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1 • Poll: Favorite Parent Distro (by Huckleberry Hiroshima on 2026-03-16 01:05:39 GMT from United States)
The one I'm using at the time that's working, I guess. I've had everything on my machines over the years and honestly as soon as I feel like Debian or Arch is "THE" best I forget about it when another one is making me happy.
I'm running Nobara on this machine, so yeah, Fedora is my favorite parent distro at the moment.
They're all doing an amazing job. Every one of the Big Parent Distros.
2 • Favorite parent (by Brad on 2026-03-16 01:53:14 GMT from United States)
Dad.
: - )
In all seriousness I picked "Other" because I have two favorites at the moment, and like any judicious parent, I can't choose one over the other (MXLinux and EasyOS). Each has it's own charms and foibles.
3 • @2 (by Brad on 2026-03-16 02:02:46 GMT from United States)
I pressed "submit" too soon, and I meant to say "Debian", instead of MXLinux...but I also feel that listing "Debian/Ubuntu" as a "parent" is not technically correct, since Shuttleworth/Canonical based Ubuntu on Debian in 2004.
4 • Mandatory 2c about law verification (by Fkasi on 2026-03-16 02:40:38 GMT from France)
I always refuse websites to know my location. If a website blocks me because of it, I'm okay not using it (if it makes sense to ask my location in the first place).
It should (at least) be the same with asking your age. An authorization popup should dis/allow specifying your age or range to this app/browser/website (as Apple does on iOS, and I guess Android too), and if refused, the app/browser/website shows you an error (it would be weird for VLC to ask my age, but meh why not).
Because, it would be very difficult to get an open-source ID checker, or integrating a proprietary one into an open-source system, and even if Colorado makes an exception for open-source, there is plenty of countries that won't budge. EU standardization of identity (through European Digital Identity wallet, and using a cryptographic challenge as proof) may be a solution.
So, as long as my (Linux) computer doesn't need to know my age to boot or login (anywhere I could be), just as it doesn't need internet or see my face for that, I'm not completely opposed to the idea of age verification.
5 • Best parent (by Dave on 2026-03-16 02:42:06 GMT from Australia)
I agree largely with the results - Arch and Debian are the best parents. And, possibly the best distros in their own right. I prefer not to use derivatives, unless they're really adding a great deal you just don't want to do yourself.
6 • Favorite Parent Distro (by Veit on 2026-03-16 02:49:05 GMT from Germany)
Definitely Debian/Ubuntu LTS for my favorite parent distro. They are the most popular parent distro for reasons:
- loads of packages available, so you're standing on the shoulders of giants
- stable base with slow pace of major dist-upgrades and long upstream support, so downstream distro devs have the opportunity to polish their adjustments thoroughly. Mint is a perfect example for this.
RHEL equivalents like Alma or Rocky would also work well as a base.
But faster-paced distros like Fedora work much better on their own for me. Downstreams of those can't do much more than preconfiguring them and ease some of the initial work. Like EndeavourOS does for Arch: You get Arch with an easy installer and a choice of default software. But this can also fail, like we see in the d77void review...
7 • favorite parent istro (by Stuart on 2026-03-16 02:55:53 GMT from United States)
I've used only originals (Slackware, FreeBSD, Void, Debian). I'm looking mostly for simplicity and reliability so I've never felt the need to look at derivatives.
8 • Linux From Scratch & age verification (by J.D. Laub on 2026-03-16 03:36:41 GMT from United States)
I agree with Jesse that we should wait & see how things play out. That said, I'm left wondering how lawmakers would handle an OS built using the Linux From Scratch (LFS) instructions. The LFS team provides instructions, not the OS. Would lawmakers bother to file cases against the individual citizens who use LFS? Food for thought.
9 • Parent distros (by R. M. G. on 2026-03-16 04:29:23 GMT from Portugal)
Please don't Debian/Ubuntu. Debian is Debian is Debian.
10 • d77void (by Jobe314 on 2026-03-16 06:20:20 GMT from Australia)
d77void is a great attempt to bring Void linux to users with different desktops and windows managers without having to go and install the main Void ISO and customizing from scratch.
I have tried d77void myself and can only say: please get calamares working with encryption.
The void installer, although fast is hell to use if you want to setup encrypted /home or full drive encrypted install. Calamares solves this in a user friendly way .... when it works. So far, I have tried multiple times with multiple releases of d77void and each time once you start the install process exits immediately with errors.
In this day and age, running a non-encrypted system is just madness. So if the dev of d77void is reading this, please get encryption working with Calamares.
Otherwise, you are doing a fantastic job bringing these spins into existence and I hope you don't stop.
11 • age verification laws (by always-curious-about_FOSS on 2026-03-16 06:50:40 GMT from Germany)
First of all, they are soon knowing our ages! Not exaktly, but a thithteen years old boy are using an other way of using the Internet than a woman aged 46. They have learnt to know it in order to place their online ads precisely where they need to be.
I do not know the political Discussion in California. To protect Kids it would be belong to only give the information older or younger than 18 ( or 21 ). So the more information of a birthdate would violate the an individual's privacy. Wans,t this a part of the poltical Discussion before ?
This California law is s completely harmless compared to the delusions of like "1984" omnipotence controll that politicians here in Germany spout.
The age verification should be verified by an online Identification card wallet. And without online Identification card no access to social media.
