tlug: Re: High-end vs Low-end Linux (was: Transitioning to Linux)

[John De Hoog <washi@example.com>]

tjhaslam <tjhaslam@example.com> wrote:

> My point is that some of the rather young members of the Linux old guard
> feel that just buying the program and installing it does not make you a
> member of the Linux community.  (Forget for now whatever time and money you
> have put in; or risks taken; or et cetera).  Linux was/has been maintained
> and developed by highly skilled and talented programmers/hackers sharing
> with and helping each other.  Many of these people were/are also Sys Admin
> people.  When they run Linux at work and have problems, other Linux people
> help them out.  They look at me--or for that matter, you--and ask:__ what
> does this person bring?__

Yes, and I'm acutely aware that I don't bring much of anything to this
community, yet. But I am also a fair representative of one kind of
potential Linux user, with needs that are going to become increasingly
common of new Linux joiners. I'm not some young college kid that thinks
Linux is cool and a neat way to impress others with my knowledge. I come
with a well-defined set of needs, only a few of which Linux meets at
this point in its life. Whether the Linux community wants to accommodate
needs like mine is a question on which the house is clearly divided.
 
> Hang with it.  If you try to be less antagonistic, I`ll try the same. 

Sorry if I come off that way. It's a life-long struggle. ;-) I must
admit, however, that I am a little put off each time I join a Linux
discussion when the talk so quickly turns to anti-NT and anti-MS stuff.
If Linux is good, it should be able to stand on its own merits without
trashing the competition. More attention should be directed at Linux
shortcomings, of which there are a million, rather than at NT problems,
which others are both aware of and busy working on. I'm also put off by
people who think I must not be doing a good job if I'm not using Linux.
That kind of pompous crap doesn't help the cause one bit, unless the
cause is to keep the ranks purposely thin.

That said, I'll now devote my time to becoming better acquainted with
the Linux system, and don't plan on taking part in further discussions
of this kind. Instead, I'll pop in with questions now and then when I
can't find the answer any other place. Yoroshiku!

--
John De Hoog, Tokyo     <dehoog@example.com>

washi@example.com      

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