Moderation seems a little heavy-handed?

Over the last few months I've noticed that many threads I found interesting and within which the community was having a lively discussion were deleted when I returned to check on them. A couple of times threads have been deleted while I was mid-reply, which is really quite irritating.

They were all discursive threads where people were asked for opinions or to explain something or to justify a commonly held position - that sort of thing.

A few examples, not the *strongest* examples, just the last three which were deleted within the last hour or two.

* https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/eo78yu/lack_of_linux_themes/
* https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/eo6x17/distrode_recommendations_are_wildly_misinformed/
* https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/eo6jtw/what_does_tarball_mean_where_does_it_originate/

The tarball one was removed on the grounds that it's a support request. I get that there's a fine line between a question about Linux culture/history/convention and a support request but this seems more the former than the latter to me. It could've resulted in an interesting discussion.

The other two were removed with a post suggesting the weekly megathreads. Those being:

* Mondays - New to Linux, Linux Experiences/Rants, or Education/Certifications thread
* Wednesdays - Weekly Questions and Hardware Thread
* Fridays through the weekend - Weekend Fluff / Linux in the Wild Thread

None of those seem to me to fit a general but very specific-to-Linux discussion. Unless the view is that *all discussions* that are not about news are fluff.

When the OP of the Distro/DE recommendations thread, /u/SyrioForel [complained](https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/eo6x17/distrode_recommendations_are_wildly_misinformed/fe9ghxn/), saying:

>Please consider the fact that more people commented on this one specific submission within the past 15 minutes than have even opened that stickies thread in the past 24 hours.

Which is a solid point. The megathreads see virtually no use and are heavily downvoted. They're clearly unpopular (I'd posit: because they're utterly useless).

A mod responded with:

>This isn't news related so it's not appropriate here. Please follow the rules and use the stickied threads as stated clearly in the rules.

I've read [the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/about/rules/) pretty thoroughly and it does not say (nor does it even imply) that /r/linux is only for "news related" posts.

The only rule that really comes close to describing what /r/linux *is* about rather than just describing what is prohibited is rule 5, which says:

>Posts should follow what the community likes: GNU/Linux, Linux kernel itself, the developers of the kernel or open source applications, any application on Linux, and more.

It's pretty open to interpretation but my reading of that is that discussion of things of interest to the community have a place here.

Has a decision been taken somewhere that /r/linux is *only* for news?

Personally I don't come here for the news - I can get that in a million other places. I come here for the discussions (about the news, sure, but also about general Linux culture/practises/history etc.).

I'm posting this to get a sense of how the rest of the community feels about this. Assuming this doesn't get deleted too, like.

https://redd.it/eo8gpn
@r_linux

How do you see Microsoft changing its attitude towards open source?

I can't understand how they support the open source community, taking into account they denigrated it in the past.

Does the fact that they introduced bash to windows, they are migrating a lot of Microsoft programs to linux, say they love linux, and so on, mean that Microsoft internally believes linux will triumph? Or is it just an obscure motive that I can't understand?

https://redd.it/eoccex
@r_linux

darktable now has a full time dev, now lets pay him a full time wage!
https://en.liberapay.com/aurelienpierre

https://redd.it/eocggy
@r_linux

VP9 hardware acceleration now available on Chromium Linux for NVIDIA GPUs

After applying a patch on [libva-vdpau-driver-chromium](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/libva-vdpau-driver-chromium/) (see [here](https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?pid=1877774#p1877774) for the patch), it is now possible to get hardware-accelerated VP9 playback in chromium-vaapi-bin on NVIDIA GPUs (900 series and newer only, [https://imgur.com/AgHNtkE](https://imgur.com/AgHNtkE)).

See here for getting it to work: [https://github.com/xtknight/vdpau-va-driver-vp9](https://github.com/xtknight/vdpau-va-driver-vp9)

​

Intel GPUs have already had this implemented for a while now. According to [this](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Hardware_video_acceleration), AMD GPUs do not appear to have VP9 decoding support through VDPAU.

https://redd.it/eofov7
@r_linux

Going back to Linux and using it for a year (2019), while not having used it since 2014: MY EXPERIENCE

So I was interested in using Linux again after seeing the progress on Proton and Steam. I used Ubuntu 14.04 back in 2014-2015. I was able to get a few games running on wine, but not much. Seeing the progress of things like SteamPlay, I decided to give Linux a go again. I tested a lot of distros last year, here are the ones I remember using:

*Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu Mate, Debian, Linux Mint Debian, Manjaro, Arch, Void, Fedora.*

I'll give a quick review and my experience of each one.

