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Linux Snobs, The Real Barriers to Entry
McSnarf writes "It's not Windows. It's not distro wars. Sometimes it's just the arrogant attitude that keeps people from switching from Windows.
'As I spoke to newbies, one Windows user who wanted to learn about Linux shared the encouraging and constructive note (not) he received from one of the project members. The responding note read:
"Hi jackass, RTFM and stop wasting our time trying to help you children learn.""
All of you need to stop talking the talk and start backing up your shit with real action.
Which means not automatically giving the command line answer to obvious newbies when a perfectly good GUI tool solution exists for their disto.
Furthermore, I don't give a shit. Really! If you want to use linux, use it, if you don't, then don't! I read manuals, I ask questions, sometimes I get answers from reading sometimes people answer my questions. Sometimes I don't find the answer at all, so what?
Linux is free. I don't spend much time maintaining it and I spend close to zero time shopping for applications for it because almost everything I need is in a repository. Hence, I don't feel the need to bitch about people not wanting to handhold beginners.
At the end of the day, I like what it does for me and I like it's tech-centric focus. If you aren't a techie I don't think you should "try" linux. Just forget about it and use windows, it won't be much different for you if you aren't already frustrated with windows and it will probably frustrate you with things like sound, graphics, and streaming media.
It isn't a cool club for you to join, it's just an operating system that works well for software developers, technical people, and basic computer users. If you are the typical windows user who loves your web junk you'll just be frustrated, save yourself the headache and don't bother.
Wanted: Clever sig, top $ paid, all offers considered.
The Mac community is composed of 30% latte-sipping wannabe 'artists', 50% trendsters with too much money, 25% hippies, 4% Hollywood actors, and 1% Steve Jobs.
Check your math. There are more than 100 Macintosh users.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
man was a wonderful help system for a research project in the 60s and 70s. It is not a help system worth spitting on. The actual help system and symantecs is awful and the content is even worse.
In case you think I'm totally ignorant, this comes from someone who's taught Unix system programming - I know -k, apropos and man sections. By the way I hope you realise different versions of man have different switches.
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer