Linux

48395 readers

687 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 5 years ago

MODERATORS

AgreeableLandscape@lemmy.ml

nooter692@lemmy.ml

MarcellusDrum@lemmy.ml

cypherpunks@lemmy.ml

cyclohexane@lemmy.ml

d3Xt3r

262

What're some of the dumbest things you've done to yourself in Linux? (lemmy.ca)

submitted 7 months ago by danielquinn@lemmy.ca to c/linux@lemmy.ml

300 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I'm working on a some materials for a class wherein I'll be teaching some young, wide-eyed Windows nerds about Linux and we're including a section we're calling "foot guns". Basically it's ways you might shoot yourself in the foot while meddling with your newfound Linux powers.

I've got the usual forgetting the . in lines like this:

$ rm -rf ./bin

As well as a bunch of other fun stories like that one time I mounted my Linux home folder into my Windows machine, forgot I did that, then deleted a parent folder.

You know, the war stories.

Tell me yours. I wanna share your mistakes so that they can learn from them.

Fun (?) side note: somehow, my entire ${HOME}/projects folder has been deleted like... just now, and I have no idea how it happened. I may have a terrible new story to add if I figure it out.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 9 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (4 children)

Not me but a colleague of mine wrote a bash script that had something like this and ran it on a server:

FOO="/home/bar"

... Many lines later ...

rm -rf $FOOT/*

Reminder that bash will resolve uninitiated variables to the empty string.

Luckily he halted the process after it had only nuked /boot and /bin. If it had gotten to /var and the mounted data storage within, we would have been in trouble

[–] Navigate@lemmings.world 5 points 7 months ago

Do you work at Valve?

load more comments (3 replies)