**Debian / Linux Mint Debian**

It was a f\*\*king pain in the ASS to install software that wasn't in the official repos. I really enjoy Debian, the stability, and it's stance on free software, but I wish that it handled repositories better. For example, installing wine-staging from WineHQ put out a bunch of stupid repository errors that were a pain, so I couldn't even install it.

**Ubuntu / Kubuntu / Xubuntu / Ubuntu Mate**

The repository issues were much less prevalent with Ubuntu, as it's much easier to add repositories. Now my problem with Ubuntu is that it's very bloated. Even with the more lightweight distros like Xubuntu, my packages quickly piled up, and a lot of the stuff OOTB isn't really needed, like LibreOffice. I know they do offer a minimal install type now, so I wanna try that out.

**Fedora**

My problem with Fedora is that it's "stable rolling-release." One of the biggest reasons why I don't like software being pushed out so frequently, is that I have a terrible internet connection, updating usually breaks 1 or 2 things, and sometimes I have to rebuild kernel modules (I.E Virtualbox on Fedora.)

**Manjaro**

I like the idea of a more stable Arch, but the developers have made some very questionable decisions regarding the whole "FreeOffice" debacle. There is an unofficial Manjaro spin called Cleanjaro that attempts to reverse this, but since that's really only run by one person, it's not big enough for me yet to trust using it. I think that because how Arch packages things also, 1000 pacman packages OOTB is fucking insane!

**Arch**

I really liked Arch for a while. I wish more distros went with the simple approach. But I still have the same rolling-release problems as above, and one time, an Nvidia driver update broke ALL my games, so that left a bad taste in my mouth for arch.

**Void**

I wasn't really able to even use Void at all, because it bitched about my network chip, so I wasn't even able to get ANY wifi at all. So that just doesn't make sense to me, and I wasn't able to use it.

***TL;DR:*** I think Linux is great, has a lot of potential to replace Windows, I think the community should just encourage newbies instead of turning them away (personal experience,) and developers should reduce the amount of headaches TO GET MY DAMN WIFI WORKING JESUS CHRIST NETWORKMANAGER GO FUCK YOURSE-

Thanks!

https://redd.it/eohftj
@r_linux

Laptop Won't Go To Boot Menu

Okay, I have found nothing useful in all my searches. Tonight I tried to install ParrotOS to dual boot with the Windows 10 installation already on my PC. Everything seemed to go fine, but when I rebooted it went straight to windows.

Okay, maybe I just need to fix something with grub, reboot, hit F2 to go to boot menu and... the damn thing freezes. No matter what I do it will not go past the post screen if I hit F2, the damn thing just freezes.

I can let it load up windows, but I cant access my boot menu at all. Is there any way to reset whatever grub managed to screw up, without going through the actual boot menu?

https://redd.it/eoj38n
@r_linux

Ubuntu installation crashes and shuts down the computer after

Hello, i am trying to install ubuntu on my msi gl62m 7rex, but whenever i try to install it hangs and i don't know what to do, i have secure boot disabled and etc

Does anyone know how to solve?

https://redd.it/eojucc
@r_linux

Death of Windows 7. Should we expect a lot of new Linux users?

Windows 7 is official death. Should we expect some of those users to converted to Linux users? Or would the same happen again (like in the XP days)?

https://redd.it/eokj3b
@r_linux

Krita in 2019 and 2020
https://krita.org/en/item/krita-in-2019-and-2020/

https://redd.it/eoksxo
@r_linux

USB based graphics adapter for Linux

There's a lot of hype around eGPUs, but I'm looking for a simple USB based graphics adapter that works in Linux. I basically want to connect a second monitor to my laptop. No need for high-powered eGPU stuff or anything.

Does anyone have a recommendation for this?

https://redd.it/eolt6l
@r_linux

Firebird Project is happy to announce general availability of Firebird 3.0.5
https://firebirdsql.org/en/news/firebird-3-0-5-sub-release-is-available/

https://redd.it/eom1wa
@r_linux

Docker Basic Commands For Beginners | Docker Commands Explained

Docker Basic Commands For Beginners | Docker Commands Explained

Watch the video here : [https://youtu.be/xGsWyEOT5QI](https://youtu.be/xGsWyEOT5QI) . Kindly Subscribe to my channel and give your comments.

https://redd.it/eonc5t
@r_linux

Building a more private web: A path towards making third party cookies obsolete
https://blog.chromium.org/2020/01/building-more-private-web-path-towards.html

https://redd.it/eonybh
@r_linux

If you could redo systemd logging, how would you do it? (in search of ideas for my service manager)

Hello,

I am currently developing a service manager ([repo is here](https://github.com/KillingSpark/rustysd)). It tries to be compatible to systemd, on the unit-config and service-API side of things (the Readme contains more info if you are interested). On other aspects I try to ask myself if I can do better than what systemd provides.