12 • Favorite distro appears in my signature but Age Verification is worthless... (by Bobbie Sellers on 2026-03-16 06:54:50 GMT from United States)
Age Verification is worthless. The problems that teens face in this society
are real things like parental neglect, abuse in several modes and lack of
a trust worthy source of real information. Screens and displays are not
implicated in the reasons so many kill themselves or run from a horrible
home. The science is there on the part of about the kids with problems
not being harmed by bullying from online sources but from the people
who have unresolved problems themselves and seem to lack a normal
sense of parental responsibility.
bliss- Dell Precision 7730- PCLinuzOS 2026.03- Linux 6.12.76 pclos1- KDE Plasma 6.6.2
13 • age verification laws 2. (by alway-curious-about-FOSS on 2026-03-16 07:18:17 GMT from Germany)
The devil is in the details, or you could also say that the devil is in the practical implementation. 'm not an IT specialist, but I assume that a uniform technical standard will be necessary so that these software applications can work seamlessly with the websites within the operating systems.
as such a uniform technical standard already been developed, or does that still need to be done?
Jetzt kommen wir zum Knackepunkt. ( Now we come to the crux of the matter ).
Will this technical standard be free and open-source, or will it be proprietary and closed-source?
uppose the powerful tech giants were to succeed in establishing this technical standard as proprietary and closed-source - Then they would have practically succeeded in excluding Linux from the Internet.
14 • Age verification / favorite parent distro (by Keith S on 2026-03-16 07:37:18 GMT from United States)
Great summary of the issues around age verification. These laws really do not and will not help any users or protect any children. The idea of a digital identification wallet is nightmarish. I guess no one remembers the horrors of actual communism. Government is the problem, not the solution.
My favorite parent distro is Debian for the reasons stated by @6 Veit. And I agree with @5 Dave that the best reason for derivatives is "adding a great deal you just don't want to do yourself." MX Linux really adds a lot of polish and great tools, which is why it has been my favorite Linux for over five years now.
I love OpenBSD but I admit that it is a lot of work to get all the little things set up the way I prefer. If I had more time and skills, I would seriously consider making a spin of OpenBSD with those preferences included to hopefully help others enjoy it with less effort. Maybe when I retire (if I can ever afford it).
15 • Age verification (by Samantha Duncan on 2026-03-16 07:42:35 GMT from Brazil)
We're in an age of surveillance, tracking, restriction, manipulation and control.
George Orwell predicted our future.
Big techs are the ones pulling the strings in the background, they remotely in a subtle way control our lives, shape our behavior and reinforce societal norms. Basically, to sell targeted advertising, that's why age verification is so important for them.
Big Techs are undermining democracy, if it still exists... and putting our freedom at stake.
Are we back to the middle ages?
I use GrapheneOS, btw...
16 • Age and OS (by Noddy from Aus. on 2026-03-16 07:53:40 GMT from Australia)
I have several Mac items as well as a couple of linux systems. I got an update on my iPad and it wants me to identify my age with a credit card, well that just not going to happen, I will have to find another way, or the Mac units will become excess to requirement.
As far as linux os's go, I usually use linux mint mate on the main box and debian on the others as it's stable and reliable. Occasionally I also give Arch linux a run,as a play thing.
My main box is basically tied to linux mint as I have nvidia graphics and qnap nas. The reason for mate desktop, is when I started using linux was in the days of gnome 2.
Maybe just old and set in my ways......lol
17 • Which is your favourite parent distro ? (by eb on 2026-03-16 08:28:35 GMT from France)
Slackware ; and since :
- I consider the original is better than a copy
- chidren irritate me,
I stick with Slackware since 2005 !:-).
18 • Favorite parent distro (by Jake on 2026-03-16 09:35:59 GMT from United States)
Debian, because I learned on Debian and have no desire to learn other distros and their package managers. I guess I am now old and lazy, so I will stick to Debian based distros.
19 • Age verification (by Ion on 2026-03-16 11:11:12 GMT from Moldova)
I think that people who introduce age verification complicate themself too much with idiotic technical solutions.
Majority of people who use internet are ISPs clients. And it is much easier to implement age verification at ISP level. If you have minors, minors have devices which have a certain MAC address, this mac addresses can be registered as 18- and restricted from adult sites and discord and social networks, everyone else should be allowed. A network protocol which implement this things is easy.
BUT they do introduce some face recognition software and some companies who collect passport and personal id card data, and this is huge security concern.
20 • Favourite parent distro (by JD on 2026-03-16 11:29:25 GMT from Italy)
Kubuntu LTS.
21 • age verification laws 3. (by always-curiou-about-FOSS on 2026-03-16 11:34:31 GMT from Germany)
A few moments ago, a new article on the topic was published on the German technology website heise.de.
Here is an important section from the article:
"California have stipulated in recently enacted laws that "providers of operating systems" must in future offer an age verification mechanism. It will be activated as soon as someone creates an account on the respective computer. Because trust is good, but control is better, California additionally stipulates that the system must compare the entered data with public databases during registration. The law is not yet concrete, but Governor Newsom has already announced changes and expansions."
Here the link to the english article:
https://www.heise.de/en/news/Think-of-the-children-Linux-community-against-age-verification-11212220.html
22 • Favourite parent distro - Solus (by WhiteWolf on 2026-03-16 12:05:01 GMT from Poland)
As in subject - Solus and looking forward to Aeryn.
23 • Age verification (by Neutrino on 2026-03-16 12:09:53 GMT from United States)
I hope my old computer lasts a long time and that the age verification does not involve hardware that can't be bypassed (e.g. TPM) or use a protocol that I can't block through a firewall.
The data suckers already get too much from us. Why can't the verification mechanism give us a send/don't send option in the OS? Why send age to a cooking blog just because they want it?
If the mechanism is in an OS, I may make a few ISOs with different ages and use a Ventoy drive to allow me to select what I send.
I still think additional data harvesting must be opposed with every means possible, including opposing the new data centers being built "for AI".
