Infected The Linux Community - Operating systems are serious business

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Shivan Kutty said:
I first started using computers using Xenix system V . I think it was promoted by Microsoft.

Now I use Linux mint 17.
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When I was a wee lad in the 90s, I set up Suse Linux on my brand new Pentium PC with a lot of sweat -- back then, installing Linux was a pain in the gluteus maximus: I had to experiment around for days until I could get it to detect my CD drive and X Windows wouldn't work very well with my V7 Mirage graphics card (it kept crashing in aesthetically interesting ways, creating multi-colored bar patterns all over the screen) -- so after some time I kept secretly longing for DOS/Windows 3.11, but I had heroically erased these off my hard drive; I had officially declared Gates and Microsoft the enemies of freedom, and Linux the only TRUE and HONEST OS for cool people who had read Neuromancer...

Today, I run Linux Mint on my laptop, I find it pretty handy. (And it is still the only TRUE and HONEST OS for liberty-loving, Gibson-reading console cowboys...)
But it is still a pain in the periphery to get it to talk to a number of peripheral hardware, such as scanners -- my scanner came with a Windows driver, and after digging around in the intarwebz and finding hints to install this and that and change this and that detail in this and that system file to get said scanner to work, I plugged it into my old secondary computer which runs Windows XP besides Puppy Linux.

Currently, I'm staying with a friend who has a Fritzbox router. Linux Mint wouldn't talk to the router's Wifi signal; digging through Linux forums, I found that this is a known problem and you have to change this and that line in such and such system file to make it decode the Fritzbox signal. I decide to rush to the electronics store instead and get a long network cable to plug my PC into the Fritzbox wire-wise. It works fine now...

Linux can be a bitch. Things which work out of the box with Windows take a lot of fooling around with system files to maaayyyybe get them to work with Big L. It doesn't have many games and the word "driver" makes any Linuxoist blush and hide under the table...

But I still love mai OS waifu, even if we argue sometimes -- this is par for the course in any healthy relationship.

os_tan_fanart__linux_tan_by_juzo_kun.jpg

http://www.catb.org/~esr/ (this could also go in the "bad webpages" thread)

LARP Resume -- seriously?? "Resume"??? I call it "prancing around in the woods dressed as a frikkin Hobbit".

"I'm an old-time hex-wargamer grognard" -- good for you, I guess.

"I am an armed man, prepared to use deadly force to defend my life and my freedom. I support the Second Amendment and firearms rights. See my firearms page for more." -- For some reason, this sounds not very threatening when it comes fom an old-time hex-wargamer grognard...

"If you think freedom works and is worth extending, both on and off the net, please consider joining the national Libertarian Party and your state affiliate. You can take the Nolan Quiz to find out how much you have in common with libertarians." -- well, I took it and it turns out I'm an evul commie and not a libertarian... BTW "national Libertarian Party" sounds a bit like an oxymoron, as "national" and "party" are collectivist concepts, not libertarian ones... but I disgress...

The Loginataka -- "know that the Way to Wizardhood is long, and winding, and Fraught with Risks. Thou must Attune thyself with the Source, attaining the arcane Knowledge and Conversation of the System Libraries and Internals. Yea; and such an all-consuming Time and Energy Sink is this as to greatly Imperil thy Grade Point Average (if one thou hast), not to mention thy Sex Life (if one thou hast). But persevere, oh Larval One; rewards beyond the Dreams of Lusers await thee!"

"Sex Life (if one thou hast)" -- nope, cuz Eric is a Wizard.

Seriously, his entire web content is so autistic it may start stimming any time now.
 
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AnOminous said:
I'd just like to interject for moment. What you're refering to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.

Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called Linux, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.

There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called Linux distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux!
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The funny thing about this ancient pasta is that everything in it is true
 
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DykesDykesChina said:
"Sex Life (if one thou hast)" -- nope, cuz Eric is a Wizard.
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I'm pretty sure he wrote that in praise of promiscuity. He also wrote a guide entitled "Sex Tips For Geeks". It's pua advice, but written with the air of a strategy guide for an RPG. (Somehow even more than your typical pua article.) Pretty much as weird as you can imagine.

