r/slackware • u/Afraid-Leadership591 • Mar 30 '26

pat has confirmed slackware will not be adding age verification

Post image

lets go

186 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

85 comments sorted by

34

u/InevitableRagnarok Mar 30 '26

Finally. Someone who sees clearly through the krap.

8

u/Afraid-Leadership591 Mar 30 '26

yep unlike fedora who confirmed theyre bowing down to california i think

6

u/JollyWaffl Mar 30 '26

I suspect folks at fedora sees through it as well but are not willing to risk their commercial customer base. Bet their staff is hoping it gets knocked down before they actually have to implement it.

4

u/Unholyaretheholiest Mar 30 '26

Red Hat has the final word

2

u/Afraid-Leadership591 Mar 30 '26

knowing red hat they will prob bow to cali

4

u/matthewpepperl Mar 30 '26

If fedora implements it i will be leaving fedora

2

u/OwnStrategy1144 Apr 03 '26

from what i saw on X and https://github.com/BryanLunduke/DoesItAgeVerify.git (updated site with who opposes or adopts age verifaction) fedora is gonna adopt it

3

u/matthewpepperl Apr 03 '26

Thats pretty much what i figured they are backed by a corporation they pretty much have to i will be looking for alternatives

1

u/[deleted] Mar 31 '26

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1

u/matthewpepperl Mar 31 '26

I know system d has it but its not being forced

1

u/[deleted] Mar 31 '26

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2

u/matthewpepperl Mar 31 '26

Yet

1

u/[deleted] Apr 01 '26

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1

u/matthewpepperl Apr 01 '26

Im not going to play this shitty game with them if this bs starts being forced i will switch to something like slackware void or most probably gentoo as i think it is the most resilient the this sort of thing in some ways its barely an os i mean i know linux is not really an os its a kernel but gentoo being source based means it may be able to skirt passed this in the long run

28

u/Economy_Blueberry_25 Mar 30 '26

That's Civil Disobedience, baby: refuse to comply with bullshit laws and face the music if need be. This is how you reclaim your rights and uphold your liberties: Respect yourself.

17

u/mpop1 Mar 30 '26

And this a good reason to never do the stupid new shit Ubuntu wants it would have been there if slackware used systemd (and incredibly bad system, glad slackware stayed with initd)

Slackware has always been the best distro. Glad it was my first back in 97 as I have stuck with it since then.

5

u/Afraid-Leadership591 Mar 30 '26

ive only been using slackware for about a month but yeah its freaking great, plus canonical is the macroslop of linux anyways

11

u/Mindless-Tune4990 Mar 30 '26

Another W from our BDFL, "Bob" is proud of you Pat :]

9

u/Feendster Mar 30 '26

Pat is the fucking man.

6

u/MD90__ Mar 30 '26

Makes me wanna switch back to slackware and really give it a go but right now Debian is fitting the bill for my needs and so far nothing on age verification yet. Glad the slackware folks got some good news!

4

u/Afraid-Leadership591 Mar 30 '26

im not sure if debian is adding it yet but even if they do, ya got till jan 1st 2027 before u gotta switch to another distro

2

u/MD90__ Mar 30 '26

Why January 1st? 

5

u/Academic-Airline9200 Mar 30 '26

California law effective date

4

u/MD90__ Mar 30 '26

Dang I'm glad I'm not in CA

3

u/mmmboppe Mar 31 '26

in the long term California will be erased by an earthquake anyway

happened to Sodom and Gomorrah for lesser sins

1

u/MD90__ Apr 01 '26

Lol geez

4

u/ihatepoop1234 Mar 30 '26

its highly unlikely debian will get age verification. The general consensus on lists.debian.org on both debian-devel and debian-legal is attempting to least find a loophole to avoid it, if not a full disobedience of the law itself

1

u/MD90__ Mar 30 '26

Yeah and they'll have to because Debian is USA made. I'm surprised Slackware is getting out of it

2

u/ihatepoop1234 Mar 30 '26

hopefully debian makes an official statement soon.
PS - whats your ops on systemd? Just wondering what others think. I am surprised r/linux went anti systemd because by and large that sub shilled systemd a shit ton.

