- You love giving your data away
- You enjoy being tracked by your operating system
- You’re happy when your computer tells you “no”
- You prefer someone else deciding what you can run
- You feel uncomfortable if you get to have options
- You’d rather battle corporate tech support
- You’d rather rent your software than own it
- You think ads belong on your desktop
- You love being lied to about what’s “industry standard”
- You like rebooting for every little update
- You’re uncomfortable when software is transparent
- You think community-made tools can’t be “professional”
- You want intrusive AI everywhere, whether it helps or not
- You think the command line is only for hackers
- You never really wanted your computer to be yours anyway
Oh shit! That’s what we were missing all along! That’s what has, all this time, been keeping adoption down and preventing the year of the linux desktop! A condescending prick talking down to people! We should have figured this out a long time ago! Thanks OP for setting us straight! Now our numbers are sure to skyrocket!
This is exactly the kind of shit that keeps people from switching to Linux y’all know that right?
Yeah, I read this as: YOU ARE FUCKING STUPID, I AM MUCH BETTER THAN YOU
That is really a good way to communicate.
Yeah no its cos it breaks all the time.
Why should I care? Linux has enough users as it is, development is sustainable. I don’t want all users to switch at once because that would flood forums with noobs asking silly questions.
It’s their loss if they don’t use Linux. Why should I encourage them to do so? Just to have some shitty Electron apps more which I don’t use?
It’s much more painful for me that the places I work at don’t use Linux. They won’t be swayed by such an article anyway.
Are you serious? Do you really believe linux can’t get any better or that linux is perfect for you?
The more people that use linux the more donations it gets from people and the more people use it.
Also if you think linux is so awesome isn’t it nice to other people to share that awesomeness with them?
As well the more people that use linux the more apps will be supported on it. Can you say with full confidence that there isn’t a single windows or macos app that doesn’t work perfectly on linux that you don’t want? Even if linux is perfect for you, you rely on the kindness of open source maintainers to maintain linux, can you really not reserve any kindness for other people?
I did not say I don’t want more Linux users. I just don’t want them all to switch at once and make it unbearable for “community support” to help each other and improve the ecosystem.
When everyone switches to desktop (!) Linux all of a sudden, it will make both the current users’ lives and the new users’ lives worse as the community can’t handle such a huge influx.
Organic growth is fine. You don’t need to market Linux to the masses, as that would only lead to enshittification.
I’d rather have Linux be imperfect and rough around the edges, but with sustainable, positive growth, than have everyone use Linux and flood bug trackers with so much work that maintainers give up and move to less demanding hobbies. Then the companies would take over and well, we know how it ends (see Windows 11).
The more people that use linux the more donations it gets from people
I don’t know if that’s true.
Also if you think linux is so awesome isn’t it nice to other people to share that awesomeness with them?
Sure, but I won’t force it onto them. They can choose to use it.
Do you know what consent is?
I agree with everything. Except the donations part.
Countless FOSS maintainers have lamented that millions of users use their software and nobody donates. (Lib)Curl for example is used in countless applications, basically all of them used by huge corporations, and they get flooded with bug reports for software they don’t even maintain, AI slop merge requests and pennies in donations (excuse the hyperbole).
The lead dev of curl has some funnysad stories to tell: @bagder@mastodon.social 💔🫶
That is the real altruistic, hopeful view, but there are downsides that I enumerated in my other comment. Here’s another, though - With large scale acceptance comes a flood of people who just want a tool that works, not something they can build on or improve.
The greatest strength of this community is the love of the platform and the joy of exploration. Most are in it for altruistic or at least self enrichment reasons. Many are able to contribute when they see a gap. That can be diluted quickly.
Then the entrepreneurs see opportunities to make money from those people, and the enshitification begins.
This is why distros exist!
If the masses come to linux they will use distro’s like zorin os a distro that costs a bit of money but gives you premium support options so you can have the just works experience.
