[NTLUG:Discuss] Linux Distro

[terry]

Disclaimer:  I am speaking only for myself, the following comments are 
my own.

Wayne Dahl wrote:

>On Mon, 2003-03-10 at 15:40, TJ Davis wrote:
>
>  
>
>>It seems sad to me that people would make a big deal out of something so
>>small.  
>>
Sure is.

>>You guys are the first group of actual humans (not just aliases in
>>forums) that I have interacted with in my Linux journey and so far I am not
>>at all impressed because most of you are VERY rude and not even slightly
>>friendly.  There are a few exceptions because I really respect some of you
>>such as Chris Cox and Reverend Wry.  It is too late for me but maybe in the
>>future you should consider being a little nicer to folks if you want to
>>persuade people that Linux is actually a descent option.  Being a jerk who
>>thinks he knows everything is no way to impress anyone.  Unfortunately that
>>is the view that I have of most people on this list.  I guess I will see how
>>friendly some of the other LUGs are.
>>
(Canned responses):
If you'll name the rude ones, we'll see that they're fired immediately. 
      ;)
[or]
It prolly doesn't get much better than this, but if you want your money 
back, I'm sure someone will be glad to reimburse you.  ;)

>
>TJ,
>
>I'm sorry you feel that way, but I can say I sort of understand it.  I'm
>a Linux newbie, hate M$ and want an alternative.  I have not gotten
>answers to all of my questions from the people on this list, but
>honestly, if anyone expects one resource to answer every possible
>question (and actually finds one that does...I WANT access to THAT
>resource!), then they're barking up the wrong tree.  
>
>I have a lot of questions about doing things using a GUI.  I don't get
>many answers from the guys on this list because most of the guys on this
>list live on the CLI.  At least, that's what someone from the list
>posted to me one day in response to some question I had that I never got
>a response to.  That could be taken as rude (i.e., no response), but it
>could also mean that just no one has an answer.
>
Rudeness and ugliness is perception formed in the eyes of the beholder. 
 Brevity is important sometimes but is often mistaken for rude. Cutting 
to the chase, or getting to the point quickly is sometimes mistaken as 
being blunt or rude.  Answering a question with a question is often 
times considered rude, but answering a question with a question, 
[especially in these circumstances] is often times essential.

>
>One thing I would recommend to the people on this list is, if you want
>people who come from a M$ background to ever accept Linux as a viable
>desktop OS, then you should get up to speed on doing things via GUI
>because that's all 90% of M$ users know.  That may not be technical
>enough, but let's face it, 90% of the M$ users out there don't even know
>how to really use the M$ stuff, much less something based on Linux or
>any other OS.  I think of my folks...they know so little about their
>computer, my brother has PCAnywhere loaded on it so if they break
>something, he can dial into it and fix it remotely (they live in
>Oklahoma, we both live in the D/FW area).  And don't tell me people like
>that shouldn't be using Linux.  Perhaps not, but isn't the goal to
>provide an alternative to even non-computer-literate people so they
>don't have to keep paying for M$ bloatware every time Redmond decides
>they need to soak the little people?  <rant mode off>
>
When people asks  questions about how to do something in a GUI they tend 
to not supply enough information.  They have to tell what GUI they're 
using, whether it's Gnome, KDE, TWN, Enlightenment, Sawmill/Sawfish, 
etc. And they may be asking a question about how to use a particular GUI 
program, and they often times fail to specify what program or version of 
they are using and there are literally thousands to choose from.  If 
they don't give enough or the right information and someone tries to 
answer it anyway, the response is often times totally irrelevant.

note:
The first thing you have to learn about Linux, is to forget everything 
you ever learned about MS
[because 99% of it doesn't relate].

Helpful info:
http://www.linuxsilo.net/docs/smart-questions-en.html
&
http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search?hl=en

>
>One thing I've found helpful is to check the home pages for other
>resources, like Sawfish, Enlightenment, Gnome, KDE, Samba, Wine,
>etc...and sign up for the appropriate email lists for what I need and
>answers for what I'm trying to do.  I've also checked the Usenet (or
>whatever they're calling it now...I hardly use it though) using Pan.  
>One thing I've found out is, you're going to see a lot of stuff not
>related to anything you're doing, but if you have a question, ask it.  I
>had screwed up my normal login account by selecting Enlightenment as the
>WM and then went back to Gnome before logging out...and then couldn't
>log back in again.  Kept getting some error about some file Enlightment
>couldn't find.  I asked here, got no help...not that that's really a
>problem as this may not have been the best place to ask.  I joined a
>list specifically for Enlightenment users support and actually didn't
>get the answer there either.  One thing I'm not afraid to do (most of
>the time) is diddle with something...and I actually found the answer to
>my problem myself.
>
>One thing...I'm not sure about etiquette on this list, but on others
>this is appropriate...if you get an answer...even if it didn't come from
>here, but you asked about it here, post your solution as there may be
>others on the list having the same problem who haven't said anything. 
>I've been too lax about doing that myself, but will try to pay closer
>attention to it in the future.
>
>Guys, don't take this post as a slap on the hand about how you sound or
>post, 
>
Don't worry, I don't think anyone in this group is thin skinned enough 
to take offense to any of this.

>but I can understand TJ's feeling.  This IS a Linux Users Group
>list and there are always going to be varying experience levels on it. 
>As such, we should always want to help (as much as possible) the people
>new to the OS so we can really provide an alternative to those people
>who hate the Redmond monster.
>
>TJ, if you're still there, and would like some information about other 
>email lists specific to a particular product, app or problem, let me
>know and I'll send you the info I have about them.  I'm on several.  Be
>warned, however...some generate a LOT of mail and most of it you won't
>care anything about.
>
>Thanks guys...and I really DO appreciate the help I've gotten from you
>in the past.
>  
>
>Wayne
>
>  
>
That goes for me too.

Thanks guys....you've been very helpful and we appreciate all your 
efforts in helping us along.
Keep up the good work!

Terry

-- 
Registered Linux User #188099
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