[geeks] are *BSD (and Linux) people "unhelpful"?

[Amy]

On Tue, 2 Apr 2002, Greg A. Woods wrote:

> [ On Tuesday, April 2, 2002 at 17:55:58 (-0600), Geek wrote: ]
> > Subject: Re: [geeks] Common IP lease?
> >
> > I have always wondered something that a visitor to my site told me
> > once. She said she does not use BSD or Linux because of the complete
> > lack of decent help.
>
> I think the real answer is that most BSD users, and many "Linux" users,
> simply help themselves -- i.e. are the self reliant kind.

you mean self-absorbed, self-centered, self-masturbatory...

> Of course lots of M$ users have to be pretty self reliant too (not
> everyone has an in-house "IT guy" to help them, and M$ itself sure as
> heck isn't getting all the gold stars in their support department! :-)

windows, for all of its annoyances, is an easy o/s to learn and to fix.
you dont need to ask for help when it breaks.

> -- and I'm betting that if the ones in that segment were shown that they
> could still do all the computing they need to do with unix[*] that they
> would actually find using unix to be a lot "nicer" because it's one heck
> of a lot easier to be self-reliant with unix!

the first time something breaks and some 17 year old unwashed git tells
then to go RTFM, windows will go back on their little dell machine.
windows users do not like being told to be self-reliant. they don't like
to read incomprehensible 5" tomes, and they never let their husbands fix a
lightbulb. they call an electrician instead.

if the help isn't available (nice help), average folks won't use it.


> Then again there is the snide answer:  "We don't need no steenking
> users!"  :=)

exactly why that whole cadre is doomed.

> There really is an incredibly massively huge amount of "help" out there
> for people wanting to use unix, but it doesn't appear out of nowhere
> reaching out to hold your hand (even if you ask it to) -- you've got to
> grab it by the ear and drag it into your own understanding, by yourself.

you're giving users too much credit. you're assuming that they'll keep
plugging for help when each and every time they get rebuffed.

> (of course once anyone shows a bit of initiative and interest in unix
> there'll be all kinds of geeks come out of the woodwork foaming at the
> mouth and trying to tell them how to do all kinds of cool and wonderful
> things that they might not really need to do! :-)

which will only confuse them further.

--a