Thanks, Eric. Maybe we can all return to sanity now.

+1...thanks Eric. Alright, everyone at ease

Thank you, Eric! I appreciate your reply.

You know tomorrow is Friday the 13th and the BDFL has an interest in flaunting superstitions... So.... I wonder....

Really good to know that, and BTW: Patrick Volkerding is the creator and (for now) the BDFL, but not the prisoner of Slackware and its community. Also, it is to our greatest benefit, as Slackware users, if he Pat V. pays good attention to his personal work-life-balance.

Note, that our body is like a bank account: You cannot always draw from it, you must also pay in, sometimes. Regardless, if this is related to the topic of *this* thread, but from my own experience with colleagues I can tell you, that burnout is not just a buzzword. I hope, everyone in the Slackware crew (and everyone else here) is taking good care of themselves.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

to everyone!

gargamel

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He seems to be fine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6YBjxJPcs0

That video was posted in October.

I don't know what it's all like inside the circle of Slackware proper, but the community here on LQ always strikes me as oddly cultlike. Users' need for security fixes turns, in some people's heads, into not being sufficiently pro-slackware or sufficiently pro-pat. And we let ourselves get distracted by that when it's not all right to get distracted from the importance of getting security fixes out and informing everyone about them.

I've been using slackware since whatever version used kernel...1.2.8, iirc, but I may have a look around at other options just because that's a reasonable reaction when finding that I am relying on something single-point-of-failure where, when one special person needs to direct attention elsewhere, the structure apparently does not permit anyone else to step in and keep the machine rolling properly.

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Well, what I get from Slackware is self reliance. The way Slack is structured with all the slackbuilds in the source directory, there really is nothing to stop a user from rolling there own updates. When Pat and the gang take a break, maybe that's a good opportunity for us to learn a little more.

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Currently, the only fault I find in Slackware is the unreliability of the updating process, and the lack of information surrounding security policies. No Firexox 9.x.y, no new Openssl in order to avoid some recent vulnerabilities... In addition, no official announcement has been made in order to warn us that security support is staled.

The only thing that keeps me using Slackware is that is the most reliable and malleable distribution I have tried, and that the 99.5% of the rest are not reliable for serious work at all. Should I abandon Slackawre, there would be only LFS or a BSD for me. I can keep my own security by tracking what others distributions do and applying their solutions, or applying my own, but I understand and will support anyone who says this is unacceptable.

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sorry, but the pertinent part of the disclaimer in slackware's license file seems crystal clear to me
remember that if you use slackware, you implicitly accept this, and fixing things is just your business.

I see it like this: if Pat does it for you, it's just because he's a fine person, but nobody can blame him if he doesn't

The fact that I accept these terms does not mean I have to like them.

Sure, Slackware Inc. is free to offer the software it wants as long as it is law compliant. However, you will understand that I am free to withdraw my subscription and turn into other distributions (or, at this pace, OSes). I am free to blog and rant about why I did so. I have already done this kind of thing with other distributions that were good and eventually suicided.

Look, I like Slackware and I still pay my subscription, but there is a problem with security support that makes Slackware play at a lower level than other powerful players. Lack of information about security is a problem, no matter how fanboys try to disguise it. Sure, I can fix the breaches myself, but many people does not know they are supposed to do so, and are not being informed.

You can argue that misinformation is acceptable. Well, I find it acceptable, so I bit the bullet and use Slackware the way it is. But pretending misinformation does not matter is plain stupid.

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but, I think, the information relative to security vulnerabilities is upstream business, not slackware's: I see it as an added service to ease people's pain, but it's not due.

if someone installs Slackware and doesn't read the license, it's his fault only to do so.

What misinformation?

Everyone knows Slackware is a one man game (or two or three anyway), and no one is trying to hide the truth. AlienBOB posted earlier in this thread that Pat has more than just Slackware on his mind right now, but updates are in the works. So we're going through a dry spell with updates. It isn't the first time, and it certainly won't be the last.

I see plenty of people in the extended Slackware community with opinions on this subject, but I don't see that any of the people who are worried are actually *doing* anything. If we are in fact a community that is supportive of Slackware and the team who bring it to us, and if we want to say thank you to them in a practical way, then maybe we can help:

1. Make a list of vulnerabilities recently reported in LWN
2. For those that might affect Slackware, see if fixes are available upstream and if Pat's SlackBuilds work with them
3. Report the results right here
4. Profit!

And so, I've made a start. Here is step 1. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...lFIWXZoZkZ6eGc Anyone who is worried can perform steps 2 and 3. That would be more constructive than just complaining.

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