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<p>You should try it too.”</p>
<p class="mt4">
+<a title="Matthew Graybosch 02 October 2019" href="/people/matthewgraybosch.html"><img src="/people/matthewgraybosch.jpeg" class="w3"></a>
<a title="Adli Wahid 6 July 2019" href="/people/adli.html"><img src="/people/adli.jpeg" class="w3"></a>
<a title="Marcelo Barboza 16 May 2019" href="/people/marcelo.html"><img src="/people/marcelo.jpeg" class="w3"></a>
<a title="Yuki 29 Apr 2019" href="/people/yuki.html"><img alt="Yuki" src="/people/yuki.jpeg" class="w3"></a>
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<h1>Stories</h1>
+<a title="Matthew Graybosch 02 October 2019" href="/people/matthewgraybosch.html"><img src="/people/matthewgraybosch.jpeg" class="w3"></a>
<a title="Ben Morrison 26 Aug 2019" href="/people/benmorrison.html"><img src="/people/benmorrison.jpeg" class="w3"></a>
<a title="egypcio 22 Aug 2019" href="/people/egypcio.html"><img src="/people/egypcio.jpeg" class="w3"></a>
<a title="Adli Wahid 6 Jul 2019" href="/people/adli.html"><img src="/people/adli.jpeg" class="w3"></a>
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+<p><a href="/" alt="avatar" title="home page"><img src="matthewgraybosch.jpeg" class="w3"></a></p>
+
+# Matthew Graybosch Runs BSD
+
+I'm a novelist you probably haven't read, I code for a living (using
+mainly Microsoft tech, [for my
+sins](https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/for-my-sins)),
+and I've been running [OpenBSD](https://openbsd.org) on my personal
+computers since 2017. If you're familiar with the various [BSD
+operating systems](https://runbsd.info) you might raise an eyebrow
+at my choice, since OpenBSD is the preferred OS of security-conscious
+system administrators.
+
+One would think that it isn't an OS for long-haired metalheads who
+write crappy sf on their lunch breaks. Nevertheless, it's the OS
+with which I'm most comfortable. Nor is it my first Unix. My first
+Unix, if you're willing to count experience gained in a college
+computer lab, was SunOS 3.x on a SPARCstation.
+
+Exposure to Unix while learning C was a revelation, and while I
+never became a systems programmer, I got familiar enough with Unix
+that I soon chafed against the limitations of the PC DOS that came
+with my first PC (a secondhand IBM PS Value/Point) and the various
+incarnations of Windows with which I had to cope at school and later
+at work.
+
+Once I left school and got a job as a developer, I built a new
+computer and ran a variety of Unix systems at home. Before I finally
+got around to trying OpenBSD on a secondhand Lenovo Thinkpad, I ran
+FreeBSD for a while, used Intel Macbooks, and did entirely too much
+distro-hopping.
+
+If I learned anything, it was the following:
+
+- GNU/Linux is for people who loathe Microsoft
+- OSX is for people who dislike Windows and are OK with throwing money at problems
+- The BSDs are for people who actually *like* Unix
+
+For a while I thought I was just somebody who loathed Microsoft.
+For a while, I was somebody who loathed Windows and preferred to
+throw money at problems to avoid spending time. It was only recently
+that I remembered how much I had actually *enjoyed* having access
+to an Unix system in college, and that memory came to me the first
+time I installed OpenBSD.
+
+I was lucky; I had picked a laptop that had good hardware compatibility
+for little other reason than that I liked typing on it and that I
+could get a refurbished model for less than $300. Thus it was easy
+to just plug in a network cable so my Thinkpad could pull packages
+from the network and just follow the instructions on every step of
+the boot screen. The only point I lingered over was partitioning,
+since I wanted to use all of my drive's space instead of settling
+for the defaults and growing disklabel partitions later.
+
+I had "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits on the stereo while the
+installer carried out my instructions, and found myself singing
+along in anticipation...
+
+> I want my...<br>
+> I want my BSD...
+
+Once it was done I logged in as root, read the
+[`afterboot(8)`](https://man.openbsd.org/afterboot) man page, set
+up [`doas.conf(5)`](https://man.openbsd.org/doas.conf) so I could
+do admin stuff without logging in as root, and started breaking in
+my new system. The first thing that struck me was the breadth of
+documentation provided by [OpenBSD man pages](https://man.openbsd.org/).
+The dev team does *not* do a half-assed job of documenting the
+system. If it's in base, it's got a man page, and that man page is
+*comprehensive*. Even config files have man pages (in section 5).
