I first learned how to operate and administer Linux-based operating systems with Scientific Linux 3 when I helped setup the tier II compute site for the WLCG (c

I first learned how to operate and administer Linux-based operating systems with Scientific Linux 3 when I helped setup the tier II compute site for the WLCG (called LCG at the time) at my alma mater. SL was, at the time, a thin-ish veneer around RHEL that included some additional packages to make using and installing some very common HEP tools (ROOT, GEANT, etc.) more palatable to academics that didn't have the time nor the fortitude to deal with the nightmares of installing raw RPMs. It was my first foray into the world of linux, and it was both a nightmare and a blessing. I probably owe most of my current career to the hacking I did back then. Much of the usefulness of SL (and most specialty/drivatives of RHEL) have faded over time, but I'll always be thankful for the people that put time and effort into a very thankless job so that HEP physicists around the world could have one less thing to worry about and focus just a bit more time on the science.