this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2026
183 points (95.5% liked)
Linux
62429 readers
861 users here now
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.
Rules
- Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
- No misinformation
- No NSFW content
- No hate speech, bigotry, etc
Related Communities
Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0
founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
I understand and respect your opinion. I have new hardware though, a Ryzen 7 9800X3D and 9070XT GPU. I bought them a couple of weeks after release and needed drivers for them to "get my money's worth" out of them. (CP2077 at 4k with 144hz was a must!) I needed the newer mesa drivers at the time, and this was pre-trixie, so I opted to use forky instead. I opted to not reinstall after trixie was released as I already had all of my stuff set up and configured. As far as security, package releases in deb go into sid for 10, 5, or 2 days for stability testing (depending on the urgency) before being pushed into forky, but the Debian security team does not work with either sid or forky. So, neither are really more or less secure than the other. Forky is just a teeny bit more "stable" than unstable.
I personally take a calculated risk, I understand the security implications and rely on other external network-based security measures, so probably feel a bit more confident than most users and am willing to take the risk more than others may. I also have submitted bugs and provide feedback to packages fairly often for both Debian and KDE while using both trixie and forky, which I feel is important for end-user usability. I've been using Debian for a long time and have tried to contribute back where I can.
I've been on Debian for over 20 years now, after a major issue with a LAMP server using Ubuntu Warthog and going to "the source" of Ubuntu to work out a few issues. I ended up converting all of my servers (Former SysAdmin) to Debian within a few weeks. After that, I moved from Slackware at home and Ubuntu at work to Debian everywhere and never looked back.
Fair enough, now i feel a bit ashamed since you are way way more knowledgeable than me. I have only been a Debian user for a year and half.
I made the reply because i remember that when i was looking to enter into Linux, Debian testing was recommended as a great compromise between stable and unstable.
My surprise when i went to the Debian wiki and said, pretty ambiguously at that, that i shouldn't use it! Reason being that it wasn't as updated in security patches as stable. No one told me that bit when i was asking. Since i didn't know the risks involved, i took the safe option and went with stable, in the end loved it.
I have to admit that for your case it makes sense to use it. You know the risks, know where to patch it up, and it helps to contribute to it by testing it and submitting bugs. Thank you!
I do still think that testing shouldn't be recommended, but i see and agree that it has it's niche where it works and can be great for some people.
Anyways, i hope i didn't came too hostile in my first reply! Cheers
Absolutely not, and please don't be ashamed. I didn't take anything you said as hostile at all. I always appreciate a great discussion. Asserting opinions combined with asking questions is a great way to learn. I'm glad to be able to help open your understanding about why some people use different releases and how they can be useful outside of just the current release. Thank you for being open for an exchange of ideas.
Glad to hear it! My pleasure, always happy to learn.