I do not understand this

[Vlad D. Markov]

I moved my desktop from Debian to FreeBSD.

In my previous .xinitrc I would start Sylphhed like so: sylpheed &

I noticed after moving to FreeBSD that sylpheed would often just lock up meaning it would not respond to the mouse or key presses.

I changed the invocation to: sylpheed >/dev/null 2>&1 &

No more problems after that.

Firefox would lock up when invoked by the fluxbox keys. Again changing the invocation from "firefox &" to firefox >/dev/null 2>&1 &" solved the problem.

I have no idea of why that worked nor why the behavior is different in FreeBSD than Debian.

The only commonality I see is that my problem apps all used GTK.

-- 
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired
signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not
fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.  This world in arms is not
spending money alone.  It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the
genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children.  This is not a way
of life at all in any true sense.  Under the clouds of war, it is
humanity hanging on a cross of iron.
                -- Dwight D. Eisenhower, April 16, 1953