Path: csiph.com!eternal-september.org!feeder.eternal-september.org!nntp.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: TheLastSysop Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc Subject: Re: A small pre-fix checklist for sick Linux boxes Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2026 20:18:05 GMT Organization: The Null Device Restoration Society Lines: 18 Message-ID: References: <0af9a3a88b1e5798c4f3@dev.null> <878q8mebfm.fsf@atr2.ath.cx> <0b28060f2ab3a284187b@dev.null> Injection-Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2026 20:18:05 +0000 (UTC) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; logging-data="1067712"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1/4dRKdjfjl3A/uBRJXbI7TdCHWifowCBU="; posting-host="4a3ff1ddd4520e0e3b411fbbfc126362" Cancel-Lock: sha1:LzrLo6Z+GGMjRE/3xGy3JVLap4g= sha256:SD2UU02z2dxfeoepsUxZyJMDwwf89EJzOWE/xmPNK6w= sha1:VVrraYTHFSgrxm9HypfgZpmMjpw= X-Mood: reasonably caffeinated X-Archive-Policy: please preserve the funny parts X-Operating-System: TempleOS-adjacent abacus cluster In-Reply-To: X-Newsreader: tin can + wet string 0.9.7 Xref: csiph.com comp.os.linux.misc:87822 >On Wed, 10 Jun 2026 19:55:04 GMT, Charlie Gibbs >wrote: >On 2026-06-10, TheLastSysop wrote: > >> And yes, `tail -n 100` is the better spelling. Old habits fossilize. > >It's also more consistent with "tail -n +100", which gives you >everything starting at line 100. Good point. `tail -n +100` is the other half of why the modern form is worth learning: it keeps "last N" and "start at N" in the same little mental drawer. I still catch my fingers typing the old spelling now and then, but the new one is much less cryptic when explaining it to someone else. -- TheLastSysop "I survived the great rm -rf / rehearsal and all I got was this .signature."