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Groups > comp.os.linux.misc > #94962 > unrolled thread

Is This An Old Folks Home?

Started byFarley Flud <ff@gnulinux.rocks>
First post2026-11-02 23:08 +0000
Last post2026-11-04 23:51 +0000
Articles 13 — 9 participants

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  Is This An Old Folks Home? Farley Flud <ff@gnulinux.rocks> - 2026-11-02 23:08 +0000
    Re: Is This An Old Folks Home? "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-11-03 02:51 +0100
      On the on-topicness of tape drives (was: Re: Is This An Old Folks Home?) Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-11-04 23:47 +0000
        Re: On the on-topicness of tape drives Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2026-11-05 04:14 +0000
    Re: Is This An Old Folks Home? c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-11-02 21:08 -0500
    Re: Is This An Old Folks Home? rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-11-03 02:26 +0000
    Re: Is This An Old Folks Home? Woozy Song <suzyw0ng@outlook.com> - 2026-11-04 09:55 +0800
      Re: Is This An Old Folks Home? c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-11-03 22:14 -0500
        Re: Is This An Old Folks Home? Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2026-11-04 03:54 +0000
          Re: Is This An Old Folks Home? Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2026-11-04 06:21 +0000
    Re: Is This An Old Folks Home? Beej Jorgensen <beej@beej.us> - 2026-11-04 19:15 +0000
      Re: Is This An Old Folks Home? Farley Flud <ff@gnulinux.rocks> - 2026-11-04 20:38 +0000
        Re: Is This An Old Folks Home? Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-11-04 23:51 +0000

#94962 — Is This An Old Folks Home?

FromFarley Flud <ff@gnulinux.rocks>
Date2026-11-02 23:08 +0000
SubjectIs This An Old Folks Home?
Message-ID<18e45d18dce2f904$1893$2999836$802601b3@news.usenetexpress.com>
Is this group an actual GNU/Linux discussion forum or a sordid
home for decrepit old folks and faltering has-beens?

I don't want no useless info on pre-historic tape readers.

I, and many others, want cutting edge philosophy on GNU/Linux/FOSS.

Otherwise, go bury yourselves, grandpas.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!





-- 
Gentoo/LFS: Is there any-fucking-thing else?

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#94970

From"Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid>
Date2026-11-03 02:51 +0100
Message-ID<nkst1dF3cbcU8@mid.individual.net>
In reply to#94962
On 2026-11-03 00:08, Farley Flud wrote:
> Is this group an actual GNU/Linux discussion forum or a sordid
> home for decrepit old folks and faltering has-beens?
> 
> I don't want no useless info on pre-historic tape readers.
> 
> I, and many others, want cutting edge philosophy on GNU/Linux/FOSS.
> 
> Otherwise, go bury yourselves, grandpas.
> 
> Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Then why are you here, granny? :-p

-- 
Cheers,
        Carlos E.R.
        ES🇪🇸, EU🇪🇺.

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#95143 — On the on-topicness of tape drives (was: Re: Is This An Old Folks Home?)

FromNuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid>
Date2026-11-04 23:47 +0000
SubjectOn the on-topicness of tape drives (was: Re: Is This An Old Folks Home?)
Message-ID<11cgg6t$14knq$2@dont-email.me>
In reply to#94970
On 2026-11-03, Carlos E. R. wrote:

> On 2026-11-03 00:08, Farley Flud wrote:
>> Is this group an actual GNU/Linux discussion forum or a sordid
>> home for decrepit old folks and faltering has-beens?
>>
>> I don't want no useless info on pre-historic tape readers.
>>
>> I, and many others, want cutting edge philosophy on GNU/Linux/FOSS.
>>
>> Otherwise, go bury yourselves, grandpas.
>>
>> Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
>
> Then why are you here, granny? :-p

That's actually a load of nonsense in that a very good use of this group
would be someone looking for advice on using a tape drive on GNU/Linux.

I'd argue that, if tape drives are out because that's not the topic,
then so is FOSS in general, unless it's something that's part of a
GNU/Linux distribution...

While I've never used a tape drive myself, I do use the Tape ARchiver a
lot, although sometimes I use the BSD one and not the GNU one, as the
latter can't do ZIP, RAR, ISO9660, &c. :-)

-- 
Nuno Silva

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#95152 — Re: On the on-topicness of tape drives

FromRich <rich@example.invalid>
Date2026-11-05 04:14 +0000
SubjectRe: On the on-topicness of tape drives
Message-ID<11cgvrp$19a03$1@dont-email.me>
In reply to#95143
Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> On 2026-11-03, Carlos E. R. wrote:
> 
>> On 2026-11-03 00:08, Farley Flud wrote:
>>> Is this group an actual GNU/Linux discussion forum or a sordid
>>> home for decrepit old folks and faltering has-beens?
>>>
>>> I don't want no useless info on pre-historic tape readers.
>>>
>>> I, and many others, want cutting edge philosophy on GNU/Linux/FOSS.
>>>
>>> Otherwise, go bury yourselves, grandpas.
>>>
>>> Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
>>
>> Then why are you here, granny? :-p
> 
> That's actually a load of nonsense in that a very good use of this 
> group would be someone looking for advice on using a tape drive on 
> GNU/Linux.

