ICONOGRAPHY OF THE X WINDOW SYSTEM: THE BOOT STIPPLE

Summary from the TLDR Web Dev newsletter

The X Window System's boot stipple, a mesh pattern displayed during startup, served as an early indicator of successful configuration and helped users troubleshoot issues in the era of slow computers. Its disappearance in the mid-2010s was likely due to efforts to modernize and speed up Linux boot processes. While the stipple can be brought back through command-line flags, the process is fragmented across different display managers, reflecting the complex and sometimes unpolished nature of the X ecosystem.