I'm writing this in January of 2001 ("Open the pod bay doors, Hal") as it applies to my Debian "potato" release (that is, the uname -a command tells me I'm running Linux kernel 2.2.17). Your mileage may vary -- chances are SOMETHING in your system is different from mine, right?
Debian "Potato" Release Kernel 2.2.17 Other Linux distributions MAY find this information useful as well, but it's tailored for the Debian "Potato" crowd.
By the way -- for you Mac and Windows folks out there -- my Debian system, with exim and mutt for email, and web and ftp servers, has been up without any hiccups for 108 days as of today. (My Mac has stretches when it behaves delightfully for weeks, and then it freezes up in spurts, five times a day for the next ten days... Windows folks know the feeling, too.)
That "fits-and-starts" syndrome just doesn't happen with Linux.