My point is thay the more niche distros for people like us won’t be used by the masses and neither will there forums, and I agree there probably will be some distros that get enshitified, honestly if linux gets popular enough we might even see a microsoft linux distro. But it won’t be the distros that we use because we rely on distros built by the community, not corporations.
This is the same argument I see people use for the fediverse but this is why instances are so useful.
I’m a bit less nihilistic about it, though. I acknowledge the benefit if being a small enough “market” that the enshittification doesn’t hit Linux like a tsunami as you alluded.
More users means more bullshit money grubbers, more dishonesty, more incentive for greedy hackers to attack.
Exactly! That would make all Linux users miserable and paradoxically more users would probably mean a worse experience for those additional users aswell.
And here I was, thinking this was a well thought out article with actual, legitimate reasons why someone wouldn’t want to use Linux. Instead, it’s this smug, autofellating, condescending bullshit. Roland Taylor has some issues.
I mean, #6 is accurate for me. I don’t have a humiliation fetish, so I’d rather pay people to tell me what I’m doing wrong instead of braving the barrage of belittlement that comes from asking for crowdsourced support.
And that’s completely valid and fair. Different strokes for different folks, as they say. But I do have to stress that I’m not so much criticising the bullet points as I am the general tone of the article. #6 should read like your reply, but instead it feels like the reader should feel bad for not wanting support from humans as opposed to an automated system.
Oh, I understand. I was trying to snarkily imply that the smug, autofellating, condescending attitude you mentioned was unfortunately endemic, to the point where it’s starting to feel like some people are secretly jorking it while telling newbs they suck. I think it’s a huge reason why people feel like FOSS isn’t for them.
You expected better from itsFoss? It has always been this way and it will always be
I’ll have to take your word for it. Truth be told, I don’t read much of their articles. And it looks like it’s going to stay that way.
This article likely came from a very sad and self-righteous place
Shh we’re trying to circlejerk here! Keep your voice of reason down and grab some lotion
ItsFoss is getting shittier by the day
I enjoy the snark, but also agree it’s condescending. Folks, take it as cynical humor, and don’t be so harsh.
Anyway I commented to say that #10 is creeping into at least some distributions.
My Ubuntu sends security updates that frequently impact system libraries and thus demands (politely) a reboot.
Gnome software does it all the time, but a regular “check for updates” will often install without demanding reboot. I suspect the update won’t be in effect until reboot, though.
- You own an AMD GPU and want to use your fancy HDMI 2.1 monitor / TV
Back on the 90s (I know, I know) the joke was that of your VCR was still blinking 12:00 Linux was probably not for you.
Maybe this was true then, but my microwave never once knew what time it is
Same, too many clocks, all getting out of sync, and some on power strips that get turned off periodically.
Most of these are not about the Linux kernel, but about distro / personal choice. Android tracks you and doesn’t make you use the command-line a lot. Fedora / Ubuntu (and others?) like to reboot for every little update.
I’ve had Fedora encourage me to reboot, but I don’t think I’ve ever had it do so without consent (excluding when my laptop battery died).
CachyOS suggests a reboot but also doesn’t demand.
“Well if you don’t buy this car you are a moron who can’t see how much better this car is. So keep driving that piece of shit car you dumbass. So, have I sold you on this car?”
If you have a job or are student you’ll know that using Linux usually results in a direct increase in corporate tech support battles.
… On the desktop. It’s de rigeur for servers.
I’m aware, but that’s not what this article is about.
Sorry but AI is coming to Linux too so fear the 13th 🤣
Of course there is AI on linux. I installed it. What isn’t there is AI that the user doesn’t want.
Have you missed the Fedora nonsense?
Its a choice on Linux.
*for now 😅
i mean maybe some distros will add something, i don’t know. and i don’t care because i don’t have to. shit like that is deinstalled faster than an llm can print an emdash.
#3 is what does it for me. There are few things more enraging than something I own refusing to do what I’m instructing it to do.
The penguin drawing kinda looks AI.
This is just masturbation.
No that’s exercise
No, because at least with masturbation, you have something to show for it at the end.
YEOMK
