On Mon, 26 May 2025 10:14:12 -0400
Dennis Clarke <dcla...@blastwave.org> wrote:
> On 5/26/25 09:14, Michael Gmelin wrote:
> >
> >
> > On Mon, 26 May 2025 08:25:50 -0400
> > Dennis Clarke <dcla...@blastwave.org> wrote:
> >
>
> >> I have no idea what "MFC" is supposed to mean.
> >> I guess it is a code change that happened somewhere.
> >>
> >
> > Merge From Current = Merging or back-porting a base commit from
> > CURRENT (main/base/HEAD) to another, usually lower, FreeBSD version
> > branch.
> >
> > https://wiki.freebsd.org/Glossary#MFC_--_Merge_From_Current
> >
> > -m
> >
>
Thank you for providing detailed feedback on your experience, it's
valuable (at least to me).
> So many places with special terms and stuff buried somewhere. In the
> last week or so I have discovered https://archive.freebsd.org/
To be fair, this is linked on FreeBSD.org within two clicks:
1. Big "Download FreeBSD" Button
2. Archives: "Get Past Releases" at the bottom of the page.
I found it by using a search engine though ("where to download old
freebsd releases").
> and now
> there is https://wiki.freebsd.org/
The Wiki is linked from the "Developers" menu on FreeBSD.org. This is
hardly needed by users, I simply linked to it out of convenience (as
this was what I found in a quick search when trying to help you).
The FreeBSD Handbook also contains a glossary (That's on FreeBSD.org:
Documentation -> Handbook -> Enter "glossary" at the search box):
https://docs.freebsd.org/en/books/handbook/glossary/#mfc-glossary
Alternatively, one can use a search engine "what does mfc mean in the
context of freebsd", in my case the first three hits were useful
(including the Wikipedia page on FreeBSD). I myself didn't know what MFC
really means for at least the first decade of using FreeBSD ^_^
> which I have not ever seen once in
> five or six years of trying to use FreeBSD. Maybe a link or something
> can be put on the "About" page? https://www.freebsd.org/about/
I agree, having one page where all these resources not just listed, but
also explained would be helpful. Like "How to Contribute" or "Important
Project Resources". All resources should link back to that page to ease
navigation.
>
> Even more crazy is the way in which FreeBSD is changed and/or fixed.
> There are bug reports of course but it seems everything really happens
> in a thing called a Phabricator.
Phabricator - or to be more precise, its Differential component - is
used for code review (it used to be a very famous tool and lives on as
Phorge.it). Often reviews are linked to bugs though.
>
> It really is a great UNIX implementation and runs like a charm as a
> server but the skills required are all over the place and no where and
> everywhere and yeah ... thanks to this mail list I can at least keep a
> few things running. To quote a really cool guy that is an expert at
> such things "If it breaks you can keep both pieces."
The mailing list is a great place for getting help, but it's also a good
idea to consult man pages, the FreeBSD handbook, and other publicly
available resources.
Cheers
Michael
--
Michael Gmelin