24 • d77void (by zanwalk on 2026-03-16 12:21:49 GMT from United Kingdom)
d77void user here, using both Fluxbox and Awesome WMs. I have found it to be a reliable and easy to use/install version of Void. No problems so far.
25 • Age Verification (by Geo. on 2026-03-16 12:24:54 GMT from Canada)
Thank you Jesse, that was an excellent article.
🙂
26 • Age Verification Laws (by Huckleberry Hiroshima on 2026-03-16 13:06:45 GMT from United States)
A very high percentage of users of the internet will likely just play along with it, and whatever other intrusive laws come around. I think that is true because a high percentage of users just want to get online and browse and do whatever they do and go about their day. As long as nothing shuts down (most) everybody will feel fine about it or be largely unaware of what's going on. Or both. Will business users of the internet cause a different dynamic to blossom as time goes by? Are there implications for them as yet unforeseen?
Those of us in this comments area who are discussing this subject are likely by-and-large a sort of "mild activists" group in that we're aware and concerned and expressive about it, but what will we really do? Will any of us confront the makers of these laws? Will we boycott or sabotage or picket or organize or whatever?
Some of us might dig deeper to see just who is benefiting from this whole thing.
27 • Age Verification of Multiple users? (by AloofBrit on 2026-03-16 13:35:00 GMT from United States)
Something I haven't seen discussed is multiple users - presumably every time a new account is set up on a machine it would need to check age? What about shared accounts? Plus I believe macOS still has 'Guest' somewhere
And what about the meme'd 'any games on your phone?' scenario
28 • Fav Distro and age... (by Friar Tux on 2026-03-16 14:08:00 GMT from Canada)
Ade verification... Don't actually feel it's an issue. I've been telling folks my birthday and age since I started talking. The same with location. There really isn't anything that anyone knows about me that is detrimental in any way. IF some government wants to use anything against me, they will invent it anyway - true or not (in most cases - not). We've seen this happen many times in history. Mind you, I DO live a pretty "boring" life, by most standards, so there's that.
Favourite parent distro... I'm with the Debian bunch. I prefer a derivative of a derivative. Debian > Ubuntu > Linux Mint. I once read, somewhere, "Ubuntu took Debian and improved on it, and Mint took Ubuntu and improved on it". I can believe it. Ive said, many times before, ad nauseam, that Linux Mint was the ONLY distro that loaded on/installed, without the slightest issue, consistently, every time. ALL the others, without exception had issues, or would flatly refuse to install - even Debian and Ubuntu. (I still try out distros, now and then, but Mint is still Number One.)
29 • Age Verification (by dragonmouth on 2026-03-16 15:14:11 GMT from United States)
Today Age Verification is mandated by the government using "protecting the little ones" as an excuse. What other personal information will be mandated to be included in registering to use an O/S using the same excuse?
As Jesse says, this should have been nipped in the bud as soon data harvesting was started. We ARE already on the slippery slope and the snow ball is getting bigger and bigger.
People who don't mind Age Verification because, as they proclaim, "they have noting to hide" are just fooling themselves and making things harder on those who want privacy. If the government wants to get you on trumped up charges, they WILL get you. Was Field Marshall Rommel actually involved in the assassination plot on Hitler? Did the Canadian Government have the right to confiscate the truckers' bank accounts?
You have had to live under a regime that knew all about you to understand what an attack on privacy rights Age Verification truly is.
30 • Age Verification (by Jonathan on 2026-03-16 15:29:22 GMT from United States)
As a 17 year old, who just a few years back started using Linux MInt for fun, I don't see how beneficial implementing age verification to an OS is, or anywhere on the internet for that matter. I have in many accounts that I still use, which I just lied about my age. Whether is on steam, or some google accounts, none of this will benefit any minor whatsoever. Even id, or facial recognition can be easily bypassed by using their parents/family personal information or game assets or pictures to bypass these technologies. It just shows how these politicians are so out of touch with basic technologies and the people in general.
Back to implementing age verification to Linux distros, thankfully I am not on either one of these states, but just wait for a couple of months when this gets implemented in California and Colorado, and the rest will follow. If its an easy provide your age like in steam, then its very easily bypassed and anyone can just lie about it. But I still disagree to giving more of my information just to use a computer I had for years and been using. Its ridiculous.
I can just imagine if windows will implement this. Many under-aged users such as in schools have either windows, or chromebooks. If they implement any of these it will just be more inconvenient for students and will provide higher security risk. Now these companies have exact information such as their ages from MINORS to easily target them and advertirse to them. Or students asking their parents for their age to use it instead. I can already see Windows and Google going for this.
Honestly, more personal data and security risk making users more vulnerable, and more profit for large companies such as windows or google.
31 • Age Verification (by grindstone on 2026-03-16 15:34:25 GMT from United States)
Nice job, Jesse--thanks for taking the time.
32 • Age verification laws (by Jesse on 2026-03-16 15:35:17 GMT from Canada)
@28: "Ade verification... Don't actually feel it's an issue. I've been telling folks my birthday and age since I started talking. The same with location."
There is a difference between declaring your age and location, manually, to specific people you feel should have the information and having your computer share that information to everyone in the world on your behalf. Surely you can see the difference?
> "There really isn't anything that anyone knows about me that is detrimental in any way"
This shows a lack of imagination or a wilful ignorance. The people at your bank and your utilities know your banking and credit card information. Your neighbours know when you're home and when you're away, leaving your home undefended. If you have a smartphone the carrier knows your travel and shopping habits. All of those bits of information could easily be used against you. And that's without a crime in your area happening.
Are you still going to assume information can't be used against you if your phone reports you were in the same area as a kidnapping? Are you going to feel safe if the police look up your search history while investigating a hacking attempt and notice you are a software enthusiast? Anyone who doesn't think innocent-to-them information can be used against them has not been paying attention to how criminals or law enforcement behave.
