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Linux security mailing list 'almost unmanageable'

theregister.com

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Re: Linux security mailing list 'almost unmanageable'

#91

Post by BobaFloutist »

vitally3643 wrote: post #67
fhn wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

old people like the old tools that they grew up using

This is the reason behind essentially every reply I've ever seen to this question. "I like it this way because it's always been this way and once you change your entire email workflow and customize your email client, it's almost as good as PHPbb" Forums are built for threads and are immediately visible and accessible for everyone , not just people who want to spend their limited time dicking with email clients. Maili…

I think it's unsurprising that the people maintaining the tangled plumbing of the clunky, customizable, fiercely independent operating system most popular with highly-opinionated power-users prefer the clunky, customizable, open format that's a little inconvenient for non power-users but allows them to set up their own personal bespoke client.

Re: Linux security mailing list 'almost unmanageable'

#92

Post by mixxit »

I feel like the ability to speed up finding bugs will exceed your ability to fix them and/or review ai PRs

It will almost likely find issues that require fundamental design changes to even fix some of these

Dangerous waters ahead for data security and vital infrastructure

Re: Linux security mailing list 'almost unmanageable'

#93

Post by uecker »

47282847 wrote: post #75
vitally3643 wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the reason behind essentially every reply I've ever seen to this question. "I like it this way because it's always been this way and once you change your entire email workflow and customize your email client, it's almost as good as PHPbb" Forums are built for threads and are immediately visible and accessible for everyone , not just people who want to spend their limited time dicking with email clients. Maili…

I understand it is out of fashion, but technologically more advanced are systems that use well defined interfaces and allow pieces to be exchanged easily. After all, we’re communicating over a number of open protocols here. A forum merges all elements into one silo. I prefer web over AOL/Compuserve. If you want a forum-like interface, there’s no technical reason why this couldn’t be done on top of a mailing list. In…

yes, exactly this.

Re: Linux security mailing list 'almost unmanageable'

#95

Post by [deleted] »

dgellow wrote: post #26
stabbles wrote: post #5

Isn't it mostly the medium that's problematic? With an issue tracker it's easier to close as duplicate

You still spend time identifying duplicates and doing triage. That can be very significant for a project like Linux. Interestingly enough doing that type of triage is something LLMs are actually great at

[deleted]

Re: Linux security mailing list 'almost unmanageable'

#96

Post by jedberg »

probably_wrong wrote: post #14
l1k wrote: post #9

Fun fact (or not so fun if you're a subscriber): Somebody is spamming kernel mailing lists under the name Marian Corcodel with a 26 MByte message multiple times per day containing a collection of nonsensical patches. Looks AI-generated, perhaps with the intention to poison LLMs. This has been going on for a few days now. https://lore.kernel.org/all/CAGg4U=GNtCObd_Nbm_1Rr5FEvPb69Yz...

I'd warn HN users not to click on that link simply because it will load a 26Mb message that will likely cause quite a strain on kernel.org's servers if everyone here does it.

It's mirrored by Akamai, which is designed to repeatedly serve the same thing over and over. It won't really hurt anyone.

Re: Linux security mailing list 'almost unmanageable'

#97

Post by foresto »

fhn wrote: post #52
trelbutate wrote: post #34

Will never understand why some people prefer mailing lists to do development, it always feels like the most convoluted way to hold a discussion, especially if there are multiple topics at the same time. It probably doesn't really change that much in this scenario but with a forum or any other topics-based platform you can at least just close and ignore these things without it affecting everyone else.

old people like the old tools that they grew up using

This could be read as reductive, presumptuous, ignorant, and insulting.

At the same time, it's often technically true, but for a good reason that you neglected to mention:

Those old tools tend to be very capable email clients, not web apps with their awkward attempts to simplify complex conversation structure. A good email client can handle large, high-traffic, frequently branching, long-lived threads with ease. All the web forums I've ever used fail miserably here.

The people who are tasked with participating in large scale discussion groups (like the LKML) know this through experience. They prefer email because it works better. It makes their lives easier. It helps them to be more efficient, which is absolutely necessary given the sheer volume of messaging that they handle.

Yes, a specialized tool is required to get these benefits, just as a specialized tool is required to make web server output easily readable. Thankfully, these tools have existed for decades.

Re: Linux security mailing list 'almost unmanageable'

#98

Post by mock-possum »

ses1984 wrote: post #4
Sweepi wrote: post #2

"Torvalds' remarks contrast with recent comments from fellow kernel maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman, who recently told The Register that AI has become an increasingly useful tool for the FOSS community." Does it? Both points can be true at the same time.

Linus also said “AI tools are great, but only if they actually help, rather than cause unnecessary pain and pointless make-believe work,” he wrote. “Feel free to use them, but use them in a way that is productive and makes for a better experience.” So I think the closing remark from the register isn’t really appropriate given the context from the quotes they pulled.

So if a thing is good then it is good, but if a thing is bad then it is bad? Got it!

Re: Linux security mailing list 'almost unmanageable'

#100

Post by m463 »

Sebguer wrote: post #88
st_goliath wrote: post #8

Here's the actual mailing list post: https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/CAHk-=wi+JvcuKF2NaD_rGiYrwkR6rx... Actual context: Linux 7.1-rc4 release, Linus remarked on a specific documentation change. The Register somehow turned this into an "article" that says a lot less with roughly the same number of words, and provides "context" by linking to a number of unrelated articles.

The Register has always been a... weird 'news' source, but they've gotten significantly worse over the last year or two.

I think people are used to bias in mainstream media, but theregister seems to show it to computer/tech folks. I don't mind, I like opinionated stuff and can make up my own mind, but I wonder what folks with less context/experience think when they read some of their articles.

(and at least weird isn't like uncanny-valley-ai-written-weird)

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