The OS Response

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

We walk a fine line with this topic. Let me point out that I have *no* intention of discussing the relative merits of Linux, Windows, Mac OS, Unix, or any other operating system. Nor do I want you do so. Doing so will earn my scorn and derision.

My problem is this. I'm the IT guy as a (very) small company. Yesterday I was trying to capture and error that a WinXP computer kept throwing (due, according to my research, to the firewall installed on the computer, working with the software manufacturer to get that straightened out). The firewall was shutting down services.exe which in turn was shutting down the whole computer. This made getting the screen capture onerous at best, so I started typing out the error on a different computer, word for word. Unfortunately, I didn't realize I was in an IRC window when I started typing, and the whole channel got a looksee at my issue.

I wasn't worried about security, but it was a social faux pas.

So what comes out of the channel?

Before I can even say I'm sorry, before anyone can respond, some ******* says "Get Linux"

Instantly entire fountains of this man's blood appeared in my mind as a vision quest. Disembowelment on a scale unprecedented is too good for this response.

Now, it's not that I have a problem with Linux, though for my own reasons I don't use it. But i find that response at best unhelpful. More realistically it's condescending and misinformed.

1) It's a work environment. My boss's computer. He won't be converting to Linux even if I wanted him too.
2) We make software for Windows. We have never done a Linux distribution of our software. Nor do I believe we ever will. There is almost no one in our potential client-base that would use it. Therefore, Windows environments make more sense for our company.
3) The problem was not with Windows. It was with a third party firewall.

Those are just the initial problems I would have with the proposed solution, were I to actually consider it. I have several more.

So why do people do this? There's no way that the user could have ever known any of those factors. He assumed I was a personal user complaining about M$ (ha! See the clever $ instead of an S! Note how it shows my derision!). ANd well, when you assume, you make an ass out of 'u' and me. He seriously thought this was a viable and helpful solution. As if I'd say, "oh yeah, since you said it in your smug, ****eating manner, I'll certainly do what you think is right even though you have no familiarity with the problem and it will cause more headaches than I have to deal with now."

The "panacea" OS isn't always Linux, either. I've heard Mac users recommend a Mac in as casual, but serious, manner. Oddly, I've not heard it done for Windows, though I don't expect this is because Windows users are more polite, but because I use Windows and so it wouldn't change anything.

Why do these people do it? Why do they think that after 3 seconds of information they know enough to recommend an entire platform change? Especially when they haven't been asked for their opinion! Please tell me I'm not the only one to have run into this.

[Spriggan]

I run into this every day at UVSC since I'm in a media program half of the students and most teachers are Mac users and regularly do all they can to convert everyone but for the most part in involves talking down to people and just saying switch.  The funniest thing is I tell them I have a PC, one of the reasons I guess, if for gaming and they reply "Well buy a Mac and then install windows in bootcamp and you can play games!" and I just reply "but that's already what I have, I'd never use OSX then and that defeats the purpose of using a Mac" and most reply more or less the purpose of using a mac is to have a mac and thus be better then everyone else.

I get it with browsers from FireFox users who think the best way to get people to use the software of their choice is the insult the person they're talking to in very childish ways, seen the same thing from Linux users (especiall slashdotters, which is why I don't read the site).

But you're right on your reasons for using windows, if your a window's development company why would you use a linux infrastructure?  Wouldn't make sense to use a windows one if you're a mac developer, but sadly there's a lot of imaturity and insecurity out on the web when it comes to OSs and other software for some dumb reason.

[Skar]

Sprig hit the nail on the head.  People subscribe to Mac's, Linux, or whatever, for personal reasons.  They are in the minority and are thus insecure.  The response to feelings of insecurity for stupid people in this group (like stupid people in all other groups)?  Lash out in a condescending manner.

Done.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

Um, no, thats just simply not true, so I hope you were being sarcastic. Just because some people who use Linux, or Unix or whatever are in the minority doesnt make them insecure. Heck many of them probably use it because they A like to tinker, or B have a compelling reason to use something different.

I use OSX and I mention it here because its relevant to the discussion. I don't feel insecure about it in the slightest because it works for me and works well with non OSX stuff too, its kind of a non issue.   Aside from friends who I rib sometime I really don't push it on anyone. I have had people come up to me in places where I bring my laptop and ask me very rudely why I bother with OSX since its incompatible with everything. So if Skars theory about being in the minority makes everyone insecure why would these obvious majority users need to ridicule my choice in OS? And seriously have you seen the abuse windows users heap on linux users? Its really really sad.

So, they must feel insecure too.  Or maybe they think that you care about their opinion. Some people just feel like they need to be superior to you and it has nothing to do with what they use, and everything to do with who they are, jerks.

Heck use what you feel comfortable with. I have used Red Hat, Unix, OSX and many versions of windows and frankly as long as they do what they are supposed to, I usually don't care which one Im using.

[Spriggan]

Being in the Minority doesn't make them insecure, but being insecure makes them lash out.

[Skar]

Um, no, thats just simply not true, so I hope you were being sarcastic.

Not sarcastic, simply an ineffective communicator.  What I was trying to answer was why Linux and Mac users lash out at Windows users, trying to get them to change.  Since you are not one who lashes out and pushes your choice of OS on people, you are not in the group I am describing.

Essentially (and you were probably assuming I was making a less obvious point) the people who lash out and push their OS are insecure people who need to affirm themselves somehow.  The same applies to Windows users who lash out and push their OS on people.  So, more simply stated, my point would be, "Many people who lash out at complete strangers over a trivial choice of software do so because they are insecure." 

Abusive Mac and Linux users who lash out are insecure because they are not in the majority.  Abusive windows users who lash out are insecure because they think they might be missing out on something cool (flashback to High School and the exclusive cliques).

The "Insecurity leads to lashing out" paradigm can be observed in nearly every human situation whether it's a choice of OS, or religion.