Even if, for a second, you ignore all of that (and it's a lot to ignore) doesn't it give you a moment of pause that giant companies are spending millions of dollars lobbying for the right to track you? Even if you can't think of a reason you should hide this information, surely you should be a bit worried that companies are pushing so hard to try to get this information about you. They are not doing it for your benefit.
33 • Favorite partent distros (by kc1di on 2026-03-16 15:50:54 GMT from United States)
I use Debian most of the time so I suppose that would be my favorite parent distro as well,
But Slackware use to be my go to one. But have gotten lazy in my old age :)
More Distros over the years have been based on Debian than any other.
34 • Why "Convenience" is the Enemy of Ownership... (by Tech in San Diego on 2026-03-16 16:16:08 GMT from United States)
To those arguing that OS-level age verification is a harmless convenience or a safety necessity: we’ve seen this movie before, and it’s currently playing out in the automotive industry. We are witnessing the death of the "Tool" and the birth of the "Platform."
The new Age Verification Laws are the software equivalent of "features" being forced into modern cars. Consider these parallels:
1. AUTO STOP/START (The "Efficiency" Signal)
The Car: Forces the engine off; wears out starters; must be manually disabled every drive.
The OS: Mandatory age-signaling that you must find ways to spoof or disable to maintain privacy.
2. PASSIVE KILL SWITCHES (The "Safety" Gatekeeper)
The Car: Algorithms that monitor biometrics and can "lock you out" of your own vehicle.
The OS: An OS that refuses to run software or access sites unless you "verify" your identity with the state.
3. CAPACITIVE TOUCH & SCREENS (The "Modern" Interface)
The Car: Removes physical knobs for screens that track every tap and movement.
The OS: Moving local settings behind "Cloud Accounts" so your preferences are centrally tracked.
4. SUBSCRIPTION HARDWARE (The "Rental" Model)
The Car: You pay for heated seats, then pay a monthly "rent" to unlock the software to use them.
The OS: Buying a computer only to be "rented" the right to use the OS features you already paid for.
5. DRIVER MONITORING CAMERAS (The "Always-On" Nanny)
The Car: A "Big Brother" lens that beeps if you look away from the road for a split second.
The OS: "Always-on" telemetry and background processes that "phone home" with your activity and age bracket.
The "User" vs. The "Owner"
When you own a tool, it works for you. When you are a "user" of a platform, you are a data point. The argument that "this makes things easier" is the bait. The switch is that you are no longer the one in charge of the machine you bought.
If you bought a hammer, and the manufacturer required it to "verify your grip" before it allowed you to hit a nail—and then sent that data to a central database—you’d call it insanity. Why do we accept it from our operating systems?
The Illusion of Safety
These laws and features are always sold as "safety." But a teen who wants to bypass an age gate will simply use a VPN, just as a determined driver will bypass a software governor. Meanwhile, the law-abiding user is the only one left with a less secure, more tracked device.
The Metric that Matters
The question isn't "Will this feature actively hurt me right now?" The question is "Does this benefit me?"
Does my car stopping at every light benefit me? No.
Does my OS broadcasting my age to every random website benefit me? No.
When the benefit goes to the regulator or the advertiser, and the burden goes to the owner, it isn't a "feature"—it's a liability. We should expect our tools to work on our behalf, not as double agents for the state or a corporation. Once these "signals" become the standard, the "slippery slope" isn't a theory—it's the cliff we've already driven over
35 • Age verification (by Any on 2026-03-16 17:05:41 GMT from Spain)
"Don't be a zucker!"
RMS
36 • Age verification for websites (by Dan on 2026-03-16 18:35:45 GMT from United States)
"The new law is called California's Digital Age Assurance Act and, in brief, it requires that an operating system stores the age of each user and, upon request from an application (or website via a web browser), the operating system will report the user's age to the application or website."
I think that this interpretation of the bill is misleading regarding the "website" part of it. The text actually reads: "(c) “Application” means a software application that may be run or directed by a user on a computer, a mobile device, or any other general purpose computing device that can access a covered application store or download an application". Web applications and site scripts seem to be out of the intended meaning - that is, an app which can be downloaded from a covered app store.
For local applications it is enough to agree on the interpretation of the comment field in /etc/passwd to signify the age bracket, isn't it?
I agree with Jesse that such laws are unlikely to actually help people.
37 • Fave parent distro (by Jyrki on 2026-03-16 19:33:28 GMT from Czechia)
years ago (I mean before they dropped their init in favour of systemd), I would vote for Arch. Nowadays, it's Slackware.
38 • Age verification (by Vic on 2026-03-16 20:32:03 GMT from United States)
Thank you for very sane position on the topic! I am glad that many people hold same beliefs as I do.
I have already read about it about a week ago somewhere else and was stunned that such laws are starting to show up now and some find them reasonable...
39 • Favorite Distro Poll (by Bill Nace on 2026-03-16 20:45:24 GMT from United States)
PCLinuxOS hands-down. I've used it since 2006 and am a huge fan. The community support is second to none, and the philosophy behind it just makes sense.
40 • Age verification (by BlueCow on 2026-03-16 20:57:13 GMT from United States)
As usual, the government will not work for the people, they are against the people. Citizens have no chance nor power to change anything, so deal with it and if you don't like it, well, there's nothing you can do.
That's democracy (who said it was the best choice btw?).
41 • age verification nonsense (by Jobe314 on 2026-03-16 22:17:07 GMT from Australia)
An ammendment to the age verification bill in California is already in the works:
"Colorado and especially California have stipulated in recently enacted laws that "providers of operating systems" must in future offer an age verification mechanism. It will be activated as soon as someone creates an account on the respective computer. Because trust is good, but control is better, California additionally stipulates that the system must compare the entered data with public databases during registration"
Compare entered birth date to public database.
