Mysql...

Why Geordi?
He wasn’t a communist.

And MySQL became bad thx to Oracle....

@IntrusionCM
The non-Oracle fork of MySQL is MariaDB and it is still a fast and good RDBMS.

@Oktokolo partial true.

MariaDB isn't a "true" fork per se.

They've diverted far in some aspects from MySQL, added new features, have a different configuration, different defaults.

They evaluate new MySQL features and adapt them to their needs.

I don't dislike MariaDB, but I wish they would evolve and separate themselves from MySQL _definitely_.

They've become quite distant to MySQL and in 10.5 finally started to utilize the MariaDB naming scheme instead of MySQL...

I'm watching upstream closely - I like the direction they are going, but some of the hiccups in the 10.5 GA release make me worry they're (like Oracle) missing manpower for QA.

@IntrusionCM
Well, that really sounds like a true fork to me.

@Oktokolo as long as they import source code from MySQL, no.

For me a true fork would mean that the upstream is separate and has no ties to the forked upstream.

@IntrusionCM
Well, different forks sharing patches isn't that uncommon for concurrent forks, where both are still well and alive.

Normally all but one of the forks die because of starvation.
But that didn't happen here, because MySQL is fed by Oracle which has a lot of money to burn, while MariaDB is fed by its original authors and the open source community - which both have pretty good reasons to not let it die.

All in all, forking isn't necessarily equivalent to declaring a vendetta and all the other fork's code as fruit of the forbidden tree.
If licenses allow, you better not invent the stuff anew you could also just copy for free...

@Oktokolo And My vs Maria is a better comparison than My vs Our.

It wasn't MySQL as in My Documents — the creator has three kids, My, Max & Maria, so he created MySQL, MaxDB & MariaDB.

@Root Everyone in Star Trek is kind of communist though.

Well... Meritocratic Socialist I guess?

Love all the series, but it always irked me a bit that somehow everyone found their purpose, and all of Earth was a happy community without crime or poverty — I mean I find it difficult to believe that technology would fix it all, that humans wouldn't bash each other's skulls in at all, over scarcities like plots of land or holodeck energy consumption.

@bittersweet Absolutely agreed. That always bothered me too.

Though with unlimited clean energy and replicators, there really wouldn’t be much scarcity. Then again people only rarely fight over resources; most of everything else is ideological or just “rah you pissed me off!”

@Root @Bittersweet It's what I loved about Star Trek DS9. The whole bayor situation and Nana Visitor...

Trade and commerce still exist, though.

And it isn't an utopia at all. Most of Star Trek always has some deep moral questions lurking around, sometimes in plain sight, sometimes hidden deep.

@Root They pretend that everyone would strive to become pilots, sculptors, poets, etc -- but lets be real, even with (or especially with) unlimited resources most people would just spend all their time locked up in a holodeck gorging on piles of food, fucking their brains out, and watching holo-recordings of cats doing stupid things.

If someone would say "but we're running out of dilithium to power all this stuff" they'd enslave & extort some dumber species to mine more for them.

Maybe I'm a pessimist, but I kind of doubt that humans will ever truly reach a "unified planet earth" in a way that's not utterly dystopian.

@bittersweet Yeah.
That’s exactly what I predict will happen once we achieve efficient, automated production of everything.

As someone who's not got a lot of time and has never seen star trek but wants to get into it maybe.... how? any advice?

@junon This is going to earn me some serious nerd cred, and be pretty embarrassing in the process. Whatever.

TNG is quite good, and easily the best series. Superb acting, good writing (mostly), superb character growth (especially Worf). The beginning episodes (8-15?) are pretty painful, though it provides a lot of setup and backstory, so. Favorite chars: Captain Picard, Q, Worf, Geordi, Guinan. Worst: Riker. Also: the tech speak is mostly realistic so it doesn’t hurt to hear.

Voyager is enjoyable, but honestly kinda meh at the same time. I like Captain Janeway; she reminds me a lot of my mother, if my mother wasn’t a toxic, manipulating bitch, so mixed feelings there. Great effects and acting, decent writing.

Enterprise is actually quite good, but the captain is probably the weakest char in the show. It’s also the least startrek-y of the bunch. Best chars: Shran 💙 💙, Tucker, T’pol, Reed. Shran reminds me ever so slightly of Garrus from Mass Effect; can’t really say why. The unknown/exploration aspect In this series is particularly wonderful, and for some meta: the special effects are wonderful, and it is decently high-budget. I also enjoy the overall story.

DS9 has some metaphysical qualities, but is quite good besides that. Then again, that’s sort of a StarTrek-y thing anyway. The show has great acting, great writing, good character development (particularly Garak and Jadzia-Dax), and superb atmosphere. It illustrates the darker side of StarTrek, and does such a wonderful job of it. (Though the tech is soo dated! It hurts to see those tiny CRTs still used in the distant future.) Best character by far: Garak 🤍. Second best: Jadzia-Dax, Third: Worf. I particularly enjoy the political intrigue, manipulation, and just how well the series portrays overwhelming odds, how the cast manages to overcome them, and the bitter cost. The low budget really hurts, but the show comes through very well besides. It’s probably the most realistic series.

@Root <3 <3 thanks for the writeup.

Is that the order I should watch things, then?

@junon

If you’re willing to watch lots of episodes: TNG. It is better, has the best acting and character development, and many story arcs. It mostly shows the “brighter” side of StarTrek, though has a few forays into pretty dark areas, too. Fair warning: some of the story (the serial bits) are truly awful. As is the beginning of the series.... Also: the special effects are pretty dated now.

If you want the darker side and can sit through some almost painful sets: DS9.

If you want a great generic-ish sci-fi show with pretty spaceships and mystery and a very good overall story: Enterprise.

Take your pick!

(Honestly, I’d recommend those based on my write-up length above...)

After your pick(s) of the above, watch voyager. If you still want more, and can sit through some truly awful acting, somehow worse writing, special effects that were ahead of their time in the 1900s, lots of what qualified for fan service in ancient times, and an almost complete absence of any overarching story, you can watch the original series. I don’t recommend it.

tl;dr:
(TNG || Enterprise || DS9) -> Voyager -> everything else

@Root thank you much :D

@IntrusionCM that is what fork means.