JONTILLMAN.COM | part of the problem since 1976

Here is the normal evolution of a “discussion” about Linux on any personal or technology blog:

1. Blogger posts less-than-glowing review his (failed ) attempt to use a commercial Linux distribution to do his job, claiming that “ I have too much actual work to do to find any pleasure in the challenge of building a race car out of popsicle sticks.”
2. He is immediately told to “Try a community supported distribution like [MY FAVORITE].”
3. Even more helpfully: “You’re obviously an idiot, my home Linux machine is awesome!”
4. Someone always claims that “The confusion and overwhelming choice are what make Linux so cool!”
5. And of course there is always the one guy that doesn’t understand the complaint and says something like “…but for every Linux system with a GUI there are 10,000 headless systems that don’t, so Linux is obviously awesome.”

These sorts of comments used to amuse me in their lack of relevance to the original complaint or query, but over time I have come to see them as a serious impediment to wider adoption of Linux, perhaps even as THE most important one.

As well-meaning as some of these comments may be in their “defense” of Linux, they really serve no prupose except to alienate not just the poster, but anyone who comes along later to read the blog entry - looking for information on using Linux themselves.

Without a grounding in the general milieu surrounding OS advocacy, the above exchange sends far different messages than the ones that you might think. It is possible, if you are just dipping a toe into the Linux waters, to mistake the above exchange for a reasonable, rational discussion of Linux options - and to come away from that thinking that the whole thing is too convoluted, arcane and difficult for you to deal with.