Someone was mentioning slippery slope, well here it is in all its glory.
You want to use a computer? Show me ze papers pleaze.
Once california get this ammendment added, every other legislation for OS age verification will do the same.
But i have nothing to hide, some cry. I don't mind giving my licence or passport to use a computer or phone/tablet or even my TV....yes your tv will require age verification to use too as it is running and OS.
It's one thing though that government pass stupid privacy invasive rules.
It's another thing when people obediently fall into line and take it up their cornholio so easily without even putting up any resistance. What is this phenomena where people are first in line to throw away their privacy, where devs are scheming up ways to be first to code up age verification systems before the ink has even dried on the "legislation"?
B00tlicking. That's what it is. Plain and simple.
"Many individuals engage in b00tlicking as a means to gain the favor of those in positions of power or authority. By ingratiating themselves with those in control, they hope to receive recognition, praise, and ultimately, a sense of validation.One of the primary psychological motives behind bootlicking is the innate human desire for approval and validation."
Of course you can argue the point, Canonical is a corp and in California so it must of course adhere to the rules. But, Canonical could just as easily packup and more their HQ to Texas. They could also do as MidnightBSD have done. They could just simply refuse also and challenge this madness in court. But money, poor Canonical is so poor they can't afford lawyers, ahhh, so sad. Oh well, I guess they better just roll over and accept the new laws and lockdown Ubuntu for the children.
Too many people, more than the majority in the population suffer from this mentality; this b00tlicking mentality. This psychological disposition, combined with a lack of intelligence is why we are now at this point; OS level age verification.
It's insane to be honest and yet the majority of people out there will accept it and take it, even beg for it and more invasive privacy destroying tech (think chip implants) in the future. These people are destroying freedom, they are destroying our way of life because they don't want to stand out and have zero backbone.
Everyone has the capacity of choice in their lives. To choose good or evil. Yet these people will choose the path of least resistance, they choose evil everytime.
People, we can see where this is going. There will be no opposition to it. Perhaps a few distros will resist, but the overwhelming trend will be that this will happen and will only get worse in the future.
My suggestion to everyone again; download rolling distros (because you only need to install once) now and scrutanize all updates.
Resist this invasion of our freedoms.
Also for internet, there is TOR and I2P as alernatives to clearnet internet. Perhaps Jesse could consider creating a clone of Distrowatch on either TOR or I2P.
If clearnet internet keeps getting more surveilled and locked down/gate keeped, i think TOR and I2P can be the solution.
42 • All about age verification laws and Linux (by James on 2026-03-17 07:58:12 GMT from New Zealand)
RE: "Since the software [os] just reports the age we give it without verifying, can't people just lie? Yes, people could lie or make up a random date to provide to the age tracking software. Which just goes to show how pointless the new age verification laws are. They only punish honest people while anyone who wants to work around them can do so trivially."
If a user lied about their age to the OS, then used a govt website that gets the users age from the OS, and the govt already new the actual age of the user, then the govt would also punish the user for lying about their age in the OS setting.
43 • Signed BPF in Linux Kernel 6.18. The notorius security module considerations. (by Kernel6.17 user, parentDeb-er on 2026-03-17 09:09:36 GMT from Latvia)
Linux 6.18 has signed Berkeley Packet Filtering (eBPF, libpcap).
I will use menuconfig to turn it off, YAGNI.
To Whom It May Concern: Pangu Lab said the NSA used ?classic?BPF as backdoor, Spectre can leverage it against you, code from CrowdStrike for both RHEL's and Windows' eBPF causes global problems in/on infrastructure/client sides.
44 • Government intrusion (by Tikoy on 2026-03-17 11:36:40 GMT from Singapore)
The angst is palpable in the geeky forums, but in the news-feeds and media aimed at the masses, aside from the occasional blurb, it's silence. Not approval or rejection, but indifference. And even most of the fear and loathing in techie world is aimed at the wrong culprits. There are two modes of online intrusion: transactional and coercive. I make frequent use of Google Maps for directions, and for that to be effective it needs my exact location. In exchange,it provides me a direct service I appreciate. I also wear a smartwatch. It knows where I am 24/7. It counts my every step, my every heartbeat and breath, tracks my oxygen and stress levels. It knows when I am sleeping. It knows when I'm awake. (Santa Clock?) All this is sent to a server in China where it's added to a database of all users, by gender, age, etc. In return, among other things, should heart arrhythmia strike at 3AM, it will wake me. At my advanced age, that's priceless. That is transactional, value for value.
Then there is government. Government is coercive by its nature. Do this or else! Governmental intrusions are not for your benefit as an individual. They are for the protection of "society", "the children", "the underprivileged", "the citizens", and on and on. It's not one side or the other, not Republican vs Democrat, Labour vs Conservative, left vs right. "Whatever is not expressly allowed is prohibited." "Whatever is not expressly prohibited is allowed." Those are not opposites. They both refer to maximum coercion and minimum choice. And worst is the combining of business and government. Aircraft companies trading freely produce airliners to facilitate transport. Combine them with government and they will produce bombers to rain death on others.
Then there's the ineffective balkanized opposition. I saw a form of it in Venezuela years ago. On this forum it's mostly about FOSS and Linux. Let Apple and Microsoft and their sheep sink for all we care, as long as our little FOSS dinghy remains afloat. But maybe we're not in our own dinghy. Maybe we are in a little cabin on the same boat. It's not just about California AB 1043 or all the others enacted and in process. It's yhe growing governmental intrusion, and not only in computers. Where I live, one can no longer connect a SIM card without providing ID, photos and proof of address. "Better Call Saul" would be out of business, and so would anyone wanting anonymity of calls and texts. Per the Halt Drunk Driving Act, the US NHTSA will require passive sensors in all new cars tracking behavior, head position, eye movement and other signs of impairment. This will be tied to an ignition interlock. Telematics are incorporated in some cars already, allowing remote disabling for non-payment or in cooperation with police. There's AI-enhanced CCTV which can detect "pre-incident" signatures. Shades of "Minority Report". The more intrusion methods available, the more they will be used. Count on it.
45 • Age (by Twostroke Applefarm on 2026-03-17 13:40:00 GMT from Denmark)
Top marks for this week's Q&A Jesse.
We'll find a way.
46 • Favorite Parent Distro (by Andra on 2026-03-17 14:40:17 GMT from Indonesia)
I prefer to use independent distros over those derived from other distros. They have their own uniqueness and character. For example, Arch is simple and very plain. Gentoo has fine-grained control. Fedora is innovative. Debian is super stable and conservative. Slackware has remained unchanged for several decades.
There are some interesting independent distros, but their sustainability needs to be tested. One of them that is promising are Aeryn OS and Chimera if they can survive.
It doesn't mean that I'm against derivative distros, as long as they make things easier and provide additional value beyond their parent distros. One of the strongest points of the derivative distro is the ease of adaptation in use for new users, so I recommend this derivative distro for friends who are migrating to Linux.
47 • @34: (by dragonmouth on 2026-03-17 14:44:20 GMT from United States)
Right on!
48 • Missing the point (by Deadwing on 2026-03-17 15:08:43 GMT from Canada)
While I'm not here to argue the merits or lack thereof of age verification, I wanted to point out that the intent is for parents to create their kid's accounts. Obviously a kid will lie, but how many 8 year olds are setting up their own profiles on a PC or phone? I have 2 grown kids, and they didn't set up anything. It was always Dad's job. If they don't have admin-level perms, they can't change it.
49 • age verification (by Richmond Mathewson on 2026-03-17 19:29:06 GMT from Bulgaria)
My aunt was always 35, right up until she died at 82.
Personally if asked for my age I'll always answer 100.
50 • Favorite Parent Distro - Poll (by Paul M on 2026-03-17 23:29:01 GMT from United States)
You should not have lumped Debian/Ubuntu together. Debian IS the parent distro, Ubuntu is a derivative based on Debian.
51 • @48 Missing the point, age verification (by Pyrrho of Elis on 2026-03-18 00:00:54 GMT from United States)
"that the intent is for parents to create their kid's accounts" No it isn't. If it were so, the requirement would be for only adults to create accounts, and restrict them if they are for kids. As it is, anyone under 13 may create an account as long as they state their age as such. What it is is official recognition and approval of parental abdication.
Should parents be the ones responsibly creating accounts for their children? Yes. Ought there be a law? Why is it necessary? And if there were such a law, should not the parents be the ones held responsible and penalized for failure? If your minor child takes your car for a joyride, is the carmaker responsible? If he/she shoots someone with your gun, is the gun maker responsible? If your child uses your smartphone to charge thousands of dollars worth of online merchandise, (It's happened.) are the phone maker and app provider responsible? Daily I see children, even toddlers, using smartphones as pacifiers/babysitters while the parents stare at their own rectangular pacifiers. Is that the responsibility of Google or Apple, or postmarketOS?
52 • AGE VERIFICATION (by DNS on 2026-03-18 20:10:16 GMT from United Kingdom)
My answer, NO.
Google wants me to prove my age, NO!
Roblox wants me to prove my age, NO!
Windows will want you to prove your age, NO!
Websites want me to prove my age, NO!
You want my i.d, you want me to prove who I am? NO!
I've been using the net for more than 30 years, I have no footprint, I have no online i.d. to track, the reason is because who I am is my business, not some spying government or corp.
53 • @51: (by dragonmouth on 2026-03-18 22:12:17 GMT from United States)
In a perfect world, you'd be right. However, we live in an insane world where people rarely accept the responsibility for their actions. "Let George do it!" "The govmnt should do something about it." etc etc etc
54 • Asahi & MAC (by MACX on 2026-03-18 22:19:24 GMT from United States)
"Asahi Linux is an open-source project that ports Fedora to Apple computers that use Apple's Silicon-powered (AArch64) processors."
Not much fanfare about this - but isn't Linux taking over another CPU architecture - and notoriously locked-in computers - another feather in Linux' cap? Especially when the MAC M series CPUs are said to have advanced performance?
Would appreciate a distrowatch review on Asahi running on a MAC M series to see how it performs.
55 • Locked-in comoputers (by James on 2026-03-19 17:33:31 GMT from Poland)
54 • Asahi & MAC (by MACX on 2026-03-18 22:19:24 GMT from United States)
Do you know any computer that's not locked-in?
56 • We Get What You Vote For (by MattE on 2026-03-19 22:32:01 GMT from United States)
NY, IL, CA and CO, seems to be a trend. Nonetheless, there is plenty of technology freedom ignorance in the legislature of all 50 states. What's next, social media restrictions, image monitoring, content monitoring, website restrictions? The day will come too soon.
57 • Not what we vote for... (by Huckleberry Hiroshima on 2026-03-20 13:40:46 GMT from United States)
...but what they do once they're in office, no matter what they said in campaigns for those offices. @56
We're seeing restrictions now that have crept up on us over time. There are no more unrestricted websites; there once was. Take a chance on seeing unrestricted creativity on "the dark web" and you'll end up on a PERMANENT list. Who knows what that will lead up to as we see various agents of the current American administration move about and wreak they're own unrestricted behaviors on American streets and in the homes and workplaces of working people there.
