday February 28, @08:31PM (2 children)
I look forward to retiring, so i can distro-hop again:
I want to try Slackware again and maybe delve, again, into LFS-BLFS.
Can't wait for the fun and intellectual stimulus starts again in that field!
I look back fondly on the Mandrake (7.2 from the picture i saw on-line... can't remember)/Redhat 5.0 days.
Delving into XF86config (?sp?), recompiling kernels.... happy times.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Thursday March 05, @11:36AM (1 child)
Unfortunately, LFS has now become systemd-infected.
One of the post-retirement tech projects I have in the back of my head is studying systemd and trying to fork something that is properly decoupled from itself. Because your desktop environment should not be in any way dependent on your init system.
"Think of how stupid the average person is. Then realize half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Thursday March 05, @07:25PM
Yep... that is like tying the browser into the kernel... ;)
That only works when you want to f*ck with regulators and don't care about your customers.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 2) by srobert on Monday February 23, @03:11PM (1 child)
My wife gave me a laptop one Christmas that ran FreeBSD perfectly for years. I got a new laptop intending to run FreeBSD on it, but the wifi card wasn't compatible. Void Linux is a good substitute. If I couldn't use Void, or some sort of Linux, I'd get hardware that would allow me to return to FreeBSD.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday February 23, @05:57PM
Sounds like a reasonable option. I've dabbled with *BSDs, but they have much worse hardware support than Linux. That's ignoring software support. When I last tested one of the *BSDs, it worked more or less for basic things. Though, if you wanted X thing, you were likely to need to compile a thing yourself. I don't want to compile every thing I want to function on my computer, thanks.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday February 23, @05:54PM
I would switch to a different distribution of Linux. I don't have any happy feels for CachyOS. I may switch from CachyOS to something else anyway. It's not my happy place. I've used Debian based systems on/off over the years. Using pacman / yay feels like going back to the bad old days of Linux.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday February 23, @06:17PM
I was tempted to say FreeDOS or the like, but no matter how nice it is for running old games / etc. I wouldn't want to be stuck with the limitations of such a system for everything. I could make it work, but I would rather Linux or probably even a *BSD at that point.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 1) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday February 24, @03:40AM (10 children)
I have Linux, Windows, Android, and MacOS all running live. If I couldn't use any of those, I'd be a bit screwed, is what I think. Guess my only option would be BSD? I'm not likely to go retrograde to a 1980s OS.
We're gonna be able to vacation in Gaza, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran and maybe Minnesota soon. Incredible times.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday March 06, @06:42PM
We used to have one or two OS-X systems, and they were fine for what they were, but in the end I'm glad their host hardware is dead and out of my sphere of awareness - OS-X can do things that no other OS can do (OsiriX was a big one at work, 10-20 years ago), but none of these things matter to us on any significant level.
🌻🌻🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1) by pTamok on Tuesday February 24, @01:14PM
If it can run LibreOffice.
For nostalgic reasons, I could also go for DEC VMS, running ALL-IN-1 [wikipedia.org] and 20/20 [wikipedia.org]. Throw in an LN03 printer, DATATRIEVE [wikipedia.org] and a VAX FORTRAN compiler, and I'd be all set.
If the system were a VAXstation 4000 model 90 or 96, I could do graphics work as well. Although with 20/20 and a VT125, plotting graphs was possible with the ReGIS [wikipedia.org] capability. A VT340 would give you colour graphics: ReGis, Sixel [wikipedia.org], or Tektronix 4010/4014 [wikipedia.org], although I'd probably need a DEC Terminal Server to get full multi-session capability.
I miss the days of efficient computing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 24, @07:54PM (56 children)
New distribution that safeguards content even from someone with admin access. Allows multiple users to have authentication access to track all system changes effectively preventing users from silently modifying content or services. Web hosting for older languages is trivial to set up. Who doesn't want accountability in their infrastructure?
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Tuesday February 24, @08:22PM (55 children)
This is possible with any version of Linux (or BSD). All of our data is kept going back to 2014, with multiple backups including a daily upload to an off-site location. Nothing is deleted.
We have this now. There is a hierarchy of permissions with multiple people having increasing access depending on their needs. We also publish the site code in a GIT repository. Anyone is free to track all the changes that are made.
