4 ms·

First Alan Cox, and now this? I think something fishy is going on...

by TallGuyShort 17y ago

Linus 17y ago
Well I'm still here... Hang on, there's somebody at the door and I can hear helicopters...... <NO CARRIER>
- icey 17y ago
  I don't suppose there's any way we can nip the "registering throwaway accounts to make a joke" thing in the bud before it gets out of hand, is there?
  - noonespecial 17y ago
    I think a short waiting period before being able to post might solve a lot of problems at once. If you had to wait 24 hours after registering an account before your could post a comment, how many spam, joke posts, and throwaway accounts wouldn't happen?
    - RobGR 17y ago
      Yeah, but a lot of really interesting posts wouldn't happen either. I once had this conversation via email with one of the slashdot guys. He was considering banning AnnoymousCoward back then, and asked if I could point to any worthy posts that might have been posted by a signed account, and I pointed him to a thread in which an AC who claimed to be ex-FBI had some pretty insightful and thoughtful comments on police corruption and warrantless searches and such. He acknowledged it was a good example but said it was the only one he had seen thus far.
      - jacquesm 17y ago
        in spite of all the trolling some of the very best stuff on /. is by ac posters. It's the one reason I still read it at -1 but I make sure I don't read it while I'm eating.
- dpcan 17y ago
  How about the ability to FLAG a comment as "supposed to be funny", then we can opt to show the funny comments or not individually.
  - mahmud 17y ago
    Decline of great online communities starts with "funny". Reddit is hilarious and I couldn't spend 10 minutes there.
dpcan 17y ago
I know this is supposed to be funny, but this is the FIRST thing that came to my mind today. I operate many CentOS, Ubuntu AND Red Hat servers. Seeing key developers drop from the Linux community (which is the way it sounds) and then to see the lead project manager of CentOS VANISH is absolutely terrifying. Here was my SECOND thought. Should I just be using MS servers for everything? THIRD thought, maybe Red Hat at the very least. Stuff like this puts a huge scar on open source for the nervous folks like me. I want to rely on a huge company no more than I do an open source project run by random people around the world, but I just don't have much of a choice, and situations like these make me feel totally out of control, and when this happens, I have to consider paying more so I know the company that manages my OS will be around tomorrow. I don't have a "what if a bus hits my OS" document, and I didn't think I needed one, but all of a sudden... I think that maybe I do.
- vuvtytivlui 17y ago
  >I operate many CentOS, Ubuntu AND Red Hat servers Would you have been better off if you had used a proper professional Unix from, Sun or Dec or Compaq >Should I just be using MS servers for everything? As long as you don't mind switching to a new OS when their marketing dept decides it's time.
- Confusion 17y ago
  Alan Cox didn't "drop from the Linux community". He's just resigned as maintainer of a specific part of the kernel.
- Keyframe 17y ago
  Well, yes when you put it like that - however, that CentOS guy apparently was not in any active role in the project for quite some time now and his disappearance does nothing to CentOS. When other people, who actively participate in the project, quit - like Alan Cox did, most of them - if not all - responsibly manage the transition.

First Alan Cox, and now this? I think something fishy is going on...

Linus 17y ago

Well I'm still here... Hang on, there's somebody at the door and I can hear helicopters...... <NO CARRIER>

icey 17y ago
I don't suppose there's any way we can nip the "registering throwaway accounts to make a joke" thing in the bud before it gets out of hand, is there?
- noonespecial 17y ago
  I think a short waiting period before being able to post might solve a lot of problems at once. If you had to wait 24 hours after registering an account before your could post a comment, how many spam, joke posts, and throwaway accounts wouldn't happen?
  - RobGR 17y ago
    Yeah, but a lot of really interesting posts wouldn't happen either. I once had this conversation via email with one of the slashdot guys. He was considering banning AnnoymousCoward back then, and asked if I could point to any worthy posts that might have been posted by a signed account, and I pointed him to a thread in which an AC who claimed to be ex-FBI had some pretty insightful and thoughtful comments on police corruption and warrantless searches and such. He acknowledged it was a good example but said it was the only one he had seen thus far.
    - jacquesm 17y ago
      in spite of all the trolling some of the very best stuff on /. is by ac posters. It's the one reason I still read it at -1 but I make sure I don't read it while I'm eating.
dpcan 17y ago
How about the ability to FLAG a comment as "supposed to be funny", then we can opt to show the funny comments or not individually.
- mahmud 17y ago
  Decline of great online communities starts with "funny". Reddit is hilarious and I couldn't spend 10 minutes there.

dpcan 17y ago

I know this is supposed to be funny, but this is the FIRST thing that came to my mind today. I operate many CentOS, Ubuntu AND Red Hat servers. Seeing key developers drop from the Linux community (which is the way it sounds) and then to see the lead project manager of CentOS VANISH is absolutely terrifying. Here was my SECOND thought. Should I just be using MS servers for everything? THIRD thought, maybe Red Hat at the very least. Stuff like this puts a huge scar on open source for the nervous folks like me. I want to rely on a huge company no more than I do an open source project run by random people around the world, but I just don't have much of a choice, and situations like these make me feel totally out of control, and when this happens, I have to consider paying more so I know the company that manages my OS will be around tomorrow. I don't have a "what if a bus hits my OS" document, and I didn't think I needed one, but all of a sudden... I think that maybe I do.

vuvtytivlui 17y ago
>I operate many CentOS, Ubuntu AND Red Hat servers Would you have been better off if you had used a proper professional Unix from, Sun or Dec or Compaq >Should I just be using MS servers for everything? As long as you don't mind switching to a new OS when their marketing dept decides it's time.
Confusion 17y ago
Alan Cox didn't "drop from the Linux community". He's just resigned as maintainer of a specific part of the kernel.
Keyframe 17y ago
Well, yes when you put it like that - however, that CentOS guy apparently was not in any active role in the project for quite some time now and his disappearance does nothing to CentOS. When other people, who actively participate in the project, quit - like Alan Cox did, most of them - if not all - responsibly manage the transition.