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From: Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid>
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc
Subject: Re: Distros specifically designed for children
Date: Sat, 31 May 2025 02:04:44 -0000 (UTC)
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On Fri, 30 May 2025 12:53:33 -0000 (UTC), Borax Man wrote:

> On 2025-05-29, Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
>>
>> The only “software authors and vendors” I have heard complain about
>> the variety of Linux distros are the ones hawking proprietary
>> products. The ones who do Free Software don’t have to worry, since
>> it’s not their problem: it’s up to the respective distro
>> maintainers to make the software available in the relevant
>> packaging system.
>>
> Proprietary software does matter. Many people use it.

That’s their choice, to be part of a relationship that inevitably
turns abusive when they realize that the goals of the company making
the product do not align with those of the ones consuming it.

Being the result of exercising a free choice, I don’t feel the need to
have any sympathy for those who go that way.

> Also, if the distro maintainers don't package your software, you
> either do it yourself, or leave it as an exercise to the user, which
> you cannot assume the user would know how to do it.

That’s too bad, if that distro doesn’t feel my software is wonderful
enough to offer to their users in a convenient form. That’s their
choice. I’m not big-headed enough to take it personally.

>>> Likewise with configuration. Having set up Linux systems for
>>> others, and servers, subtle differences become blockers when
>>> Distro X modifies the base software and the instructions, for a
>>> different distro don't quite work. These are not insurmountable,
>>> but pain points which increase cost.
>>
>> Never come across any such “pain points”. Feel free to point some out.
>
> Setting up Apache with MariaDB, subtle differences in configuration
> mean that the instructions you find online may not work, because
> another distro has different default passwords, or sets a default
> password where another might not.

That one doesn’t make any sense. My Apache setups have never made use
of MariaDB. Web applications being served up via Apache (or Nginx)
yes, but that issue of DBMS usage has nothing to do with the Apache or
Nginx configuration. They are two entirely orthogonal issues.

> Also differences in system services, how they are configured.

The increasing popularity of systemd has helped ease this problem.

>>> Linux could have gone this way, if there the first distro was the
>>> sole distro for several years and gained mindshare as THE Linux.
>>
>> Do you think somebody should step in and force an end to all this
>> freedom? How would they go about it, do you think? Would moving to
>> proprietary licences help?
>
> No, I don't think there is much that can be done now. It is what it
> is.

After all the hot air you have expended on this issue, are you now
just going to stop?