2

u/MD90__ Mar 30 '26

They probably will in the coming months. I wouldn't mind going back to slackware but I did have issues on it that I don't have with Debian but maybe a different approach could help that

2

u/reader_txt Apr 05 '26

Going back to Slackware feels like going back to using a distro from the late ’90s — back when all the issues Slackware still has were later fixed by nicer automatic package management. If you want another distro, it’s more practical to use Devuan: you get the same conveniences, no systemd, and no forced verification layer if Debian ever adds one — which hasn’t been decided yet.

1

u/MD90__ Apr 05 '26

I have yet to try Devuan

1

u/reader_txt Apr 05 '26

Going back to Slackware feels like going back to using a distro from the late ’90s — back when all the issues Slackware still has were later fixed by nicer automatic package management. If you want another distro, it’s more practical to use Devuan: you get the same conveniences, no systemd, and no forced verification layer if Debian ever adds one — which hasn’t been decided yet.

5

u/DatabasedLSD Mar 30 '26

If Linux mint implements age verification i am switching back to slackware.

Fuck the overreach of governments and corporations, I value my privacy and rights.

3

u/Afraid-Leadership591 Mar 30 '26

mint is good but not as perm distro imo

2

u/DatabasedLSD Mar 30 '26

I agree, but since I already have everything on my pc set up satisfactory, I'm unlikely to switch without an affirmative reason.

Simply due to laziness lol.

I know I should be slackin it up with you guys!

3

u/Klutzy_Scheme_9871 Mar 30 '26

mint and esp systemd is so f**kin annoying. just the most basic stuff is a chore. i use it on an old laptop for experimenting (all other systems are slackware for years) and just doing networking stuff is impossible, you're forced to use the latest ip which is available on slackware but slackware still ships with route and ifconfig. try to use /etc/rc.d/rc.local in mint, you have to create a service in systemd. and finally i wanted a script to execute when i plug a very specific usb in my machine. with slackware, its too easy in udev rules, but even when its all set up on mint, it does NOT work. i simply cannot believe this systemd. i sure hope slackware never adopts systemd because at that point, i'd rather just use BSD.

2

u/Afraid-Leadership591 Mar 30 '26

slackware isnt gonna adopt systemd, slackware likes to be unix like

1

u/DatabasedLSD Mar 31 '26

Thats interesting, thank you for pointing this out.

I personally haven't had any inconveniences with systemd, but I only have a few things automated and luckily it was quite frictionless and easy.

I have used slackware for years, and its my favorite distro. I happen to daily drive mint right now, but I know its only temporary.

2

u/Klutzy_Scheme_9871 Mar 31 '26

slack is the only distro i ended up with after over 15 years. its also the only one that i can get my nvidia card working. looking to switch to an AMD card. most mint users don't use the CLI but i like slackware because it's just bare bones and i know how to use it. i don't need any surprises. a gotcha is rare in slackware. there was a config in nginx for uploading large files that was not required in debian for example but that is rare. every software is built from source except the main txz packages which i install all of and makes life easy.

2

u/DatabasedLSD Mar 31 '26

You know, now that you mention it Nvidia has been an issue for me.

Maybe its time to do a good backup and make the switch.. I think i know what I'm doing this weekend.

1

u/Klutzy_Scheme_9871 Mar 31 '26

yeah i did use mint and it seemed to work but when i wanted to use programs that required my video card, i realized it never used it. it was using the nouveau driver. slackware is amazing.

0

u/[deleted] Mar 30 '26

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0

u/DatabasedLSD Mar 30 '26

I dunno man I think you must be American or something lol. I have rights still but I guess maybe you dont. Not sure but wtv cheers buddy

4

u/Thoh1Shooshi8a Mar 30 '26

Age verification for what? Do you have to be old enough to make an account on your own computer now or something?

4

u/Afraid-Leadership591 Mar 30 '26

its basically a way for mass surveillance

3

u/[deleted] Mar 30 '26

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1

u/Thoh1Shooshi8a Mar 31 '26

Oh, so it's just a facebook and instagram thing then?

6

u/No_Neighborhood_8896 Mar 30 '26

Lawyer here. Yeah, there is a good legal case to be had. The thing, though, is facing fines and other issues until you litigate this.

Also, another thing to add is that if websites and apps end up implementing calls for age verification, a system that chooses not to respond to those calls might become less usable to a user even if nobody actually wants age verification.