He's been in a polyamorous relationship with his wife for years. Guessing by the pictures of the ladies he consulted for sex tips for geeks, I'm sure it's mostly lots of gross old people sex.

eric_kiss.jpg

ESR sperging about how hackers built the world and SJWs are going to ruin it all.

The raymond007 pictures are fucking hilarious.

ep013.jpg
 
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BTW back at my old place of employment, we had this ultra-nerdy sysadmin who was a massive Linux Sperg as well as a Tolkien Autist (these two probably tend to occur in tandem) -- he kept going on and on how Linux was the only worthwhile system and gave all the computers in the local network Tolkien-related names: Sauron, Morannon, Bilbo, Gandalf, etc.

He was technically competent but updated the software on the computers only about once a year (unless pestered to fix something).

This being a research institute, the choice of Linux probably made sense, as it is AFAIK optimal for massive numerical computation.
 
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DykesDykesChina said:
BTW back at my old place of employment, we had this ultra-nerdy sysadmin who was a massive Linux Sperg as well as a Tolkien Autist (these two probably tend to occur in tandem) -- he kept going on and on how Linux was the only worthwhile system and gave all the computers in the local network Tolkien-related names: Sauron, Morannon, Bilbo, Gandalf, etc.
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I can't believe how many networks I've seen where every single fucking node was Tolkien-related.
 
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No one's bothered to add the whole sarah sharp incident and the SJWs who tried to take over the Linux Foundation so I'll quote a post from KIA:
"DarkestEnlightment on KIA said:
The Linux Foundation, among other things, pays Linus Torvalds to work on the kernel.

In the beginning of January 2016, the Linux Foundation made a few changes. Up until then, the board consisted of:

10 people selected by platinum members ($500.000/year)
3 people selected by gold members ($100.000/year)
1 people selected by silver members ($5.000-20.000/year)
2 people selected by individual members

Within a couple of weeks they changed their by-laws, so no members were to be selected by "individual members" and they renamed "individual member" to "individual supporter".

What prompted this change?

It's hard to say precisely, but it might have a little something to do with the fact, that [Karen Sandler in September announced, that she wanted to become a board member.](
)

Karen Sandler, [as you might recall](https://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAc...olicy_bankrupted_the/?st=is21s877&sh=ad531dc5), managed to empty the coffers of GNOME, when she as managing director decided that 43% of GNOME's budget should be used on a "women's outreach". As quoted on [The Red Pill](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheRedPill...t_all_their_money_on/?st=is22ri53&sh=3a1ec50c): "The Outreach Program for Women (OPW) helps women (cis and trans) and genderqueer get involved in free and open source software."

According to people at GNOME, the situation was solely due to poor management. Sandler spend money, that other companies had committed to reimburse - and apparently GNOME paid the money to the oppressed victims of the patriarchy, but didn't collect the money at the same time. That is one explanation. On the other hand: They did let Sandler go at the same time, so perhaps it was not simply an accounting issue...

People siding with Sandler argues, that the Linux Foundation does not want her on their board, since she now works at Software Freedom Conservancy, that likes to support litigation against companies breaking GPL. When Linux Foundation changed it by-laws, a conspiracy theory was created, that they didn't want her on board, since the [SFC is funding a lawsuit against VMWare](http://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/39546.html) (a paying company member of LF). [Since then, VMWare has won and SFC has lost](https://opensource.com/law/16/8/gpl-enforcement-action-hellwig-v-vmware), since the person that SFC backed wasn't able to actually point out, what had be used by VMWare in violation of the GPL.

