3 ms·

What’s useful about FreeBSD is that one can understand the whole system and have a complete model of it in your mind. Then you feel like it’s an extension of yo

What’s useful about FreeBSD is that one can understand the whole system and have a complete model of it in your mind. Then you feel like it’s an extension of yourself. With Linux complexity skyrockets and sub-systems are not always consistent.

mekster 4y ago
What? Are you high?
5e92cb50239222b 4y ago
If you can fully understand just the kernel, I think you have managed to achieve some sort of god-like transcendence. This is well above the abilities of us mere mortals. I don't even want to talk about understanding the whole system (maybe back in the 70s...)
arminiusreturns 4y ago
Here is the main disconnect I've found as a user of both in the past (FreeBSD 3-4 era). Everyone forgets the GNU in GNU/Linux. Everyone forgets the unix philosophy. So they get on linux, and with no care of licensing, bloat, etc, tend to overutilize the vast package repos without taking a moment to think about their computing strategy. Computing is inherently, a philosophical choice! So for me, only having actually embraced the four computing freedoms as articulated by those such as RMS and Eben Moglen and the FSF, I transitioned into working towards making as much of my compute stack gpl-first, with compat licenses allowed but not preferred, and later, gplv3+ preferred. What I found was that I started gravitating to tools that were often built in GNU-land tools that had been ignored while chasing the latest thing. Emacs probably being the largest game changer for this. But often third party tools written in gpl tend to remember and adopt the unix philosophy of doing one thing and doing it well, and are still a part of my userland. Truly, there is much more behind the oft told joke, GNU is my operating system, Linux is just my (current) kernel. Linux complexity hasnt skyrocketed that much, the available ecosystem around it core has. Thus, when keeping the core pure, I find gnu/linux just as easy to have a mental model of as freebsd. FreeBSD keeps to the unix philosophy by nature, hence the at a glance disparity.

mekster 4y ago

What? Are you high?

5e92cb50239222b 4y ago

If you can fully understand just the kernel, I think you have managed to achieve some sort of god-like transcendence. This is well above the abilities of us mere mortals. I don't even want to talk about understanding the whole system (maybe back in the 70s...)

arminiusreturns 4y ago

Here is the main disconnect I've found as a user of both in the past (FreeBSD 3-4 era). Everyone forgets the GNU in GNU/Linux. Everyone forgets the unix philosophy. So they get on linux, and with no care of licensing, bloat, etc, tend to overutilize the vast package repos without taking a moment to think about their computing strategy. Computing is inherently, a philosophical choice! So for me, only having actually embraced the four computing freedoms as articulated by those such as RMS and Eben Moglen and the FSF, I transitioned into working towards making as much of my compute stack gpl-first, with compat licenses allowed but not preferred, and later, gplv3+ preferred. What I found was that I started gravitating to tools that were often built in GNU-land tools that had been ignored while chasing the latest thing. Emacs probably being the largest game changer for this. But often third party tools written in gpl tend to remember and adopt the unix philosophy of doing one thing and doing it well, and are still a part of my userland. Truly, there is much more behind the oft told joke, GNU is my operating system, Linux is just my (current) kernel. Linux complexity hasnt skyrocketed that much, the available ecosystem around it core has. Thus, when keeping the core pure, I find gnu/linux just as easy to have a mental model of as freebsd. FreeBSD keeps to the unix philosophy by nature, hence the at a glance disparity.