+I've never seen a GNU/Linux distribution as thoroughly documented
+as OpenBSD.
+
+The next big surprise was the sheer generosity of the software
+included with the base system when you install every set. Need a
+text editor? Take your pick from `vi(1)`, `mg(1)` (an Emacs clone),
+or the venerable standard Unix editor `ed(1)`. Need simple version
+control for personal projects? Why not `rcs(1)`? Want a graphical
+session? Just enable `xenodm(1)` in `rc.conf.local(5)`; Xenocara
+(OpenBSD's custom X.org build) even comes with three window managers:
+`twm(1)`, `fvwm(1)`, and `cwm(1)`. Want to run simple websites or
+send email? `httpd(8)` and `smtpd(5)` are there. Need a software
+firewall? `pf(4)` is there and running by default. Hell, if you're
+old-school enough to still prefer music on CDs and have your computer
+hooked up to a good pair of speakers, try `cdio(1)`.
+
+Naturally, OpenBSD comes with the classic BSD games collection,
+with [all your old favorites](https://man.openbsd.org/intro.6).
+Like text adventures? Try `adventure(6)`. Fancy a dungeon crawl?
+`hack(6)` away. Enjoy simulations? Try `atc(6)` for a taste of an
+air traffic controller's duties (union-busting not necessarily
+included). We've even got `tetris(6)`.
+
+There's *plenty* you can do with the base system and its included
+tools and utilities. If the included public-domain Korn shell
+(`ksh(1)`) isn't your cup of tea, you can always install `bash`,
+`zsh`, or `fish` using the [package
+manager](https://man.openbsd.org/?query=pkg&apropos=1&sec=1&arch=default&manpath=OpenBSD-current).
+Need a web browser? Pick a package. Need to do graphics editing?
+There's a package for that. Musician or moviemaker? We've got
+packages for you. Setting up a industrial-strength home office PC?
+We've got LibreOffice, graphical email clients, and everything else
+you need. Want to typeset your own documents? TeX Live is in the
+packages collection, and so are GNU Emacs, vim, and neovim if the
+editors in base aren't fancy enough for you. If you're a developer
+working with languages not supported by the dev tools provided in
+base, or you're using a more recent SCM than `cvs(1)`, then the
+package manager is your friend.
+
+If you want something that isn't provided by the OpenBSD base system,
+chances are there's a package or a port available. If you want to
+build another machine and install the same packages that you have
+on the first, you can dump a list of installed packages to a file.
+If you want to remove all of your installed packages and start over
+with a clean base system, you can do that without reinstalling the
+entire OS.
+
+However, it's not the documentation, the robust and capable base
+system, or the package management that sold me on OpenBSD. It's the
+fact that OpenBSD wasn't made for me. The developers made it for
+themselves, and it just happens to be available if I want it and
+am willing to put in the time and effort to make it work for me.
+This isn't to say that the community surrounding OpenBSD is rude
+or standoffish. I've found other BSD fans on social media friendly
+and patient -- as long as you treat them like adults and act like
+an adult yourself. They'll even help if you make it clear that
+you've tried to solve your problems on your own.
+
+However, I don't think you'll see the core development team worrying
+about how make OpenBSD more appealing to the general public. It
+suits me because the system doesn't cater to my ignorance or try
+to anticipate my requirements. It's a rock-solid general-purpose
+toolkit, and what I do with it is entirely up to me.
+
+Admittedly, my life as a writer would probably be easier if I were
+content to run Windows or use a Mac like the vast majority of
+authors, but I can't help it. I want my BSD! It's not like Unix
+hasn't leaked into my writing. For example, in *Silent Clarion* the
+computer controlling an orbital weapons platform codenamed GUNGNIR
+is powered by OpenBSD, and its protagonist runs into a bit of trouble
+because she's familiar with POSIX shells, but not Multics.
+
+Rather than take the easy way out, I run OpenBSD on a Thinkpad
+T430s, a Thinkcentre M92P, and an Apple iMac G4 *because I can*. I
+do it because Unix is fun to run on secondhand hardware, and because
+I don't think it's a coincidence that both Unix and heavy metal
+date back to 1969.
+
+You can find me [on Mastodon](https://mastodon.sdf.org/@starbreaker)
+and [on the open Web](https://www.matthewgraybosch.com).
+
+_[2 Oct 2019](/raw/people/matthewgraybosch.md)_