I have seen that many people complain about the binary logging format systemd uses with journald, and I have very little experience in working with logs. So I was hoping I could get some insight from people with that experience.

1. What do you like about systemds logging?
2. What do you explicitly dislike?
3. Do you have any general pointers to resources that describe best-practices / big no-nos for logging?

(Please don't make this a systemd-hate thread, that's not what I am looking for ;))

https://redd.it/eoovfd
@r_linux

systemd service sandboxing and security hardening 101
https://www.ctrl.blog/entry/systemd-service-hardening.html

https://redd.it/eoq1an
@r_linux

Continuation of X11 development?

Hi there. So, I know the arguments between X11 and Wayland can be a little contentious, so I'd like to start this off by saying this thread isn't intended to be one. The battles of opinion have already been fought ad nauseam, and some of us still find ourselves on the X side of the issue. I count myself as one of them.

So my question, and the actual purpose of this thread, is to ask about the future of X11. I know Red Hat is basically washing their hands of it feature-development wise, but the magic of open source is that a project is never really dead, or in feature freeze, so long as there's someone out there willing to inhereit it. Are there any groups out there planning to take the mantle? While X11 is very mature and mostly feature complete, there are a few things still to be done, such as perhaps better integration and promotion of the X_SECURITY extensions for bringing in per-app-isolation. An update to some of the current input limitations, better scaling support, etc?

Wayland's successorship is (to many) still highly questionable, so I think it would be a shame to see X rust out in the field while we wait for the hypothetical Wayland cow to come home. Any thoughts?

https://redd.it/eorctr
@r_linux

How Many Linux Computers Does it Take to Make a Cheeseburger?

​

https://preview.redd.it/w6v1j6smuta41.jpg?width=888&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=318aa7c38974288ed17c9db7df21521e75ea9793

More than I thought, but I'm waiting for the model that puts fresh grilled bacon on the burger.

[How They Made: World’s First Cheeseburger Robot](https://makezine.com/2020/01/08/how-two-california-kids-overcame-doubters-to-automate-the-freshest-burger-ever-served/)

https://redd.it/eotcwt
@r_linux

Cmus bad accent visualization

As the noscript and the image cmus does not show the proper character accent. I've added all the song tags using `id3v2` and all are perfect visualized on terminal but when cmus is opened they're just messed up! Some advice?

(I'm using kitty terminal)

[The right noscript should be \\"Fabrizio De Andrè\\"](https://preview.redd.it/ofxsfweytta41.png?width=181&format=png&auto=webp&s=05b5221dc37ae52be1b180bd64da7115976e030a)

https://redd.it/eotcqh
@r_linux

Is anyone commercially selling a Linux phone or tablet?

I'm looking for options for a phone or tablet running Linux, but from what I can tell, all of the projects I've seen are in the pre-order status with six months to a year before real commercialization begins. Is anyone shipping something like this today?

https://redd.it/eov94n
@r_linux

vokoscreenNG 3.0.0 is out — open-source desktop screencast utility rewritten from scratch using Qt and GStreamer

***vokoscreenNG*** is screencast utility for Linux and Windows rewritten from scratch using *Qt* and *GStreamer*:

- https://github.com/vkohaupt/vokoscreenNG

Grab it's first stable source release:

- https://github.com/vkohaupt/vokoscreenNG/releases/tag/3.0.0

Actually, according Repology tracker, builds/binary packages already available for *Fedora* and *OpenSUSE*:

- https://repology.org/project/vokoscreenng/versions

Very soon (hopefully) it would be available also for *MX Linux MX-19*:

- https://forum.mxlinux.org/?f=140&t=55499&p=553338#p553338

*AppImage* package requested:

- https://github.com/vkohaupt/vokoscreenNG/issues/26

FTR, [*vokoscreen*](https://github.com/vkohaupt/vokoscreen), it's Qt/FFmpeg predecessor, is now archived without any further development.

https://redd.it/eovyez
@r_linux

Weekly Questions and Hardware Thread - January 15, 2020

Welcome to r/linux! If you're new to Linux or trying to get started this thread is for you. Get help here or as always, check out r/linuxquestions or r/linux4noobs

This megathread is for all your question needs. As we don't allow questions on r/linux outside of this megathread, please consider using r/linuxquestions or r/linux4noobs for the best solution to your problem.

Ask your hardware requests here too or try r/linuxhardware!

https://redd.it/eox60y
@r_linux