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    1. Explain Linux controversies to me

      I'm one of those mythical Linux users who has been using it for years but has little to no idea what's going on behind the scenes or under the hood. In my time using it, I've sort of passively...

      I'm one of those mythical Linux users who has been using it for years but has little to no idea what's going on behind the scenes or under the hood.

      In my time using it, I've sort of passively gleaned that certain things are controversial, but I don't necessarily know why. It's also hard for me to know if these are just general intra-community drama/bikeshedding, or if these are actually big, meaningful issues.

      If you're someone who's in the know, here's your chance to lay out a Linux controversy in a way that's understandable by someone like me, who can't tell you why people always make "GNU/Linux" jokes for some reason whenever people mention "Linux."

      Here are some things that have pinged for me as controversial in my time using Linux:

      • Unity
      • Canonical
      • Deepin
      • systemd
      • Arch
      • GNOME
      • Manjaro
      • Kali
      • Rust in the kernel
      • elementaryOS
      • Linus Torvalds
      • Snaps
      • Wayland
      • Something about a university being banned from contributing to Linux
      • NVIDIA drivers
      • Package managers vs. Snaps/Flatpaks

      There are certainly more -- these are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head.

      Replies don't have to be limited to the above topics. I'm interested in getting the lay of the land about any Linux controversy.


      IMPORTANT

      This topic is intended for learning, not bickering.

      • Please try to explain a controversy as fairly as you can.
      • Please try to not re-ignite a flame war about a specific controversy.

      It's fine to discuss these in good faith, but I do not want this topic to become yet another Linux battleground online. There are plenty of those already!

      89 votes
    2. SEL thread: Teachers, how did your school year go? (Optional sentence stems in the comments)

      Optional sentence stems in the comments- feel free to add your own. I will know if you cheat or use AI because I know how you write. Graphic organizers are available but not required. I don't care...

      Optional sentence stems in the comments- feel free to add your own.

      I will know if you cheat or use AI because I know how you write. Graphic organizers are available but not required. I don't care if you're texting your mom, put it away. Also, my name isn't bruh, but lately I find myself responding to it anyway.

      31 votes
    3. Is pop culture a form of "model collapse?"

      Disclaimer: I do not like LLMs. I am not going to fight you on if you say LLMs are shit. One of the things I find interesting about conversations on LLMs is when have a critique about them, and...

      Disclaimer: I do not like LLMs. I am not going to fight you on if you say LLMs are shit.

      One of the things I find interesting about conversations on LLMs is when have a critique about them, and someone says, "Well, it's no different than people." People are only as good as their training data, people misremember / misspeak / make mistakes all the time, people will listen to you and affirm you as you think terrible things. My thought is that not being reliably consistent is a verifiable issue for automation. Still, I think it's excellent food for thought.

      I was looking for new music venues the other day. I happened upon several, and as I looked at their menu and layout, it occurred to me that I had eaten there before. Not there, but in my city, and in others. The Stylish-Expensive-Small-Plates-Record-Bar was an international phenomenon. And more than that, I couldn't help but shake that it was a perversion of the original, alluring concept-- to be in a somewhat secretive record bar in Tokyo where you'll be glared into the ground if you speak over the music.

      It's not a bad idea. And what's wrong with evoking a good idea, especially if the similarity is just unintentional? Isn't it helpful to be able to signal to people that you're like-that-thing instead of having to explain to people how you're different? Still, the idea of going just made me assume it'd be not simply like something I had experienced before, but played out and "fake." We're not in Tokyo, and people do talk over the music. And even if they didn't, they have silverware and such clanging. It makes me wonder if this permutation is a lossy estimation of the original concept, just chewed up, spat out, slurped, regurgitated, and expensively funded.

      other forms of conceptual perversion:

      • Matters of Body Image - is it a sort of collapse when we go from wanting 'conventional beauty' to frankensteining features onto ourselves? Think fox eye surgeries, buccal fat removal, etc. Rather than wanting to be conventionally attractive, we aim for the related concept of looking like people who are famous.
      • (still thinking)
      15 votes
    4. Midweek Movie Free Talk

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

      Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

      11 votes
    5. Tildes Video Thread

      Find yourself watching tons of great videos on [insert chosen video sharing platform], but also find yourself reluctant to flood the Tildes front page with them? Then this thread is for you. It...

      Find yourself watching tons of great videos on [insert chosen video sharing platform], but also find yourself reluctant to flood the Tildes front page with them? Then this thread is for you.

      It could be one quirky video that you feel deserves some eyeballs on it, or perhaps you've got a curated list of videos that you'd love to talk us through...

      Share some of the best video content you've watched this past week/fortnight with us!

      2 votes
    6. Has anyone else had issues with the new low calorie sweeteners?

      Last year I went through a phase of strange fatigue. I constantly felt sick. Like I was physically, not emotionally, depressed. But also slightly brain fogged. Eventually this cleared up and I...

      Last year I went through a phase of strange fatigue. I constantly felt sick. Like I was physically, not emotionally, depressed. But also slightly brain fogged. Eventually this cleared up and I assumed it had resolved itself for good so I did not investigate it further.

      Half a year later and I felt the way again. I’d just gotten an order of magic spoon cereal (which is sweetened by allulose, a sugar-like molecule that has a fraction of the calories but tastes almost identical). I have a sweet tooth so I felt eating the cereal was something of a life hack. Infinite sweetness without any downsides!

