[Info-vax] BSDs vs Linux (was Re: New CEO of VMS Software)

[Scott Dorsey]

Lawrence D'Oliveiro  <ldo at nz.invalid> wrote:
>Pro tip: If you have to start to resort to personal attacks, that’s an 
>admission that your argument has failed.

Let me explain to you what Linux is, then.  Linux is the Linux kernel, as
signed off on by Linus T.

You can take the linux kernel and modify it for your own purposes, yes.
Since it's kind of a mess and not really very modular, this turns out to
be a difficult thing to do, but it's a thing that is possible to do.
It's a good bit harder than modifying the BSD kernel.

But once you have done it, it's not Linux any more.  It is something else.
You can call it what you want, but you can no longer call it Linux.  Not
unless you can get Linus to sign off on your changes.

All of the "lack of fragmentation" that you think is so wonderful about
Linux is exclusively the consequence of this.  The fact that one person
controls what is and what is not the Linux kernel is why there is just
one Linux kernel family and why there is no fragmentation as there is
with BSD.

This is why your talk about fragmentation and asking why BSD versions
are not all the same makes you look like a troll.  Because there is
something very specific going on with Linux that prevents that 
fragmentation.  Some people like that.  Not everybody does.
--scott
-- 
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."