Linux

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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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Anyone else able to "sense" whether a solution on a forum will work before fully reading it through? Especially the long-winded ones. (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 day ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Searching gives me the impression there's a million ways to solve the same problem on Linux, and I find myself profiling answers into about four categories at a glance:

Succinct: one or two-liner, a single config file, or just a few clicks
Long-winded song-and-dance: Full train of thought interspersed between various commands and logs, several config files (some of which don't already exist), or installing an obscure package that is no longer maintained
Specific to a desktop environment or version I don't have
Just looks wrong

I'll usually just take solutions from the first category, which almost always works, save for differences between updates and versions. Solutions in the second category also seem to end with a 50% chance of the OP unable to solve the problem. If I'm desperate, I'll try the second one, but it often ends up not working, eventually leading me to come up with a much cleaner solution of my own.

Curious if anyone else does this too and if those one-liners are really better solutions or if it's just confirmation bias.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (4 children)

The more experience you have, the more BS your able to smell. Sometimes I marvel at how succinct other people can be fixing an issue with amazing docs. Compared to my old "wizard spell" shenanigans that solve the issue, but only on a Tuesday, full moon, goats, etc....

Its hard to solve issues, even harder to keep the solution working after a certain amount of time.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (3 children)

Drives me nuts computer illiterate family members praising me for fixing the most basic, basic shit for them. They think its because I have lots of experience. But no, its because I learned the absolute basics of computer literacy and the experience I now have is grounded in that. I don't want praise for "working magic", I want people to fucking spend a small amount of their time learning the most BASIC of IT skills so I don't have to waste my time fixing shit you should know.

Sorry, my frustration might be showing just a little.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago

I've worked many years in IT support. They computer-illiterate people are everywhere.

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