It's hard to say, what concerned the Linux Foundation the most: Her poor management skills, her lawsuit against VMWare or her SJW-agenda OTOH: As a board member, she wouldn't be involved in day-to-day management. And a number of the other board members represents companies, that are regularly in litigation with each other. That leaves her SJW-agenda as primary motivation for keeping her out.

In conclusion: Linux Foundation saw what a trojan horse, the candidacy of Karen Sandler was, and acted accordingly. [We all know what Linus thinks of SJWs trying to impose their world view](https://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAc...ten_and_believe_sarah_sharp_and_the_register/).

[I'll just leave this here](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nD40O6thgUc/VqIZkA_DvMI/AAAAAAAABts/YAQrT8Pqh00/s1600/CoC1.jpg).

tl;dr: A lawyer named Karen Sandler with a history of pushing SJW agenda, other non-productive work in open source, and leaving a mess, is repelled by a foundation before she is able to contaminate their organisation.

EDIT: Timemachine not yet invented. Main event took place in January 2016.
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Bunandfun on KIA said:
Yesterday a Linux kernel developer named Sarah Sharp re-announced that she was quitting the community because Linus is a big meanie. She quit a year ago but wanted to remind everyone why the Linux community is a better place without her.

From [Closing a door](https://archive.is/MFaLE):

> I did not want to work professionally with people who were allowed to get away with subtle sexist or homophobic jokes. I feel powerless in a community that had a “Code of Conflict” without a specific list of behaviors to avoid and a community with no teeth to enforce it.

> FYI, comments will be moderated by someone other than me. As this is my blog, not a government entity, I have the right to replace any comment I feel like with “fart fart fart fart”.

Opinion was basically split by technical prowess. The [Linux community](https://archive.is/vFTf1) continued to demonstrate its resilience by seeing Sarah's LiveJournal post for what it was. While the more SJW leaning [HackerNews community](https://archive.is/Z3ynL) was quick to jump at the chance to be good allies.

And of course, what good hissy fit by an oppressed feminist would be complete without a media tour? The Register was ready to offer a megaphone:

**[Linux kernel dev who asked Linus Torvalds to stop verbal abuse quits over verbal abuse](https://archive.is/WXkOM)**

We get the direct quote from Sarah about sexist and homophobic jokes. No sources, no quotes, no links. The mailing list where Sarah has been starting drama for years is all public record. We can go back through and see for ourselves that she's lying. We can also see that when she started this drama in 2013 that she had no problem throwing around histrionic accusations.

Here's Sarah [accusing Linus of being an abuser](https://archive.is/ZTi62) on the Linux kernel dev mailing list:

> You know what the definition of an abuser is? Someone that seeks out
victims that they know will "just take it" and keep the abuse "between
the two of them". They pick victims that won't fight back or report the
abuse.

**Why this is relevant to GamerGate**

Linux has a culture of meritocracy and technical excellence. They are a community of people looking to advance technology and have little time to suffer emotional fools. Game developers of all stripes use tools developed by this and adjacent open source communities. We need to help keep their tools free from identity politic nonsense.

This is also another great example of the press jumping on any feminist friendly issue, without proof, and blasting the geek community.

**Edit**
There's a [follow-up](https://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAc...followup_matthew_garrett_creates_sjw_fork_of/) to this that's pretty entertaining.
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incompatible egos and ideologies are the reason the linux community is so fragmented and unable to compete with windows

example there are some autists who will refuse to speak with if you say linux instead of GNU/Linux
 
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I mean to the credit of Linux (my only use of Linux was when I had an Android phone and then I used some other persons Chromebook), it basically has been a great success everywhere that isn't the desktop. I think the fact that some in the community can't be satisfied in that is actually quite sad. Even Linus knows why he isn't successful in getting Linux #1 in desktop, and while annoyed isn't being a total lolcow about it like others are.

 
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stallman is an OG MIT hacker who personifies the eccentric spirit of the first programmers. his passion is no compromises freedom and his followers (stallmanites) are lesser copies of him with the originality and eccentricity replaced with autism
 
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