MsGeek's Journal: The Leet Disease

I just had to bail on alt.linux. Again. Why? Because it's full of people who just love to flame newbies. RTFM. man man. STFI. Wonderful.

It seems like the Linux community is suffering from a disease...let's call it The Leet Disease. It basically affects the experienced Linux user, making them deaf to the pleas of newbies who are looking for answers.

I am not a newbie anymore. However, I know how it felt when something goes wrong with Linux and I am stuck for answers to that looming question: "What do I do now?" It's a real bad place to be. If you rack your brain a little, you might remember how that felt. Or not. Whatever.

The thing is that the newbie you just shot down is going to have a really crappy view of Free/Open software. They will go back to the waiting arms of Microsoft, secure in their view that Linux Sux, and we will have lost again.

We need to get over this right now and start considering ourselves ambassadors for Free/Open software. Every single one of us. The Apple/Mac community knows how important this is, from Apple corporate on down. How come there are so many "switchers" now? Because they "sell it by Zealot." Apple has encouraged its users to feel that they are representatives of the OS. They encourage mutual aid amongst Mac users. They give lots of assistance to Mac User Groups. The whole concept of LUGs came from the MUGs of the past.

There is no such thing as a Linux, Inc. to promote this philosophy from on high down to the troops. We need to take this attitude in a bottom-up fashion. Burn a bunch of Knoppix disks and keep them handy for friends. Burn the Windows Open CD disk and give it to friends so that they can try out Open Source software on their Windozers. When these friends switch, HELP THEM. No matter how lame you think their questions are. You represent Linux to this person. You are an ambassador for Linux. Ambassadors know that no matter how badly the country they have been sent to treats them, they need to act like perfect ladies/gentlemen. They aren't going to tell them to "RTFM" or anything like that. Wars have been started for less.

Empathy. Humility. Diplomacy. These are things that are going to get Linux in particular and Open Source/Free Software in general more of a mindshare. Think about this.