Why Are You Using FreeBSD?

[Chris Rees]

On Jun 2, 2012 4:04 AM, "Erich Dollansky" <erich at alogreentechnologies.com>
wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> On 30 May 2012 PM 7:20:31 David Chisnall wrote:
> >
> > This is off-topic, so please feel free to disregard it, but I'm sending
it to this list in the hope that it will reach a largish number of users.
> >
> > I am currently looking at updating some of our advocacy material (which
advertises exciting new features like SMP support), and before I do I'd
like to get a better feel for why the rest of you are using FreeBSD.  If
you had to list the three things you most like about FreeBSD, which would
you pick?  Are they the same as when you first started using it?
> >
>
> I must say that it is a long time ago when I sat at the first BSD
machine. The most important feature is the configuration and the update
procedure. Things rarely change in a way that users have to relearn.
>
> It is also important that it is possible to use a machine and upgrade it
only every six or twelve months without facing fundamental problems. What
helps there that the user can define a branch (8.x or 9.x) and stick with
it as long it is supported. The users are not forced to move to the next
version which might introduces some changes the user is not used to it.
>
> This allows users to skip one main branch. While it is possible to stick
with 8 until 10 is released, it is also possible to move to 9 or even 10.
Sticking with 8 reduces the risk to get caught with some problems during
the upgrade by some 50%
>
> But I have to mention one disadvantage. The ports are in no way linked to
the releases. This leads to situations in which a small change in a basic
library will result in a complete update of the installed ports. I
expressed this already many time here. It would be of advantage if the
ports tree would also have tags like the base system itself.
>

Unfortunately this is a massive amount of extra work - we only just keep up
with updates as it is.

Chris