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Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins

From	rbowman <bowman@montana.com>
Newsgroups	comp.os.linux.misc
Subject	Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins
Date	2025-10-29 17:43 +0000
Message-ID	<mmf22rF5icbU5@mid.individual.net> (permalink)
References	<mmclrqFn64jU10@mid.individual.net> <10drbgs$2ef5e$1@dont-email.me> <slrn10g2hog.173j.trepidation@vps.jonz.net> <mmd9tdFn64jU14@mid.individual.net> <10ds2lb$2l3kk$1@dont-email.me>

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On Tue, 28 Oct 2025 20:45:45 -0700, Bobbie Sellers wrote:

> 	Copied to my clipboard then used the editor to correct the line 
break.
> 
> <https://thenewstack.io/ken-thompson-recalls-unixs-rowdy-lock-picking-
origins/>
> 
> 	Old eyes at least in this person sometimes miss such subleties
> in small print.
> 	That is an interesting article by the way.

Yeah, those were the days. 

"Thompson credits Richard Stallman with developing much more of the open 
source philosophy. “But Unix had a bit of that.” Maybe it grew out of what 
Dennis Ritchie was remembering, that fellowship that formed around Unix. 
“For some reason, and I think it’s just because of me and Dennis, 
everything was open…”

It was just the way they operated. “We had protection on files — if you 
didn’t want somebody to read it, you could set some bits and then nobody 
could read them, right? But nobody set those permissions on anything … All 
of the source was writable, by anybody! It was just open …"

While I appreciate some of the work of the FSF Stallman's talmudic 
legalisms rub me the wrong way. I remember when 'it was just open'.

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Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-10-28 20:03 +0000
  Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> - 2025-10-28 14:10 -0700
    Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins Allodoxaphobia <trepidation@example.net> - 2025-10-28 22:43 +0000
      Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-10-29 01:45 +0000
        Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> - 2025-10-28 20:45 -0700
          Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-10-29 17:43 +0000
            Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins Chris Ahlstrom <OFeem1987@teleworm.us> - 2025-10-29 14:01 -0400
              Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-10-30 02:45 +0000
            Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-10-29 22:00 -0400
              Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-10-30 03:00 +0000
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2025-10-30 08:12 -0700
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-10-30 20:19 +0000
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins Robert Riches <spamtrap42@jacob21819.net> - 2025-10-31 03:00 +0000
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-10-30 23:48 -0400
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-10-31 08:33 +0000
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-10-31 04:43 +0000
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2025-10-31 09:02 +0000
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2025-10-31 08:59 -0700
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-10-31 20:24 +0000
              Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2025-11-01 03:40 +0000
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-11-01 00:45 -0400
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2025-11-02 03:15 +0000
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-11-01 23:35 -0400
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-11-02 11:25 +0000
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2025-11-02 21:08 +0100
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-11-02 21:51 +0000
            Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2025-10-31 14:33 +0100
              Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-10-31 23:16 +0000
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-11-01 05:41 +0000
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-11-01 02:18 -0400
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-P  icking Origins vallor <vallor@vallor.earth> - 2025-11-01 07:06 +0000
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-P  icking Origins rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-11-02 01:44 +0000
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-11-02 01:34 +0000
                Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2025-11-01 14:50 +0100
    Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-10-28 22:59 +0000
      Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-10-30 01:29 -0400
        Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-10-30 06:25 +0000
        Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-10-30 06:59 +0000
    Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-10-29 02:54 +0000
      Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-10-29 17:32 +0000
        Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2025-11-01 10:30 +0000
    Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-10-29 11:22 +0000
    Re: Ken Thompson Recalls Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-10-30 22:45 +0000

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