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From his website stallman.org:

Richard Stallman has cancer. Fortunately it is slow-growing and manageable follicular lymphona, so he will probably live many more years nonetheless. But he now has to be even more careful not to catch Covid-19.

Recent video of him speaking at GNU 40 Hacker Meeting. Screenshots of video stream.

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[-] Walop@sopuli.xyz 81 points 2 years ago
[-] 520@kbin.social 71 points 2 years ago

I have a hard time deciding what to do with this.

On the one hand... Dude, even as someone who loves dark humour, I couldn't bring myself to make a cancer joke upon news of a diagnosis unless the person was a true shitstain on the earth, like Trump.

On the other hand...that was fucking brilliant and works on so many levels.

I had pretty much the same thought process.
It's dark, but brilliant.
Yet I can't imagine RMS being offended by this, so I shouldn't either.
That's the kind of thing I wouldn't be too surprised to hear from the guy himself.

The world is a better place because of him and I wish him well.

[-] galoisghost@aussie.zone 52 points 2 years ago

That’s a terrible joke that deserves the downvotes, because cancer is shit and I only wish the best to anyone who is diagnosed with it, but I laughed.

[-] Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 years ago

I don’t get the joke :c

Cancer is absolute shit, but I do also love dark humour (when I get it lawl)

[-] Almamu@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Comes from the copy pasta of "I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're refering to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux" and. And a bit more memeing with the fact that Linux itself is not as "free/libre" as GNU AFAIK (or the famous quote of Linux is cancer from Ballmer)

[-] Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 years ago

Thank you! I’m just getting into Linux and stuff.

[-] z500@startrek.website 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

It's a reference to a copypasta.

I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're referring to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX. Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called “Linux,” and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project. There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use.

Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called “Linux” distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.

[-] Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 years ago

Aha! Thank you for the context!

[-] 520@kbin.social 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

It's also a reference to Steve Ballmer from Microsoft calling Linux a cancer

[-] chuck@lemmy.ca 16 points 2 years ago

Well it's dark humor and I can see how some are deeply offended. The post even says it's a slow growing treatable form, so personally I'll laugh at the joke. It's not like he's end stage untreatable form of cancer. Like you know arch linux running on WSL level cancer.

[-] eestileib@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 years ago

Very dark but I'll allow it.

[-] finder@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 years ago

Certified banger

[-] Gamey@feddit.de 1 points 2 years ago

My humor is fucking dark so I had to laugh but that one dose go a little far, it's a good joke but with that timing I certainly wouldn't make it!

this post was submitted on 29 Sep 2023
852 points (100.0% liked)

Linux

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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