This age verification movement will seem like small potatoes over time as things move along in the ways control-based laws evolve.
58 • Locked-in computers (by Dan on 2026-03-20 19:25:16 GMT from Norway)
@55: It's all degrees and shades of gray, not a black and white picture. A modern x86-64 computer is still relatively unlocked, you can freely install a Linux or *BSD distro, and most hardware will even work! FSF-certified computers which Respect Your Freedom also exist.
@56, @57: So let's take any reasonable political action to resist that. Democracy and freedom should not be taken for granted; citizens must actively defend, maintain and exercise them so that the liberties do not deteriorate.
Number of Comments: 58
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| • Issue 1173 (2026-05-18): Sylve on FreeBSD, the benefit of BleachBit, Debian commits to reproducible builds, Debian publishes updated install media, Haiku introduces SMP support on ARM64 processors, Rocky Linux creates opt-in security repository, Fedora reconsiders AI tools, KDE receives generous donation |
| • Issue 1172 (2026-05-11): Fedora 44, dealing with extra fonts, Fedora plans to provide AI tools, problems with Ubuntu's new coreutils, TrueNAS extends its development cycle, postmarktetOS improves the boot splash screen, Redox ports tmux |
| • Issue 1171 (2026-05-04): Xubuntu 26.04, extending memory with VRAM, Ubuntu plans AI features, Devuan developer forks GTK2, Mint introduces hardware enablement builds, Linux running on a PlayStation 5, local kernel exploit found in Linux |
| • Issue 1170 (2026-04-27): ENux 5.2.1, picking a second distro, AlmaLinux expands CPU support, FreeBSD publishes Status Report, Ubuntu MATE skips 26.04 release |
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| • Issue 1167 (2026-04-06): Origami Linux 2026.03, answering questions for Linux newcomers, Ubuntu MATE seeking new contributors, Ubuntu software centre is expanding Deb support, FreeBSD fixes forum exploit, openSUSE 15 Leap nears its end of life |
| • Issue 1166 (2026-03-30): NetBSD jails, publishing software for Linux, Ubuntu joins Rust Foundation, Canonical plans to trim GRUB features, Peppermint works on new utilities, PINE64 shows off open hardware capabilities |
| • Issue 1165 (2026-03-23): Argent Linux 1.5.3, disk space required by Linux, Manjaro team goes on strike, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA driver support and builds RISC-V packages, systemd introduces age tracking |
| • Issue 1164 (2026-03-16): d77void, age verification laws and Linux, SUSE may be for sale, TrueNAS takes its build system private, Debian publishes updated Trixie media, MidnightBSD and System76 respond to age verification laws |
| • Issue 1163 (2026-03-09): KaOS 2026.02, TinyCore 17.0, NuTyX 26.02.2, Would one big collection of packages help?, Guix offers 64-bit Hurd options, Linux communities discuss age delcaration laws, Mint unveils new screensaver for Cinnamon, Redox ports new COSMIC features |
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| • Issue 1161 (2026-02-23): The Guix package manager, quick Q&As, Gentoo migrating its mirrors, Fedora considers more informative kernel panic screens, GhostBSD testing alternative X11 implementation, Asahi makes progress with Apple M3, NetBSD userland ported, FreeBSD improves web-based system management |
| • Issue 1160 (2026-02-16): Noid and AgarimOS, command line tips, KDE Linux introduces delta updates, Redox OS hits development milestone, Linux Mint develops a desktop-neutral account manager, sudo developer seeks sponsorship |
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| • Issue 1154 (2026-01-05): postmarketOS 25.06/25.12, switching to Linux and educational resources, FreeBSD improving laptop support, Unix v4 available for download, new X11 server in development, CachyOS team plans server edtion |
| • Issue 1153 (2025-12-22): Best projects of 2025, is software ever truly finished?, Firefox to adopt AI components, Asahi works on improving the install experience, Mageia presents plans for version 10 |
| • Issue 1152 (2025-12-15): OpenBSD 7.8, filtering websites, Jolla working on a Linux phone, Germany saves money with Linux, Ubuntu to package AMD tools, Fedora demonstrates AI troubleshooting, Haiku packages Go language |
| • Issue 1151 (2025-12-08): FreeBSD 15.0, fun command line tricks, Canonical presents plans for Ubutnu 26.04, SparkyLinux updates CDE packages, Redox OS gets modesetting driver |
| • Issue 1150 (2025-12-01): Gnoppix 25_10, exploring if distributions matter, openSUSE updates tumbleweed's boot loader, Fedora plans better handling of broken packages, Plasma to become Wayland-only, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1149 (2025-11-24): MX Linux 25, why are video drivers special, systemd experiments with musl, Debian Libre Live publishes new media, Xubuntu reviews website hack |
| • Issue 1148 (2025-11-17): Zorin OS 18, deleting a file with an unusual name, NetBSD experiments with sandboxing, postmarketOS unifies its documentation, OpenBSD refines upgrades, Canonical offers 15 years of support for Ubuntu |
| • Issue 1147 (2025-11-10): Fedora 43, the size and stability of the Linux kernel, Debian introducing Rust to APT, Redox ports web engine, Kubuntu website off-line, Mint creates new troubleshooting tools, FreeBSD improves reproducible builds, Flatpak development resumes |
| • Issue 1146 (2025-11-03): StartOS 0.4.0, testing piped commands, Ubuntu Unity seeks help, Canonical offers Ubuntu credentials, Red Hat partners with NVIDIA, SUSE to bundle AI agent with SLE 16 |
