Post #505228

2026-02-22 13:52 UTC

Y&#39;know what? As an #opensource #advocate and #tech enthusiast, it&#39;s genuinely awesome to see increased mainstream coverage of #Linux and #FreeBSD. Unfortunately, a lot of these articles are riddled with mistakes, misinformation, clickbait, and overall low quality. A few minutes ago, while catching up on tech news I came across one #ZDNet author&#39;s frequent posts on Linux and FreeBSD. To emphasize my point, I am only going to focus on one article titled, &quot;After decades on Linux, FreeBSD finally gave me a reason to switch operating systems.&quot; The following passages stuck out like sore thumb: 1.) &quot;FreeBSD is more challenging than Linux.&quot; -But is it really? Subjective, particularly if coming from a GUI-driven Linux distribution. Frankly I find FreeBSD easier because of the excellent documentation and coherent design. 2.) &quot;FreeBSD is Unix-like&quot; but further down he states, &quot;Essentially, FreeBSD is Unix, where Linux is based on Unix.&quot; -Contradictory, incorrect, and confusing for newcomers. FreeBSD is Unix. Linux (neither the kernel nor OS) is based on Unix. 3.) &quot;Think of FreeBSD as a more challenging version of Linux. This operating system doesn&#39;t hold your hand, so you might learn a thing or two as you install it and the software you require. Even for a seasoned Linux veteran like me, FreeBSD can often be a head-scratcher.&quot; -Challenging because it&#39;s *different than Linux*? FreeBSD doesn&#39;t hold your hand? What about #Debian, #Gentoo, #Arch, heck even #RHEL? Since the author didn&#39;t mention it, I&#39;m going to assume he did not check the FreeBSD Handbook and his &quot;seasoned Linux&quot; experience has been using a Linux desktop for a couple years. Also, head-scratcher?! Being an experienced Debian user, I&#39;d be scratching my head too if I just decided to use Gentoo on a whim. The trauma of hand-configuring the xorg.conf file was real. Finally, contrary to the article&#39;s title, the author ended up not switching to FreeBSD. -Clickbait. I am all for more people exploring FreeBSD and Linux. They are great OSes but it is critical the information being reported is both accurate and consistent. For reference the article is linked below. https://www.zdnet.com/article/freebsd-linux-review/

Replies (7)

@hexorg@techhub.social 2026-02-22 13:58

@peteorrall my friend always said gentoo is FreeBSD in the wrong userland. (Not helpful for newcomers but reinforces your point).

Open ##1641929
@jzb@hachyderm.io 2026-02-22 14:13

@peteorrall in fairness: the author may not have chosen the headline. I also hate the term “clickbait” these days. Yes. The point is to get people to read the article. Blaming publications for “clickbait” is really putting the blame in the wrong place. It’s an arms race for attention. Why not criticize audiences for their failure to reward less-sensationalist headlines? If you think something is “clickbait” then… don’t click. The problem will go away. Better yet, support publications with more restrained copy/headlines. But that’s harder than the lazy application of “clickbait” that puts all the blame on the authors/publications trying to survive in an ever-more-hostile environment for online publishers and writers.

Open ##1641933
@pitrh@mastodon.social 2026-02-22 17:12

@peteorrall Not to toot my own horn really, but perhaps you will find my (now 5 years old) "Recent and not so recent changes in OpenBSD that make life better (and may turn up elsewhere too)" https://nxdomain.no/~peter/recent-and-not-so-recent_changes_in_openbsd_that_make_life_better.html a more agreeable read? Yes, it's about #OpenBSD, but the systems have a lot in common, really. And there's links to other, related pieces scattered around in there.

Open ##1641938
@grahamperrin@mastodon.bsd.cafe 2026-02-22 18:25

@peteorrall this was published with a different title, and URL, in December 2025. The republication is not a bad thing. When I first read the article by Jack Wallen, I took the time to also read about him, as a person. One of his personal blog posts inspired me to send an email that was entirely unrelated to technology. When you introduced yourself to BSD Cafe, in May 2025, you reflected upon your many positive interactions with people. Imagine, now, having a more positive interaction with @jwallen, who might, or might not, read your critique, and the responses (it seems that he has not posted since May 2023). I encourage other readers to do the same. Be kind. I've used Linux for decades, but I'd switch to FreeBSD for this one feature | ZDNET Discussion: cc @lproven #FreeBSD

Open ##1641940
@hello@rumbly.net 2026-02-22 18:32

I think you're closer to the source code on FreeBSD and Linux people seem to be lazy AF about man pages

Open ##1641948
@dgoodkin@mastodon.social 2026-02-22 18:40

@peteorrall Even I am using FreeBSD! It runs pretty smoothly on my Framework 12. The handbook and recent videos on the FreeBSD YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@FreeBSDProject helped me quickly set up my desktop environment. Now, I'm spending time doing a deeper dive into understanding FreeBSD.

Open ##1641950
@EF@mastodon.bsd.cafe 2026-02-22 19:20

@peteorrall read the article and reads like #aislop. Not entirely wrong but wrong enough any competant tech journalist wouldn't have published.

Open ##1641951