This Requires a Response.
14 August 2007So, I was on Digg. And, I found this lovely gem: “The Ten Commandments for new Linux Users“.
Now, let me just put this out there: I use FreeBSD, Linux, OS X, Windows…I try very hard to not resort to OS Bigotry. However, if there is one thing I loathe and detest, its an uppity geek. And the *nix camp is full of some uppity fsck’ing geeks. Not all. But they have their share.
But this article really sticks in my craw. It’s the same old anti-user spiel. And it gets old. So, here are the 10 commandments for the technically inclined Linux Developer/Guru:
1 ) Thou shalt start thinking about usability sphere’s other than your own: Start thinking about developing something along the lines of administrative users and regular users in terms of the desktop arena Linux distro’s. If people log in as root, it’s because you limit their choice as to what power they should or shouldn’t have. It does not mean you have to open the barn doors all the way, however every sensible OS out there has a good GUI system for maintaining the divide between power users and regular users. OS X Lets you define admin users. Windows lets you define admin users. Users who have more overall control. Start making this apparent, and usable. *NIX has the underpinnings there already. Give people the chance to take the wheel. Pun most certainly intended.
2 ) Thou shalt grow the hell up and realize that your package managers, while robust, are not easy for everyone. This especially goes for the Ubuntu/Kubuntu camp. Start developing HARD on Add/Remove. This attitude of “well, it’s easy for me, so it must be easy for you” needs to stop. Period. Why? You come off like an elitist jerk to the people you are trying to convert to a new method of doing things. I could extol upon you the virtues of how superior the ports system is, where everything is built from source, and dependencies are handled for the most part far more cleanly than anything ive seen in the linux camp. But the bottom line is this: necessity is the mother of invention. You should take a frickin hint and look at things like Automatix, and EasyUbuntu and realize that their popularity in the face of the evil things they do is telling you that you have FAILED to address the needs of the common casual users. The ones who don’t know apt-get from make install.
3 ) Thou shalt not make the community a scary place. I see people in linux forums get attacked outright for ignorance. Attacking people for stupidity is one thing. Ignorance is not a crime. We all were ignorant at one time or another. It should not be attacked unless its willful. Alot of people talk about how they want to set up their parents or grandparents with Gentoo, or Ubuntu…let me ask you this: would you send your parents, or your grandparents into some of these forums? Would you send them, new as a babe in the woods, into some of these communities? Would you want them to have to drop into a shell?
4 ) Thou shalt improve the help systems you want people to use so desperately. The bottom line here is, outside of man pages, alot of *nix documentation on the user scene sucks. You know it, I know it. We all have been there. A Man page is not going to help a new user. I am in Ubuntu 7.10, in KDE (with the kde-desktop catchall package install) and the documentation *sucks* buddy. There has to be a documentation system to use, in order to use it.
5 ) Thou shalt read commandments 2, 3 and 4 until you grok them fully.
6 ) Thou shalt stop using “Linux is not for everyone” when confronted with a user who is frustrated, and sick of being berated by people who know more than they do. This simply MUST stop. It’s a cop out. You either want the desktop market penetration, or you dont. Stop copping out when the going gets tough, while accusing your target of the same. When one of you says “Well, Linux is not for everyone..” you just made Microsoft’s case for them. And, in addition, you make the community look bad. Stop it. OEM deals like the ones we are seeing with Dell and Lenovo are part of the OS game. You wanted it, now suck it up and deal with it.
7 ) Thou shalt stop attacking new users for bad choices made out of ignorance, or lack of understanding. Alot of times, I see users who ask a question, only to have it never answered, they bump it, then try something. They then go back for help when it breaks only to be attacked for being dumb. You want them to explore? Stop bitching when they come to you for calamine lotion after getting poison ivy.
8 ) Thou shalt work to eliminate the need for the average user to even SEE much less need to use the Command Line. This is not negotiable. You want the press. You want the OEM deals. You want that “ease of use” sticker on your report card, stop making people go back 10 years in computer use. You dont want people to use root for things? Stop sending them to the command line. Frustration breeds bad choice making. If a user gets frustrated with the CLI, you can bet out of frustration their chances of borking up their system has just increased. Start actually applying some GUI and other guidelines to Linux, and the CLI becomes uneeded for anything other than serious power use. And don’t give me the su/sudo crap. One can do just as much damage with either of those commands as they can do with root. Just like an Administrator can hose an Active Directory hive if he/she isint careful. Speaking of GUI and Guidelines, you said…
9 ) “Thou shalt not try to recreate windows” to which I say: grow the hell up, and THOU SHALT NOT TRY TO RE-INVENT THE DAMNED WHEEL. The big issue, and I see alot of this on the forums…is that there are legitimate UI things in windows that exist because they WORK. Same with OS X. Same with Next Step. The K-Menu? Looks alot like a start bar to me. Know your role, punk. Realize that good UI design has been going on for years, and the bottom line is, you wouldnt have a problem borrowing from the windows camp, if it was something other than Microsoft. Your pride and your ego stop you. Grow up, grow a pair, and realize the hearts and minds of the people you are trying to sway depend on things working in reasonable ways. There are about 20-25 good years of GUI research behind Windows and OS X, and even X Windows. But for you to reject the notion that Windows has nothing to offer in terms of usability is retarded, and shows the people you are trying to sway what a closeminded idiot you are. For the very last time: OS Bigotry was barely fashionable in the 90’s. It’s even less so now.
10 ) Thou shalt put thine money where thy mouth is on all issues. Linux can be for everyone. It’s just going to take some work. And the hardest part is not from writing the code. The hardest part is to walk a mile in the moccasins of the people who’s hearts and minds you are trying to capture and pull away. It happens every day. I see it, I live it. People who are technically inclined refuse or just can’t see the small time, casual, new users. The ones who could barely manage windows, are trying to get into the community only to be chased away by someone who has more knowledge, and more chops. Because the person with the upper hand cant break down and speak english, and really alienates the person seeking the help. The people with the tech chops need to sit down and visualize what its like for a mom, or a grandma to use some of the crap foisted on us under the guise of “it’s not hard, just different”. Would you ask your grandma to drop into DOS to install Nero in Windows? How about asking your dad to install a program with 6 different dependencies and then telling him to do 6 different installs in Windows? And don’t give me that “dont try to remake it windows” crap. Obfuscated processes to get menial tasks done is crap. Plain crap. Thing is, you know this…the community knows this. And for knowing it, you make alot of excuses to justify it. Rather than actually look at some of the complaints, and trying to see the legitimate side of it.
In the end, I am no Microsoft lover. But the sooner you realize that to some effect all art is borrowed, the better off Linux will be. You have to get past the hate and realize, there are some things in Windows that are terrible, but there are also some things that are good. A safe mode would be nice. A fully featured Add/Remove with packages people actually want and need for crossover functionality would be a start. Trying to get away from forcing people into a shell would be better. Honestly, you have the nerve to say “Use the command line” but bitch about DOS and its limitations?
Stop being mealy mouthed when it comes to usability, and start stepping up to the plate. The OEM deals are going to force your hand in this, to some degree. So the sooner you stop making excuses, the sooner you can start to tighten up the user experience when it comes to configuration, installation and usability.
Here endeth the lesson.
Current Mood:
Annoyed
on August 17th, 2007 at 9:18 am
Damn, what a jackass.
on August 17th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Is that the BEST you can do? Seriously?
Nothing like slashdot comments. Hooray. =)