| • Issue 1145 (2025-10-27): Linux Mint 7 "LMDE", advice for new Linux users, AlmaLinux to offer Btrfs, KDE launches Plasma 6.5, Fedora accepts contributions written by AI, Ubuntu 25.10 fails to install automatic updates |
| • Issue 1144 (2025-10-20): Kubuntu 25.10, creating and restoring encrypted backups, Fedora team debates AI, FSF plans free software for phones, ReactOS addresses newer drivers, Xubuntu reacts to website attack |
| • Issue 1143 (2025-10-13): openSUSE 16.0 Leap, safest source for new applications, Redox introduces performance improvements, TrueNAS Connect available for testing, Flatpaks do not work on Ubuntu 25.10, Kamarada plans to switch its base, Solus enters new epoch, Frugalware discontinued |
| • Issue 1142 (2025-10-06): Linux Kamarada 15.6, managing ZIP files with SQLite, F-Droid warns of impact of Android lockdown, Alpine moves ahead with merged /usr, Cinnamon gets a redesigned application menu |
| • Issue 1141 (2025-09-29): KDE Linux and GNOME OS, finding mobile flavours of Linux, Murena to offer phones with kill switches, Redox OS running on a smartphone, Artix drops GNOME |
| • Issue 1140 (2025-09-22): NetBSD 10.1, avoiding AI services, AlmaLinux enables CRB repository, Haiku improves disk access performance, Mageia addresses service outage, GNOME 49 released, Linux introduces multikernel support |
| • Issue 1139 (2025-09-15): EasyOS 7.0, Linux and central authority, FreeBSD running Plasma 6 on Wayland, GNOME restores X11 support temporarily, openSUSE dropping BCacheFS in new kernels |
| • Issue 1138 (2025-09-08): Shebang 25.8, LibreELEC 12.2.0, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, the importance of software updates, AerynOS introduces package sets, postmarketOS encourages patching upstream, openSUSE extends Leap support, Debian refreshes Trixie media |
| • Issue 1137 (2025-09-01): Tribblix 0m37, malware scanners flagging Linux ISO files, KDE introduces first-run setup wizard, CalyxOS plans update prior to infrastructure overhaul, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1136 (2025-08-25): CalyxOS 6.8.20, distros for running containers, Arch Linux website under attack,illumos Cafe launched, CachyOS creates web dashboard for repositories |
| • Issue 1135 (2025-08-18): Debian 13, Proton, WINE, Wayland, and Wayback, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, KDE gets advanced Liquid Glass, Haiku improves authentication tools |
| • Issue 1134 (2025-08-11): Rhino Linux 2025.3, thoughts on malware in the AUR, Fedora brings hammered websites back on-line, NetBSD reveals features for version 11, Ubuntu swaps some command line tools for 25.10, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA support |
| • Issue 1133 (2025-08-04): Expirion Linux 6.0, running Plasma on Linux Mint, finding distros which support X11, Debian addresses 22 year old bug, FreeBSD discusses potential issues with pkgbase, CDE ported to OpenBSD, Btrfs corruption bug hitting Fedora users, more malware found in Arch User Repository |
| • Issue 1132 (2025-07-28): deepin 25, wars in the open source community, proposal to have Fedora enable Flathub repository, FreeBSD plans desktop install option, Wayback gets its first release |
| • Issue 1131 (2025-07-21): HeliumOS 10.0, settling on one distro, Mint plans new releases, Arch discovers malware in AUR, Plasma Bigscreen returns, Clear Linux discontinued |
| • Issue 1130 (2025-07-14): openSUSE MicroOS and RefreshOS, sharing aliases between computers, Bazzite makes Bazaar its default Flatpak store, Alpine plans Wayback release, Wayland and X11 benchmarked, Red Hat offers additional developer licenses, openSUSE seeks feedback from ARM users, Ubuntu 24.10 reaches the end of its life |
| • Issue 1129 (2025-07-07): GLF OS Omnislash, the worst Linux distro, Alpine introduces Wayback, Fedora drops plans to stop i686 support, AlmaLinux builds EPEL repository for older CPUs, Ubuntu dropping existing RISC-V device support, Rhino partners with UBports, PCLinuxOS recovering from website outage |
| • Issue 1128 (2025-06-30): AxOS 25.06, AlmaLinux OS 10.0, transferring Flaptak bundles to off-line computers, Ubuntu to boost Intel graphics performance, Fedora considers dropping i686 packages, SDesk switches from SELinux to AppArmor |
| • Issue 1127 (2025-06-23): LastOSLinux 2025-05-25, most unique Linux distro, Haiku stabilises, KDE publishes Plasma 6.4, Arch splits Plasma packages, Slackware infrastructure migrating |
| • Issue 1126 (2025-06-16): SDesk 2025.05.06, renewed interest in Ubuntu Touch, a BASIC device running NetBSD, Ubuntu dropping X11 GNOME session, GNOME increases dependency on systemd, Google holding back Pixel source code, Nitrux changing its desktop, EFF turns 35 |
| • Issue 1125 (2025-06-09): RHEL 10, distributions likely to survive a decade, Murena partners with more hardware makers, GNOME tests its own distro on real hardware, Redox ports GTK and X11, Mint provides fingerprint authentication |
| • Issue 1124 (2025-06-02): Picking up a Pico, tips for protecting privacy, Rhino tests Plasma desktop, Arch installer supports snapshots, new features from UBports, Ubuntu tests monthly snapshots |
| • Issue 1123 (2025-05-26): CRUX 3.8, preventing a laptop from sleeping, FreeBSD improves laptop support, Fedora confirms GNOME X11 session being dropped, HardenedBSD introduces Rust in userland build, KDE developing a virtual machine manager |
| • Issue 1122 (2025-05-19): GoboLinux 017.01, RHEL 10.0 and Debian 12 updates, openSUSE retires YaST, running X11 apps on Wayland |
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