We all want it, and we already have it. Why do you suggest a new OS? Join the staff and you can have all the access you need for whatever role you are fulfilling. Our bylaws stipulate that the community owns the data, not shareholders or any commercial interests.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 24, @10:06PM (4 children)
Ok?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 25, @10:45AM (1 child)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 25, @05:29PM
Sorry I was unclear. "WTF?"
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 25, @01:01AM (3 children)
When can we expect the release of the Aristarchus Files, then? Since we own them, we should be able to read them.
(Score: 3, Informative) by janrinok on Wednesday February 25, @06:54AM (2 children)
All aristarchus' comments, journals and submission remain in the database and they are available for everyone to read. They are only a search away. He has not been a member of this community since 2022. See here [soylentnews.org].
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 25, @08:18AM (41 children)
Asking why you replied with an oddly specific message gets flagged. You are a weird dude.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Wednesday February 25, @08:22AM (40 children)
It answered each of the points you made with examples from our own site. The fact that you didn't understand it is not my problem. Discussion closed.
You are also a weird dude.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 25, @05:31PM (38 children)
Flagging non-spam non-harrassment? What is wrong with you? Sadly you did not understand the points if you think you answered them. I look forward to more robust discussion in the form of petty censorship. Feel free to ignore comments you do not like.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Wednesday February 25, @06:52PM (37 children)
I repeat, if you cannot remember what you wrote it is not my problem. Repeated personal abuse IS flaggable.
I did not refuse to answer your question. An AC comment has already pointed out you didn't ask one. "OK?" is not an intelligent discussion. My response perhaps should have been "Yes I am OK, I am having a good time currently, lots of good things happening in my life." Is that what you wanted to know?
You stated what you wanted in your 'imaginary' OS. I pointed out that everything that you wanted already exists. How would your suggestion protect personal data? If anybody can have access to the database (and I haven't got it except through a controlled API) then anybody could look up what you have posted in the past. They could look at moderations, they could see everyone's email addresses - for almost 60,000 accounts. Your own posting history would be there for everyone to see.
Nothing is deleted. There is no delete function associated with a flagged comment. Every flagged comment is still in the database. That includes the userid of the person doing the flagging - which you might be surprised to know it is not always me although you repeatedly make that incorrect assumption.
You already have access to all of the source code. You can see exactly how it is used, what it is capable of, and what changes are made and by whom. So what is different from your suggested OS? If I didn't understand, enlighten me with your deep insight into a better OS.
You made the claim - now back it up please.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 25, @07:38PM (36 children)
I have made no claims, and calling you weird while condemning your unwarranted flagging is hardly abuse. If you want to claim it is then apologize for also calling me weird while insulting my intelligence. Admit your censorship was wrong and I will then apologize and laude you admitting a personal mistake.
I imagine this too will be censored. Engage honest discussion, stop making so many assumptions, and this pointless back and forth stops. I don't think you can, just too mad, anxious or whatever.
I had a real point that was not directed at this site or yourself, you made that leap of assumption.
As to your answers, there were no questions for you to answer and your technical details do not solve the issue of trust and transparency in a multi-user system.
Thanks again for your insulting ignorant tangents ;-) If you would like to continue this discussion please quote the OP and highlight which part is confusing and I will try to clarify.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Wednesday February 25, @08:03PM (13 children)
All of it.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 3, Touché) by janrinok on Wednesday February 25, @08:18PM (12 children)
Or perhaps you would prefer "Sorry I was unclear. "WTF?""
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 26, @03:49AM (11 children)
Yes, you brought up taking over site administration. A rather odd offer or whatever, it did not seem sincere. So WTF with all that?
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Thursday February 26, @04:56AM (10 children)
Something, either a person or perhaps AI, has to have control over the system. Usually it is a system administrator. He is responsible for configuring the system, for giving the access to those who assist with site administration, for ensuring that the data is protected from unauthorised access, backing up restorative copies of the data, etc.
How does your proposed new OS achieve this without an administrator, or even with multiple "authenticated" administrators? Whatever safeguards are implemented by him or someone he has authorised to assist him can just as easily be circumvented by him. If you don't have trust in the administration then you really shouldn't ever be using such a site.
Your suggestion that I have quoted above can be achieved today by disconnecting from the internet and never switching your computer on. Otherwise you might as well be asking for an OS that requires no power source, operates in any environment without maintenance, and which works by manipulating a mixture of stardust and Unobtainium to calculate instant results.
