Linux is a really bad operating system to use in this application. To do gas delivery safely and reliably you need to be using a Real-Time Operating System like QNX, VXWorks, OpenRTOS, etc..
I think it was a joke about NVidia actively working to make their cards suck on Linux. Besides: You could, especially now with real time capability moving into being a standard kernel feature.
To me the comment was neither cancerous nor ironic. We don't need to excise all humor from our discussions on HN. Humor itself isn't a problem -- though of course no joke appeals to all people.
>We don't need to excise all humor from our discussions on HN.
This isn't really relevant here, unless you are trying to create a strawman or frame this as a false dilemma of extremes. You can have a sense of humor while also keeping the conversation substantive.
[Edit: Assuming solar is correct: ]
Comments like the above are cancer when they inspire more of the same, and not long ago would have been appropriately dis-incentivized by the community.
[And if solar turns out to be wrong, then replying in earnest is still a good response.]