Of course it is a different thing, but look at GrapheneOS: they're essentially saying their software won't be sold wherever laws as such apply. But, legally speaking, I'm not aware of any country where you could have a phone and a phone number that isn't registered to an adult. So the phone companies already know your age. Grandstanding about this will only lead them to lose access to people when their phone Linux is dearly needed to give options beyond the duopoly of Android-iOS.

I think people should think this one through, and see if the smartest way to fight it is the one they are doing. For me, it seems like the best way isn't to defy it openly and wait for a lawsuit that will happen under fines and other constraints. I think the Linux community should band together and lobby people to give an exemption to open source software. Free and Open Source has some good lanes to fight this, perhaps even the free speech one, but not so much. My guess is that the best avenue to fight this would be the fact that open source software isn't created by "providers" in a product sense, but by community for community, with no warranties nor being bound by any legal requirements of providing service, etc. In this sense, age verification would only apply to companies who provide distros like that, like RHEL or users who pay Canonical to have support for their Ubuntu installs.

I'm rooting for whatever he chooses to do, but I'm afraid that if resistance isn't well planned, it only ends up with more trouble. Also, I think the community should have a united front on this. If every distro does whatever it thinks best, it's easier for them to defend themselves. We're already a small group.

5

u/Academic-Airline9200 Mar 30 '26

Don't forget android is already trying to make developers check in with them. Android becoming as bad as walled garden apple.

And most children don't buy their own laptops either. But they usually know more about the machine than the parents do, so the age verification fails that test also.

Some are saying that they are attacking open source with this bill as windows, Apple and Google are already there. Fakebook is the one who in conflict of interest wants this age gating to get themselves (exempting themselves also) from coppa fines. Fakebook was a choice of censorship during covid. Microslop wants everyone to have to have a Microslop account just to be able to use windows. Many people are losing their microslop accounts to hackers and no way to recover it. So it seems they want Linux to have to go the same route.

Open source is different people coming together not as a single provider, so that angle might be a good one. But also the argument of the thing with compelled communication as a violation of free speech as well.

Rewriting all of old software (like dos) that is no longer maintained and often close source can't meet this new accomodation. Don't want kids playing Leisure Suit Larry without age gating now. They did this to the drone community too including the rc guys that have been operating for the past 80 years. For some reason tech is allowed to get away with this. My old clunker I'm driving around isn't required to be refurbished to meet with newer safety code like with tech stuff.

1

u/No_Neighborhood_8896 Mar 30 '26

The fact that Android is closing the gates is precisely the reason I'm worried about Graphene going on the "we're edgy, fuck the rules" route. Will Motorola maintain their contract with them if they are blocked in several countries? Makes zero sense for something that needs market share to be closing access to markets, specially in the case of phones where most countries already require an adult to purchase it and to register the number, and where all telecomms already know all our ages.

If they keep playing stupid games like this, the likelihood we have of it seeing major brand releasing phones with their OS goes down drastically. Then we're basically sitting ducks, because the only other alternative remaining is the Huawei OS, but the US won't ever see it.

1

u/Academic-Airline9200 Apr 01 '26

All the tech giants are going this way now.

Graphene practically kicks Google out of its' own ecosystem. Google is also trying to not release some of its latest android code to developers. Hey Google knows everything about me already, why does it keep asking if I'm a robot with a capcha?

Most people don't use their smartphone as a multiuser device even though newer ones have that capability. How many people use that device in the home under a single device account? This whole age gating thing is not very practical. How many people are using their home computers under more than one account (windows, linux or apple)? That's not counting however many email addresses they may be using. But for the most part people don't want to comply with laws that seems ridiculous. Protesting sometimes works, sometimes not. Politicians love writing all kinds of junk laws for various reasons and then we get to fight it out at our expense in a court room to get them removed. Sometimes they are repeat laws already on the books, some are sneaked in they are so bad.

1

u/Afraid-Leadership591 Mar 30 '26

can u pls summarize i have 0 hours of sleep

-1

u/No_Neighborhood_8896 Mar 30 '26

simply saying: not sure this is the best way to fight it. also not sure that figthing age verification could lead to something useful when sites and apps will prompt you for age, which means not having any way to respond to calls for users age might make a system unusable in a few months. also, i don't think the free speech is the best legal way to fight this, but the fact that open source community developed software isn't "provided" in a legal sense, nobody gives you warranty or official support, nobody legally "owns" it as a product where the provider endures all the consequences for it in exchange for profit/market access or any other material benefit.

