this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2024
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Linux

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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[–] survivalmachine@beehaw.org 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yes, that's just how open source works. Of course they always serve at the pleasure of the community, otherwise forks would happen. Nobody said otherwise. As the "Usage" section of that article implies, the "benevolent" bit comes from the feedback loop of a happy community supporting their dictator-for-life.

[–] joshcodes@programming.dev 1 points 10 months ago

I mean how the community refers to him. I've never read a thread where someone called Linus a BDFL, I have with python. If they do, they do. Just haven't seen it myself.