Now, I will assume that you have something better in mind. Please explain in terms which we can all understand what your concept is for the new OS. Most of us are far more practical about such things and, I for one, cannot imagine how you conceive that such a system would work. If you do not have such a concept then the entire premise of your original comment contributes nothing to an intelligent discussion.
Your flippant remarks such as "OK?" and "WTF?" suggest that you are blowing gas out of your ass. However, I am prepared to join in an intelligent discussion if you can provide your half of it. Otherwise the community will probably moderate you appropriately.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 26, @10:08AM (9 children)
Just to chime in here, I think it should be possible to set up a system like that using blockchain and signing. An admin might be able to delete or alter stuff, but it would leave a massive hole in the data and be really obvious because it would break the chain.
I don't believe that sort of effort and overhead is warranted for a discussion site like this, I think most of us are happy with how things are run.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Thursday February 26, @11:18AM
It is certainly possible, but it is a lot of effort to prevent an admin managing his site(s) for fear that he might be doing something that he shouldn't. Unwanted changes could be detected - but why would any admin want to do that? In any event all of our code is released for the whole world to see. If the idea is to prevent unauthorised access then it is more of a security matter - nobody should be able to access running code or personal data which they should not be accessing.
The database is constantly changing. Every comment, journal, moderation, even page accesses are recorded including UserID, time, the event itself, .... etc. So a blockchain would be of no use there. The daily backups are encrypted and stored on separate servers, both locally and remotely. No blockchain could prevent the deletion of a backup or even just pulling the plug on a server.
The original AC suggested a new OS but seemingly is now reluctant to explain exactly how or why the proposed changes are necessary. While he might be directing his comments at this site in particular, he is suggesting that a new OS would be his ideal. Why? A new OS would not make supporting the perl code any easier. If anyone wants to rewrite it then they are more than welcome to give it a try. kolie has extended the APIs so that we do not need to change the perl code to achieve many new functions - just knowing where to hook into the API is making many enhancements much easier than they once were. Additionally, many have decried the use of Docker containers but they are much more reliable than the previous configuration and the problems tend to be where the original Rehash code was hacked but insufficiently tested before being widely used.
So I don't think that he is directing his comments to this site. But if not, then which sites does he believe his new OS would be better suited than existing ones?
For repos such as those for different languages (Python etc) then a block chain would certainly identify that a 'change' had taken place, but I am not sure that it would accurately identify exactly where and, more importantly, what risks the new code poses to its users. Some have gone to great lengths to obfuscate the real purpose of their code changes and if a block chain could solve all the problems I wonder why nobody has yet introduced such a system for their repos. Perhaps they have, I do not pay much interest to blockchains etc so this is an area about which I know relatively little.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 26, @01:33PM (7 children)
Great comment!
"I think most of us are happy with how things are run."
That is the rub. What if there are alterations you do not know about? A techie discussion site is low stakes and truly egregious violations would be noticed eventually, so who really cares? Do we need or even want a high level of trust in public forums?
It is a theoretical problem that someone is taking way too personally. Your solution is interesting but would definitely take some effort.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Thursday February 26, @03:44PM (6 children)
Well that comes back to the trust issue. I do not use any other social media because I have seen how they change the rules at will and bury any information about the changes in very small print, if at all.
They will quite happily share my information (which is illegal in the EU without my express permission) because it is seen as having some monetary value.
If you mean what happens if the code that we are running is changed maliciously, then the blockchain idea might be useful as a flag, but then you would have to diff everything with a known good release and try to find what the changes are. But that makes the role of the administrator more important, not less. If someone has managed to get into your own code base and make changes to it then there is a permissions issue that is wrong. But using our own case as an example - they would have to know also how to build the entire site into containers, how to access the database itself, how to access the various servers that we use etc.
I agree.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 26, @06:32PM (5 children)
Blockchain would make it simple to run a verification on the database. Every byte of content added creates a signature, so uf someone changes a few bytes then the signature changes. Your current situation would require a complete diff against a backup.
(Score: 3, Informative) by janrinok on Thursday February 26, @08:18PM (4 children)
The database is continually changing. There are internal tasks running all the time which leave results in the database. Records are created in the database when a users is accessing pages, making comments. creating journals, moderating, searching, etc. They all create new data that is saved in the database, some temporarily and some permanently.
At which point should the blockchain be updated? And why compare it with previous backup? What are you expecting it to tell you?
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 26, @11:17PM (3 children)
Your questions would be an important part of the project management and development pipeline. Give me a call if you would like to hire a consultant.
