[NCLUG] What is a Linux User?

Chad Perrin perrin at apotheon.com
Fri Nov 9 13:51:22 MST 2007


On Fri, Nov 09, 2007 at 09:36:16AM -0700, Paul Hummer wrote:
> 
> I guess what I'm getting at is, what is the "nature" of a Linux/*BSD 
> user?  I've thought about those of you I've encountered at Hacking 
> Society or the NCLUG meetings.  Some of them are minimalists, opting for 
> the window manager with 8 desktops, each running a terminal.  Others are 
> running full blown Gnome with every possible Compiz Fusion plugin 
> imaginable.  Some use Evolution, while others opt for fetchmail and 
> mutt.  Are Linux users "hackers" in the sense that they solve problems 
> themselves, or are they just really lucky to have great systems?  What 
> is it really that makes a Linux user tick?

I wonder if it can all be boiled down to a single statement:

Unix/Linux users are people who are willing to think about the operating
systems they use.

You *have* to think about it to choose something other than what comes on
a Gateway or Dell.  If you refuse to think about it, you use whatever's
placed in front of you.

If you spend some time thinking about it, you may well find yourself
using something else instead.

I have run across a few people who have thought about their options and
settled on MS Windows.  They do exist.  For them, perhaps MS Windows is a
better option -- especially in cases where they have very specific needs,
such as requiring a platform that'll run Autodesk software.  Most of the
people who are willing and able to discuss their OS choice, and
specifically choose one over the other, fall into one of two categories,
however:

  1. choose the Unix/Linux option

  2. absolutely refuse to think about it

Maybe more of those #2 options would still choose MS Windows if they were
willing to consider the matter.  I'm not ruling out the possibility that
it's the better (technical) choice for their needs.  I'm just pointing
out that many of them have ruled out non-MS options without having
bothered to consider whether such options might provide them with some
benefits.  This is the sort of person that uses catch-phrases like "I
wouldn't use a hacker's OS!", "It can't be secure if just anyone can
change the source code!", and "I don't want to use an OS where I spend
all my time at the command line editing configuration files and compiling
software!"

I make no judgments at this time about whether thinking about one's OS is
something everyone using a computer should do.  Regardless of any
importance to spending time carefully considering the matter, it seems
quite obvious to me that many people don't -- and something users of free
Unix/Linux systems (almost) all have in common is that they *have*
thought about it, thus proving they are *willing* to think about it.

-- 
CCD CopyWrite Chad Perrin [ http://ccd.apotheon.org ]
Rudy Giuliani: "You have free speech so I can be heard."



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