Do keep in mind that Farley is a known troll.

It is best to just ignore the troll's posts.

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#94974

Fromc186282 <c186282@nnada.net>
Date2026-11-02 21:08 -0500
Message-ID<NU-dnQcvxa2g33T3nZ2dnZfqn_ednZ2d@giganews.com>
In reply to#94962
Well, IS an "old folks home" to a DEGREE.

Or don't you think 40-50+ years of computing
experiences are worth anything ?

If so, go play Candy Crush and leave us 'old
folks' alone. WE will Know How It Works And
Why and you won't.

Be civil.

We ARE stronger together.

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#94978

Fromrbowman <bowman@montana.com>
Date2026-11-03 02:26 +0000
Message-ID<nksv25F2rmsU11@mid.individual.net>
In reply to#94962
On Mon, 02 Nov 2026 23:08:32 +0000, Farley Flud wrote:

> Is this group an actual GNU/Linux discussion forum or a sordid home for
> decrepit old folks and faltering has-beens?
> 
> I don't want no useless info on pre-historic tape readers.
> 
> I, and many others, want cutting edge philosophy on GNU/Linux/FOSS.

https://fossforce.com/2026/08/the-foss-force-interview-with-richard-
stallman/

Stallman objects vigorously to 'free' and 'open source' sharing the same 
line. 

I'd never heard of Foss Force but Lunduke found Chrissie's rant amusing.

https://fossforce.com/2026/11/lunduke-releases-his-own-devuan-based-linux-
distro/

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#95063

FromWoozy Song <suzyw0ng@outlook.com>
Date2026-11-04 09:55 +0800
Message-ID<11ce3a1$advt$1@dont-email.me>
In reply to#94962
Farley Flud wrote:
> Is this group an actual GNU/Linux discussion forum or a sordid
> home for decrepit old folks and faltering has-beens?
> 
> I don't want no useless info on pre-historic tape readers.
> 
> I, and many others, want cutting edge philosophy on GNU/Linux/FOSS.
> 
> Otherwise, go bury yourselves, grandpas.
> 
> Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
> 

Usenet has a lot of people who have been using it since the 1990s, so 
presumably over 50 years old.  I am a bit older, I remember 9-track 
tapes, punch cards and acoustic coupler modems.

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#95069

Fromc186282 <c186282@nnada.net>
Date2026-11-03 22:14 -0500
Message-ID<z-CdnfPEet-xPnf3nZ2dnZfqn_idnZ2d@giganews.com>
In reply to#95063
On 11/3/26 20:55, Woozy Song wrote:
> Farley Flud wrote:
>> Is this group an actual GNU/Linux discussion forum or a sordid
>> home for decrepit old folks and faltering has-beens?
>>
>> I don't want no useless info on pre-historic tape readers.
>>
>> I, and many others, want cutting edge philosophy on GNU/Linux/FOSS.
>>
>> Otherwise, go bury yourselves, grandpas.
>>
>> Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
>>
> 
> Usenet has a lot of people who have been using it since the 1990s, so 
> presumably over 50 years old.  I am a bit older, I remember 9-track 
> tapes, punch cards and acoustic coupler modems.

   Umm ... they were EIGHT-track tapes :-)

   Not terrible actually, great for car audio.
   Tended to get mangled alas. Cassettes came
   to rule until cheap CDs arrived.

   "Flies all green and buzzin' in this
   dungeon of despair ..." ........

   Did my years with punch-cards. Had more than
   one 'acoustic coupler' for 300-baud-or-less
   connections. Hey, CUTTING EDGE at the time !

   Still have a Tandy/RS "laptop" from WAY back
   that can do acoustic net OR connect direct
   to an old hard-line phone. News reporters
   loved them. Much of the ROM code, last thing
   done by Bill Gates himself. Had a VIC-20 with
   an acoustic modem too but the C-64 did it better.
   Bulletin-Board-Systems (BBS) in the day.

   In any case, the "old guys" bring a LOT of
   practical experience/sensibility. Don't
   cuss - LEARN. The Future is built-on, guided-
   by, the past. Computer Tech is evolutionary.

   The "sensibility" aspect may be the most important.
   SO many, publicity/profit-driven, flashes in the
   proverbial pan over the years. The "old guys" have
   Been There, Done That, KNOW bullshit when they
   see it.