The last question is the most important. It would tell an auditor when unwarranted modifications have been made. I thought that was clear from the beginning, but this thread has involved a lot off tangential and off topic nonsense due to, umm, something.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday February 27, @12:15AM (2 children)
A blockchain of the database would tell us no such thing. You would need a blockchain of the source code to identify changes to the source code.
What exactly are you trying to prove again?
This, I assume, is AC's little joke? What is your AC phone number, or your contact address? How exactly does one hire Mr Anonymous Coward?
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 27, @01:33AM (1 child)
Feel free to discuss with people you may actually listen to.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Wednesday February 25, @08:14PM (21 children)
Or, to make it easier, the same implied questions that I asked here [soylentnews.org]:, but in reply I got a smartass "OK?". I pointed out that we already have what you are wishing for.
If you have a point that is relevant to this POLL then please give it - but so far you have just described almost every OS that is currently in use.
If you believe that my flagging is unwarranted, please feel free to raise a formal complaint. I shan't hold my breath...
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 26, @01:41PM (20 children)
" I shan't hold my breath..."
Damn, my secret plan to have you close your own discussion foiled again! Get a life bruh, harrassing people for adding relevant discussion to your Holy Poll is time better spent doing.. anything else?
If you spent half as much effort policing bigotry we wouldn't have to waste time emailing the site to get basic rules enforced. The community decided bigotry isn't cool, before you try making this a "me" problem.
Censor this one too? Only you get to flame others? Have you tried ignoring comments that break no rules yet bother you for some reason?
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Thursday February 26, @03:56PM (19 children)
Can you point me to where the community was invited to discuss this topic? How was the voting counted and by whom? Was it all the community or just a handful of people? The community can moderate bigotry and often do. I have done so myself. I think that there is no change required to the way that this site works. Feel free to use an account and moderate bigotry too.
Attacking the bigot personally is, however, forbidden in the rules as are any forms of personal attack.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 26, @05:44PM (14 children)
Ncommander made the announcement. TheMightBuzzard left immediately. Should be easier to find this policy change than to flag this comment.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 26, @06:22PM
Someone from Tennessee rage quit over banning racism? Say it ain't so!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by janrinok on Thursday February 26, @06:33PM (12 children)
So the community were not involved but merely told what the outcome would be? Perhaps that is the final straw that broke the camel's back for TMB. He did not like the voice from 'God' approach.
However you said....:
... which is now, by your own admission, not true. However it is also completely irrelevant. It was never promulgated in any rules. It was NCommander using his power as one of 2 shareholders to dictate something. I am not arguing that it was a bad decision, far from it, just that it was not made by community decision. It simply meant that they could moderate bigotry.
The site is far more democratic now. The rules that we currently work with were put before the community, discussed and accepted by a community vote which was verified by the Board, and I was asked to publish them in the Wiki. Nobody suggested that bigotry should have its own rule written, particularly as one had never existed before+.
My role is not to police comments to suit you or any other individual. It is to serve the community. The community itself is free to moderate bigotry as it sees fit. I am not here to moderate on behalf of individual community members, and particularly not for ACs who have chosen not to have moderation points. Community members have their own moderation points which they can use as they deem fit.
I agree that the bigotry should be moderated as severely as community members wish. They may do so whenever it is necessary. You should direct your complaint to them, but why should they listen to you?
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 26, @11:20PM (9 children)
You replied to a different AC. Since you are being rude I will decline responding to your comment. I will ask one more question. Why should someone listen to you? I have specific reasons why I do not trust your statements, your rude approach being one of them.
Really I think you should ignore posts you think are mine. Engaging seems to get you worked up and rather impolite.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday February 27, @12:25AM (6 children)
I replied to AC. The comment was entirely appropriate. If you would rather be someone different we usually use an account.
Oh, they shouldn't necessarily do so. But they should be following the site rules which you have agreed to by participating in this site.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 27, @12:37AM (5 children)
I did not say your comment was inappropriate, it was just rude. You should care about replying incorrectly to someone. Since you are so big on the rules I expect apologies for your personal attacks here. The least you can do is acknowledge your own rule breaking, and an apology is just being a decent person.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday February 27, @01:00AM (4 children)
May I offer my apology in the form of a quote from Monty Python:
The rules do not quote anything about being rude, although I do dispute your claim. The rules do specify 'personal attacks'. Where I have I personally attacked you?
