> what we'd really need is for all tool versions/variants output on all platforms (all GNU/Linux distros, all the BSDs, all embedded Linux variants, all commerc

> what we'd really need is for all tool versions/variants output on all platforms (all GNU/Linux distros, all the BSDs, all embedded Linux variants, all commercial UNICES, etc.) to be the same, all the time The industry has approximated this state of affairs by approximating a GNU+Linux monoculture. Doesn’t matter that BSD tar behaves differently if ~nobody uses it.