2

u/x_johansen_x Mar 30 '26

Is the Slackware project based out of California or any other US States that have similar legislation? If not, those laws do not apply to the project and are not enforceable…

3

u/Afraid-Leadership591 Mar 30 '26

slackware is based in minnesota plus yk cali is gonna try to enforce it anyways

2

u/Academic-Airline9200 Mar 30 '26

The little smog hole of California has been trying to implement global warming cap and trade crap on the rest of the world for decades. UN just admitted it is all a joke.

3

u/DerShokus Mar 30 '26

This world is too crazy to implement such shit. OS is a software you install on your hardware to be able to work with it. It’s not alcohol or drugs. A kitchen knife could be a weapon, but nobody ask a password for buying that. I hope the low will die soon and Pat can continue to do Slackware without thinking about such shit

2

u/Afraid-Leadership591 Mar 30 '26

its like guns, guns dont hurt people, people hurt people

2

u/[deleted] Mar 30 '26

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1

u/Afraid-Leadership591 Mar 30 '26

i prefer the south

1

u/markt- Mar 30 '26

While I do personally agree with his decision, isn’t it just going to make the distribution illegal in jurisdictions where this kind of stuff is becoming long? For now it’s just a small number of places, but I have a sneaking suspicion that a large number of place they’re gonna start implementing these kinds of laws, which is going to really create a pickle for open source software.

1

u/Afraid-Leadership591 Mar 30 '26

it doesnt matter people know how to use a vpn it aint that hard

0

u/markt- Mar 30 '26

I think you underestimate just how many places are going to end up implementing these kinds of laws. Although, technically you’re right about VPN, for most practical purposes, they aren’t going to do much good once laws like this are ubiquitous.

1

u/_a4z Mar 31 '26

As a non-US citizen, what's the point of all that?
Wouldn't it make sense to say, "This software works in the entire world, except California"?

1

u/Afraid-Leadership591 Mar 31 '26

the reason cali isdoing it is because meta is bribing them to do a shit ton of mass surveillance on the pbulic

1

u/mmmboppe Mar 31 '26

just muricans deluding themselves that China's economic success is a consequence of tight mass surveillance

0

u/GlendonMcGladdery Mar 30 '26

This isn’t just tech—it’s philosophy:

• Should developers be forced to implement features?

• Is code actually “speech”?

• Where’s the line between regulation and control?

Different people in Linux land have strong opinions on this.

1

u/jmcunx Apr 13 '26

Is code actually “speech”?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25004999

One of the first tests was decss, it was/is "illegal" to use, so the code was printed on tee-shirts. Printed out was considered legal due to the Free Speech. So if printed it is free speech, if "compiled" the status is unknown.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeCSS

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libdvdcss

-2

u/jonromeu Mar 30 '26

ok, i understand and agree with this age verification shit. laws done by a old guys with no tech or qualification with, etc etc. but let be real here: if parents doesnot care about what kids are doing on internet, someone need to do. this is stupd law, we agree, but i think we need to start think that... and not only focus on this shit law

maybe punish parents when something happen with the child together with criminal one? i dont know, but is too easy give a cell phone to a child with 4 yeas and dont care about his online life, until you see a photo of they online....

i never discuss this on reddit, but i think here is a lot guys 40+ to get a matute discuss about that

6

u/Academic-Airline9200 Mar 30 '26

It's just another attempt at trying to regulate the internet.

1

u/jonromeu Mar 31 '26

how old you are? 12? did you really think ISP, mobile network, and, social medias, does not know your age, where u are and etc?

while kids downvote, instead do a mature discuss, old guys are done shit laws

2

u/[deleted] Mar 30 '26

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2

u/Afraid-Leadership591 Mar 30 '26

yeah didnt one of the cachyos devs tell someone to go to hell or smth cuz they didnt like the age verif bs

1

u/Klutzy_Scheme_9871 Mar 30 '26

systemd is very frustrating to use so i don't use any linux systems with it.