In a move that surprises no one at this point, OpenBSD is in the process of pulling the Apache 1.3.x web server it has been maintaining on its own for what seems like forever and replacing it with the hot web server of the 2010s — nginx.

Having a web server in the base install is mighty quirky in the first place, and OpenBSD has proudly flown this particular freak flag with no sign of changing things up.

But as much as a built-in web server (it’s quite a help for development, in my opinion) is an enticing feature for many users, having that web server be nginx, which couldn’t be more popular at this particular moment in geeky circles, should give many more people a reason to take a look at OpenBSD.

I’m not sure exactly how nginx will be configured in OpenBSD, by which I mean: Will it be possible to run CGI scripts without jumping through hoops due to a chroot environment?

Fear not, fans of the Apache web server. It will still be there in ports and packages for your use in OpenBSD.

Editorial: I don’t think running CGI in Apache in the OpenBSD chroot was (or is) impossible in and of itself. What I do think is that a lack of interest among OpenBSD users and developers in *doing it and writing tutorials about it* made it pretty much impossible. Without someone leading the way, it’s hard to stretch the well-established use case on just about any platform (those use cases being networking and firewalling on OpenBSD).

That OpenBSD users and developers are not interested in a particular feature, making said feature difficult to implement for mortal users — and leading to “why do I have to re-invent the wheel?” syndrome among them — is something you just have to accept when using a platform for a use case that isn’t in its popularly accepted wheelhouse.