Funny how it is only ACs who cannot grasp this simple requirement.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 27, @01:40AM (3 children)
In the past many times. Here the closest was calling me a smartass and insulting my intelligence when you failed to understand the original point. You do not use personal attacks often, but failing to even admit your own faults is not great for someone pretending they follow the rules perfectly while lecturing others. Narcissists tend to never admit fault and require arduous levels of proof for their problems. Hope you are not one of those types.
You have now steered far off topic so this discussion is now closed.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 27, @02:31AM (2 children)
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday February 27, @12:36AM (1 child)
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 27, @12:40AM
Ok? Trying to prove something? Still was not me, whether those IDs are for my comments I will not bother checking.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Thursday February 26, @08:11PM (2 children)
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 25, @03:54PM (3 children)
All your data?
Interesting statement.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Wednesday February 25, @06:18PM (2 children)
You are asking for things that already exist, and which have existed since the days when I was working on heavy metal (VAX, Digital, etc).
The latest OS for computers are even more advanced and easily capable of being configured to do what you wish of your 'suggested' new OS.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 25, @06:28PM
I wish you the best of luck re-reading the post.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 25, @02:47AM (1 child)
Operating Systems as Religious Denominations:
macOS - Roman Catholicism (UNIX heritage, very pretty, some think it's lost its way)
FOSS Operating Systems - Protestantism
Minix: Moravians (they broke off first but nobody remembers them)
BSD: Lutheranism
FreeBSD: Mainstream Lutheranism - Still has roots going back to the beginning of UNIX (apostolic succession), but still modern, willing to accept code from everywhere, very liberal license, open minded, some question the quality of code.
OpenBSD: LCMS - very conservative, must adhere to the gospel, sola scriptura. Don't you dare confuse me with mainstream Linux.
NetBSD: WELS - I guess they are still around
Linux: Mainstream Protestantism
Slackware: Independent Fundamental Baptist. Rejection of the Babylon that is systemd.
Void Linux: New IFB. Package dependencies woo!
Arch Linux: Presbyterian (Calvinist) Churches. Going to silently judge you and not help newcomers because they are not the elect.
Debian: Episcopal Church. Steady and long tradition.
Devuan: Anglican Church of America. Broke off from the Episcopal church recently due to thinking the Episcopal church lost its way.
Ubuntu: Methodist Church. Theologically rooted close to Episcopalism.
Linux Mint: Wesleyan Church. Ubuntu was wrong to endorse snaps, like the Methodist church was wrong to endorse slavery.
Fedora: Non-denominational megachurches pretending to be small, community churches, but they are actually taking money from the USG and being steered by USG. Probably has a Christian flag and an Israeli flag up at the altar.
NixOS: They are speaking in tongues over there and trying to win more souls.
Trisquel / Guix: IDK probably Branch Davidians or something. Scary to everyone and you will listen to their rants and nod your head even though you are pragmatic, mostly out of fear of being shot if you disagree, but nobody is questioning whether they are going to Heaven.
Android: Mormon Church. Not quite Protestant and a bunch of weird shit added on top, but you like them anyway because hanging out with them beats hanging out with someone else.
(Score: 2, Touché) by pTamok on Wednesday February 25, @01:27PM
You missed TempleOS [wikipedia.org]. It's a bit of a legend.
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 27, @06:40PM (19 children)
Comments scrubbed completely while claims it is impossible. What a joke. Janrinok are you really claiming ignorance?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 27, @08:22PM (17 children)
They restored them. Now we just have to hope nothing gets modified or actually removed. Jan did you find that lecturing comment and the short reply you claim doesn't exist? Was it deleted, or simply hidden. If hidden should you not have been able to find them?
I do hope the site can regain trust and more users, it really is a pretty good place for discussions given the alternative platforms with the most users.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday February 27, @08:55PM (10 children)
I have done nothing - I suggest you look for another reason.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 27, @09:07PM (9 children)
Someone did. A bundle of comments hidden, then reappeared in khallow's journal, replies to slon. You were mentioned because you supposedly tried to find other comments that disappeared and claimed they truly did not exist, not just hidden. Someone removed some comments from view, and even un-flagged a comment of mine after I posted the accusation here. Whether you believe me or not I have only tried to help, but yes I have very much lost my cool many times after repeated false accusations and such. Talk to your team, it is nice to see a reversal of such things but the core problem remains that content hiding/removal is happening and I'll take it on faith you truly don't know about it. I am done here if you care to leave this thread done. Shit, flag this comment whatever you want, no more complaints from me I'm just satisfied to see the actions done in near real time. Back to some home repair :)
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday February 27, @09:35PM (8 children)
I don't have a team. The editors are a separate bunch and are led by hubie. They have no role in flagging. I help them out when I can. There are 3 qualified administrators but they are entirely independent and do not belong to any specific team although we do communicate with each other whenever necessary.
