This week in our forums…
Key Stats
In the past week, our Linux forums had the following activity and key statistics:
Total New Posts: 438
Total New Topics: 41
Top Members
@tkn: 58 posts, 199 likes received
@Brian_Masinick: 51 posts, 177 likes received
@Jakarta2: 46 posts, 148 likes received
@andreas: 29 posts, 107 likes received
@ericmarceau: 28 posts, 98 likes received
@Jymm: 19 posts, 83 likes received
@guiverc: 9 posts, 40 likes received
@Bombilla: 19 posts, 35 likes received
@Norm24: 6 posts, 25 likes received
@toadie: 6 posts, 20 likes received
Interesting Topics
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In Arch Linux, @hydn flagged an important security incident in the AUR in Arch Linux Malware Incident (~ 1,500 Packages). The thread links to the upstream mailing list discussion and a maintained list of impacted packages, and members swapped mitigation tips like inspecting PKGBUILDs, verifying checksums, and avoiding blind trust in helpers.
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@Jymm brought together timely reporting in MATE Desktop with Ubuntu MATE in the News, highlighting coverage that the flavor missed 26.04 but is actively moving again. The piece points to a likely 26.10 release and a refreshed community team, which several of you echoed with cautious optimism.
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@hydn started a lively General Discussions check‑in with What brought your current Linux distro?, and members from @Jymm to @andreas compared journeys from Fedora to Debian, rolling to LTS, and even editor and keyboard choices that nudged workflow changes. It captured the balance between stability and novelty that many of you value.
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@Jakarta2 kicked off a nostalgic and instructive General Discussions thread, What was your first Linux distro?, where @jsteen recalled Red Hat and Mandrake, @Norm24 recounted Ubuntu Breezy to Dapper, and others shared magazine cover CD memories and early installer hurdles that shaped their preferences today.
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In MATE Desktop, @tkn documented a hands‑on upgrade test in Upgrading Ubuntu Mate 26.04 to developement 26.10. The early cycle looked uneventful on his ThinkPad, while @suivue explained a screenshot bug fix and shared packaging coordination details, offering a behind‑the‑scenes look at how updates land.
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@tkn also sparked fun retro talk in General Discussions with How many of you ran a FIDO-NET node or had a point address?. Stories from acoustic couplers to 56k modems and BEER.028 echoed across the thread, with @guiverc and @sgage recalling careful planning for storage, flaky lines, and heady modem progress.
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On the experimental side of MATE Desktop, @Jakarta2 demonstrated a full DE on Android in MATE Desktop on Android Phone without Emulator, walking through Termux, PRoot, and even GPU acceleration. It is a neat example of stretching hardware and software to meet a portable workflow.
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In Ubuntu, @svhs27102 described two Steam titles with audio but no video in Question about two games in Linux Mint. @hydn suggested forcing the Nvidia GPU in launch options and trying Proton variants, while @benowe1717 offered a smooth path to GE‑Proton via ProtonUp‑QT to test rendering differences.
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A deep #linux-support thread came from @fff in Tracing unknown kmod. The conversation covered module options, tracing via kprobes and function_graph, and runtime provenance, with @Jakarta2 laying out a deterministic approach for identifying module load triggers.
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Rounding out the week, @Brian_Masinick shared historical perspective in General Discussions with Multics, a very interesting operating system. The thread connected MULTICS influences to UNIX and Linux today, and a few of you added reading lists and reflections on long‑lived OS design ideas still relevant now.
Activity by the @staff Group
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In #server-sysadmin, @hydn published a practical explainer on RAM‑backed filesystems in Linux tmpfs for Speed and Temporary Storage. The discussion dove into browser cache sizing, shader cache trade‑offs, and ways to offload logs when plenty of memory is available.
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For Fedora newcomers, @hydn started a running tip jar in Fedora/RHEL with Quick tips: Getting the most out of Fedora (add yours), focusing on RPM Fusion enablement, dnf5 speedups, and the underrated “dnf history undo” lifeline for easy rollbacks.
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In Showcase, the team behind the classic Ubuntu Podcast returned with a fresh show, introduced in Linux Matters - with Alan Pope, Mark Johnson and Martin Wimpress. Several members dropped it into their listening queue to follow the broader Linux conversation.
Together these staff contributions balanced practical how‑tos, curation of helpful tools, and community media you can plug into during the week.
Best Reply or Topic of the Week
- Best Reply: @Jakarta2’s secure‑boot sleuthing in the Linux Mint install thread is an excellent example of clear diagnosis and actionable fixes. In response to a boot failure showing “Failed to start MokManager,” he traced the issue to a pending MOK enrollment and missing mmx64.efi on the media, then outlined a stepwise recovery plan that starts with resetting Secure Boot keys and clearing NVRAM. It is thorough, reproducible guidance that others can follow: Shortly after starting Linux, the text on the display looks encrypted and stops working — Reply #14.
“Once that MOK request is stored in firmware, shim attempts to launch MokManager on the next boot and fails because the required file is not available… I would recommend the following, in order…”
Honorable mentions go to @suivue for upstream packaging insights in the 26.10 upgrade discussion and to @tkn for the step‑by‑step hardware triage on GPU artifacting and thermals.
Badge Recognition
- Congratulations to our latest weekly honorees:
- Top Penguin: @tkn
- Top Contributor: @Brian_Masinick
Well deserved, and thanks for keeping the conversations helpful and welcoming for everyone.
Thanks for reading. See you again next week! 
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