1. You can't change `free` output, you'll break SO many scripts.

2. Most things which report memory usage in a user-friendly way _already_ do this in an obvious way. (Htop shows disk cache in a bar graph, but doesn't add it to the "used" counter.)

3. Should UX always compensate for some fraction of users' misunderstanding of how their OS kernel works? Or would it be better for them to ask the question and then be educated by the answer?

> Or would it be better for them to ask the question and then be educated by the answer?

Good UX makes the question "why is linux using my unused RAM for disk caching" (a non pressing question) instead of "why is linux eating up all my RAM" (panic, stressful question)

It is. Windows does the same thing, but it's a non-issue because task manager makes it look like cached memory is free memory.

But it does. https://files.catbox.moe/l9je82.png orange is the part used by caches

I'm not a linux user, so not an observation of experience. Just the existence of this website suggests to me that however it is being done right now could be made clearer somehow.

htop shows this