I don't think you have looked at the team structure in the Wiki recently. I do answer most, if not all, community complaints but that is so that the others can be unbiased when there are are issues to be resolved. Of course, they require a formal complaint to be raised, which is why I often suggest that someone should raise one.....
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28, @09:53PM (7 children)
You are the representative. No big deal. Better I speak to you if one of the others is doing content deletion, or even just totally hiding the content from existence. We all know it is possible, I am letting you know it happened, and if you are not aware or can not find info about it then that is troubling. Ok all done here. Until the next time, or hopefully not.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Saturday February 28, @11:02PM (6 children)
So you think it is more appropriate to discuss this in a Poll about operating systems rather than sending me an email?
There is a formal complaints procedure - please use it.
Repetitive off-topic complaints are covered in the site rules. They are flaggable.
As an aside, I think that you have compromised your account.
See you next time...
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday February 27, @09:09PM (3 children)
Has it ever occurred to you that the reason that you couldn't see them was nothing to do with me? I do not know the reason that you couldn't see them, but perhaps you were accusing the wrong person? Other people can flag comments - not just administrators. One such group of people are the owners of journals, and there are others. There is also the possibility of software bugs. As I had already pointed out to you there were 2 system reboots during the time you said you saw the comments and the time that you suddenly thought I must be deleting them, that it must be me that was doing it...
So rather than just aiming both barrels at me, why don't you in future try asking for assistance rather than making accusation? Perhaps there is a problem with the software interface which we are still testing. Perhaps that are other possible causes to this event. AC, it appears, does not know everything, but he is remarkably quick to make accusations.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 28, @08:56PM (1 child)
Sorry you feel so personally targeted, part of why I keep referring to an admin or haxorz doing stuff that an editor account does not have access to. As for the comments flagging, unflagging, or being disappeared, no that does not seem like a bug. Once published the data is in the database so I hope a restoration after a crash would be obviously communicated. I can see flagging and unflagging a comment to be done by the journal author or a staff member, but the comments disappearing then reappearing unlike the first event, really reeks of someone closing out a "problem" thread where my reply to someone's question keeps getting flagged so I keep trying to answer.
Now I know where you want to leap to. "AH HA! You were being bad so I can ignore all further discussion of problems" as you typically do. Knowing that comments were getting flagged and "cleaned up" to dissuade further additions is another reason for the actions to be deliberate. I am notifying you because this site is billed as by the community and for the community, and there should be no invisible content alterations or possibly invisible deletions.
I do not know everything but I have reported the facts. The idea they were the result of bugs is highly unlikely, doubly so since it has happened twice. Personally it sounds like the flagging feature retained the ability to totally hide the comments and someone screwed up flagging, or only reversed it when I started posting about it to demonstrate the content was not actually deleted. The problem there is that then it should be easy for you to find comments given the exact content, so either search sucks or content can be truly deleted despite your claims it cannot.
Feel free to ignore my posts, I try to limit complaints to one per incident but if my pointing out something troubling such as here is flagged it seems like burying an inconvenient truth and I would repost. Spam mod, down mod, I wont complain as you have made that clear. I will not keep such important issues private when the site supposedly supports freedom of speech. Sorry that annoys you, but it is the principle of the thing ;-) If there is no discussion or statements saying such and such is impossible when it clearly is technically possible and very likely not bugs, then I will not have long arguing threads with you.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday February 27, @09:16PM (1 child)
I have the same search facility that you have.
They did not appear in my local log on my own machine, so it does not appear that I flagged them - and without the comment number I can do little more.
If I had flagged them then they should also be in my local log which is there so that I can identify problems which I am responsible for. They are not there.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Sunday March 01, @01:16AM
I'm currently on Devuan Linux.
I answered that if I could no longer use any Linux, I'd pick a BSD.
It was there as beckoning alternative.
But I'd also be tempted by
Hurd
Inferno, a successor to Plan 9, a successor to Unix.
But right now I don't think either of these are quite ready for serious use.
-- hendrik