   Oh wait - the recent gen is SO much smarter :-)

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#95074

FromRich <rich@example.invalid>
Date2026-11-04 03:54 +0000
Message-ID<11ceaa8$c9ap$1@dont-email.me>
In reply to#95069
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
> On 11/3/26 20:55, Woozy Song wrote:
>> Farley Flud wrote:
>>> Is this group an actual GNU/Linux discussion forum or a sordid
>>> home for decrepit old folks and faltering has-beens?
>>>
>>> I don't want no useless info on pre-historic tape readers.
>>>
>>> I, and many others, want cutting edge philosophy on GNU/Linux/FOSS.
>>>
>>> Otherwise, go bury yourselves, grandpas.
>>>
>>> Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
>>>
>> 
>> Usenet has a lot of people who have been using it since the 1990s, so 
>> presumably over 50 years old.  I am a bit older, I remember 9-track 
>> tapes, punch cards and acoustic coupler modems.
> 
>   Umm ... they were EIGHT-track tapes :-)

Idiot.  Woozy's not referring to "8-track audio tapes".  He's referring 
to 9-track digital computer tapes used on old IBM mainframes.  They 
were 9-tracks:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9-track_tape

Eight data bits plus one parity bit per byte makes for a "9-track" 
tape.

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#95084

FromCharlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid>
Date2026-11-04 06:21 +0000
Message-ID<k9AGS.307464$xwD5.240961@fx47.iad>
In reply to#95074
On 2026-11-04, Rich <rich@example.invalid> wrote:

> c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
>
>> On 11/3/26 20:55, Woozy Song wrote:
>>
>>> Usenet has a lot of people who have been using it since the 1990s, so 
>>> presumably over 50 years old.  I am a bit older, I remember 9-track 
>>> tapes, punch cards and acoustic coupler modems.

<waves hand> Me too!

>>   Umm ... they were EIGHT-track tapes :-)
>
> Idiot.  Woozy's not referring to "8-track audio tapes".

Uh, I think he was pulling our legs - note the smiley.

> He's referring to 9-track digital computer tapes used on
> old IBM mainframes.  They were 9-tracks:
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9-track_tape
>
> Eight data bits plus one parity bit per byte makes for a "9-track" 
> tape.

If you're really old you'll remember 7-track tapes (6 data bits
plus one parity bit, popular before 8-bit bytes came along).
I don't think I ever actually used one of them, but I did read
about them.  I think some units even had a hardware converter
option that let you attach them to a machine that did 8-bit
bytes; for every three 8-bit bytes you sent them they'd write
four 6-bit bytes to the tape.  Good for converting your old
tapes...

-- 
/~\  Charlie Gibbs                  |  In this world there are
\ /  <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid>      |  two kinds of people:
 X   I'm really at ac.dekanfrus     |  1. Those who can extrapolate
/ \  if you read it the right way.  |  from incomplete data.

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#95122

FromBeej Jorgensen <beej@beej.us>
Date2026-11-04 19:15 +0000
Message-ID<11cg087$v5s2$1@dont-email.me>
In reply to#94962
In article <18e45d18dce2f904$1893$2999836$802601b3@news.usenetexpress.com>,
Farley Flud  <ff@gnulinux.rocks> wrote:
>Ha, ha, [snip] ha, ha!

I do wish more people, young and old, would comply with RFC 1855.
Everyone should give it a (re)read. :)

-- 
Brian "Beej Jorgensen" Hall | beej@beej.us

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#95131

FromFarley Flud <ff@gnulinux.rocks>
Date2026-11-04 20:38 +0000
Message-ID<18e4f20ec4823882$11498$2998393$802601b3@news.usenetexpress.com>
In reply to#95122
On Wed, 4 Nov 2026 19:15:19 -0000 (UTC), Beej Jorgensen wrote:

> 
> I do wish more people, young and old, would comply with RFC 1855.
> Everyone should give it a (re)read. :)
>

Usenet is beyond doubt superior to all of the fashionable web forums
that are controlled by single entities and heavily moderated (i.e censored)
and also data mined.

But it seems that Usenet, or at least a lot of formerly popular groups,
is no longer used for free discussion but only only to alleviate the
loneliness of decrepit old-timers that can't find anything better to
do with their empty time.

Please keep all posts on topic and refrain from assuming that Usenet
is your personal taproom.


-- 
Gentoo/LFS: Is there any-fucking-thing else?

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#95144

FromNuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid>
Date2026-11-04 23:51 +0000
Message-ID<11cggdm$14knq$3@dont-email.me>
In reply to#95131
On 2026-11-04, Farley Flud wrote:

> On Wed, 4 Nov 2026 19:15:19 -0000 (UTC), Beej Jorgensen wrote:
>
>> 
>> I do wish more people, young and old, would comply with RFC 1855.
>> Everyone should give it a (re)read. :)
>>
>
> Usenet is beyond doubt superior to all of the fashionable web forums
> that are controlled by single entities and heavily moderated (i.e censored)
> and also data mined.
>
> But it seems that Usenet, or at least a lot of formerly popular groups,
> is no longer used for free discussion but only only to alleviate the
> loneliness of decrepit old-timers that can't find anything better to
> do with their empty time.
>
> Please keep all posts on topic and refrain from assuming that Usenet
> is your personal taproom.

(No, this is the *tape*-room.)

... why didn't you set Followup-To: to a group discussing hypocrisy?

-- 
Nuno Silva

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