      I realized that before when I felt off I’d also gotten a delivery of magic spoon. I assumed the correlation was meaningful and stopped eating it and felt better.

      Recently I’ve been drinking these stevia and monk fruit sweetened yogurt drinks. They seem to be making me feel the same way, so I guess I need to stop having those as well. It’s kind of a shame because I don’t think they even need to be so sweet - and I’d happily accept some added sugar or a sweet fruit puree mixed in.

      Am I crazy or is this a common occurrence?

      22 votes
    7. Nürburgring 24 Hours 2025 (June 19th to 22nd)

      Full Weekend Race Schedule Main event - Saturday June 21st: CEST/GMT+2 14:00 Gridwalk 15:40 Formation Lap 16:00 Race Start Track Information: 25.378 km combined circuit located in Nürburg, Germany...

      Full Weekend Race Schedule

      Main event - Saturday June 21st:
      CEST/GMT+2

      • 14:00 Gridwalk
      • 15:40 Formation Lap
      • 16:00 Race Start

      Track Information: 25.378 km combined circuit located in Nürburg, Germany

      Track Map

      Race Website

      Official Entry List

      Track Weather

      Spotters Guide


      Streaming/Radio

      ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring (YouTube) - Official ADAC race streams and many on-board streams available.

      Nürburgring (YouTube) - More official race streams/24h Classic race stream.

      GTWorld (YouTube)

      AutoAddiction (YouTube)

      Radio LeMans (English)

      Radio Nürburgring (German)


      Live Timing

      Azure Websites - Live Timing

      wige SOLUTIONS - Live Timing


      Will try to update info/links as the race goes on.

      9 votes
    8. Tildes Minecraft Survival

      New Thread Server host: tildes.nore.gg (Running Java 1.21.4) Bluemap: https://tildes.nore.gg Playtime Tracker: https://tildes.nore.gg/playtimes.html Tildes website extension (shows online status &...

      New Thread


      Server host: tildes.nore.gg (Running Java 1.21.4)
      Bluemap: https://tildes.nore.gg
      Playtime Tracker: https://tildes.nore.gg/playtimes.html
      Tildes website extension (shows online status & location): Firefox (Desktop and Android) - Chrome
      Verification site: https://verify.tildes.nore.gg
      Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TildesMC

      Plugins and Data Packs Data Packs:
      • Terralith - Overworld terrain upgrade
      • Nullscape - End terrain upgrade
      • Armor Statues [Vanilla Tweaks]
      • Bat Membranes [Vanilla Tweaks]
      • Cauldron Concrete [Vanilla Tweaks]
      • Husks Drop Sand [Vanilla Tweaks]
      • Mini Blocks [Vanilla Tweaks]
      • More Mob Heads [Vanilla Tweaks]
      • Player Head Drops [Vanilla Tweaks]
      • Silence Mobs [Vanilla Tweaks]
      • Wandering Trades [Vanilla Tweaks]

      Plugins:

      • Bluemap - Adds a live 3D web map
      • Clickable Links - Makes http URLs in chat clickable (only for registered players)
      • CoreProtect - Records all block/container/mob changes (Anyone can look up changes with /co inspect)
      • EasyArmorStands - GUI for editing armor stands
      • Hexnicks - Enables Tildes usernames to be displayed
      • LuckPerms - Locks down unregistered users
      • Nerfstick - Allows survival use of the minecraft:debug_stick item (requires admin to spawn in)
      • Rapid Leaf Decay - Increases the speed of leaf decay by 10x
      • WorldEdit - Used for occasional admin stuff
      • WorldGuard - Prevents unregistered users from changing anything in the world

      The server operates on a soft whitelist. Anyone can log in and walk around, but you need a Tildes account to gain build access.


      New Thread

      21 votes
    9. Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news

      Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like linux, rockets.reusable and louvre. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was...

      Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like linux, rockets.reusable and louvre. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was keenly observing.

      But one of my favourite tags happens to be offbeat! Taking its original inspiration from Sir Nils Olav III, this thread is looking for any far-fetched offbeat stories lurking in the newspapers. It may not deserve its own post, but it deserves a wider audience!

      8 votes
    10. What's the most feasible way to exit modern society?

      In short: the prospect of generative AI becoming increasingly prevalent has been gnawing away at me for a long time now. It's looking like there are no limits that will matter in the near future....

      In short: the prospect of generative AI becoming increasingly prevalent has been gnawing away at me for a long time now. It's looking like there are no limits that will matter in the near future. But interfacing with generative AI in basically any capacity instills in me a kind of existential horror and revulsion that I don't think I can live with in my day-to-day life. Unfortunately, it seems that generative AI will soon become unavoidable in any white-collar career path, to say nothing of casual exposure in everyday life. I try as hard as possible to shield myself, but I doubt that will be realistically possible for much longer.

      I'm in a graduate program, but I'm not confident that my field will still be relevant in five years. Even if it is, I'll almost certainly spend a lot of time interfacing with generative AI, the thought of which makes me nauseous.

      Frankly, I'm so disgusted with what the world has become and what it is becoming that it's turning me into kind of a nasty person IRL.

      So I'm musing on ways to get out. On finding a way to make enough money to stay alive while having as little contact with the digital world as possible.

      Anyone have any experience/ideas?

      47 votes