this post was submitted on 16 Oct 2026
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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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Genuine question. I'm not a developer, I didn't study computer science, and I'm a pretty basic Fedora user. But why does everyone harp on Linus Torvald's opinions like they're handed down from heaven? Windows still dominates the market, but no one cares what Bill Gates says. I love A Song of Ice and Fire but I wouldn't take writing tips from George R. R. Martin. Richard Stallman's opinions on GNU/Linux are memed endlessly. Linus is literally just a dude.
Because he still the main maintainer and a developer on a piece of software core to a lot of modern computing.
If he is wrong on this it could ruin the credibility and reliability of Linux and cause a fork that could tear the community and ecosystem apart.
If he's right he's proved that AI can make maintainable, reliable core infrastructure code and the field will change to reflect that. Can't tell your boss AI sucks and is unreliable and I won't use it if AI code is working well at the base of modern computer software.
Bill Gates doesn't work on Windows anymore and hasn't got years.
George R R Martin doesn't publish books anymore and hasn't for years.
Richard Stallman is...a weird little guy.
Whether you like it or not Linus is still the Linux guy.
I feel like Linux having a guy is antithetical to Linux but I guess I'm just in the minority.
I know what you mean but he literally created it and still runs the show and it's named after him so like 🤷♂️
What market?
Desktops? Sure.
Servers? Definitely not.
Supercomputers? Like, none of them.
...
Phones? Nope.
IOT? Can't even run on modern laptops right.
You should add laptops to the top of your list...cause that's what dominates on productivity...and that's nearly ALL windows! What I think truly dominates is an offshoot of *nix...Android and IOS. Don't you just find it funny when you walk in a mall and see a jacked up Kiosk with a windows 10 taskbar sideways? ...Press any key to reboot!
When people say desktop laptop is implied in that too.
Gamers are about to step into this conversation....you sure you want to continue? :-)
Sure buddy, ever heard of chromebooks? Macbooks? Frameworks? Any serious dev that has a choice runs linux on theirs afaik
Asahi is cool but not ready for primetime dev work. Performance is ok, hardware support is spotty, battery life is appreciably worse. Any dev with a macbook is running MacOS 9.9/10 times
As someone who did study computer science and has worked in embedded processor space (so one of the people who's written assembly by hand he's talking about).
I've never understood it either. People take his word as law blindly and it's never made sense to me. Yes he has skill, but so do hundreds of others. Yes he's opinionated, that's certainly not a reason to hero worship him.
For ten+ years people have been pointing out he's basically a single point of failure for Linux and begging for a succession plan and he's been too stuck up his own ass to accept that he isn't the only one who cares about all this.
This has lead to some extreme cult following behind him for some reason.
I've translated assembler by hand and punched the hex codes into an EPROM programmer's keyboard. This would appear to make me qualified to say that he's not always right and, in most cases, fuck AI.
Using an argument from authority to denounce someone in authority and their arguments? Cool. Might've worked if I hadn't seen you mention recently that we shouldn't use AI 'because Trump and his cronies do'.
is Greg Kroah-Hartman not the succession plan?
As far as I know no. The plan is for the the top maintainers to gather and choose a successor. Though if you have more up to date information I'd love to see it. I could be behind the times on that.
Linux is his.
He gets to make the rules. We get to decide whether to bail.
I don't understand confusion or entitlement over this.
Because he's not some guy on the internet saying his opinion, he is maintaining the most relevant Free Software kernel. So if he goes nuts, there is great potential for great disaster. I don't think there are Linux distributions that use forks of the Linux kernel. (What notable forks are there anyway?) At the moment, they all depend on the original Linux kernel. There is currently no alternative. It would take a lot of disruption and a tremendous effort to establish and switch to a fork of the Linux kernel that is free of Linus' influence. Today, I'd say jokingly I will switch to FreeDOS. But if this sloppification goes on, I guess I will have to.
https://codeberg.org/ethical-foss/open-slopware#other-operating-systems
FreeDOS isn't immune from AI either.
Because people's love of cults of personality is endless.
Add on top of that the "AI" cult that saw this as an amazing recruitment opportunity, and you get a nice combo.
That's basically the computer science equivalent of having a famous actor advertise a sect.
The difference is that Linus does not actively seem to be part of the cult itself rather than using it as the effective tool that it is for someone who already has his type of skill set. He can actually understand and double check inputs and outputs because he already built a foundation of great skill.
Most of the AI techbro community just wants an excuse to stop paying people anything for their labor and get eternal digital slaves to replace them. They aren't wanting to use it as a tool to help them unravel complexity, they are just using it as a smash and grab for power and control. Linus... isn't that, and maybe it's not great that he's embracing it now, during the height of controversy. I kind of wish he had waited for the crash an mania to die down a little and then show it as a useful tool for people who already have skills.
LLMs are useless for a lot of shit but they are pretty damn useful for code. I think some of his recent work finding bugs in old code is evidence of that.
https://nitter.miningtcup.me/twtayaan/status/2109668665951941101
I don't follow him at all, but I'd guess he's making a statement about it now precisely because of the mania and people constantly asking him about it.
It's okay, none of the most hardline anti-AI folks on here are, but they certainly like to pretend they know the tools and the industry.
Most? Where's the data? This hard-line anti-LLM guy has a degree in computer science and has developed neural network systems for a previous company. Many on here that I've talked to about it fall under similar category.
Many? Where's the data?
Proving yet again AI bros have lost the ability to think. "many I've talked to" <- that literally is the data. I'm the data. It doesn't matter what the number is.
As opposed to your comment
Literally me existing already disproves your comment.
I have strong suspicions you don't actually exist.