Comments on: Is Ubuntu Elitist?

By: AJ

AJ — Thu, 12 May 2011 23:07:43 +0000

Ubuntu Elitist? I disagree. Possibly one of the most transparent Linux distros, I believe the appellation “elitist” could be levelled at Gentoo, or any one of the BSD UNICES. But what exactly is “elitist”. Not mere rudness and a brusque manner. This can be encountered anywhere.
What I find is that high-competence is often seen and misunderstood to be elitism. I am a long-time Linux user who has recently discovered FreeBSD and Darwin (the BSD base of Max OS X). I have noticed the level of knowledge and technical competence of the user base. They tend to power-users and value knowledge and technical ability over “niceness”. They tend too believe that everyone else does the same. They see proficiency as the normal case. I have learned a lot from these types even though they have the social skills of a cheese-grater.
Personally, I have not come across any of this alleged elitism in Ubuntu forms,yet.

By: jaklumen

jaklumen — Fri, 08 May 2009 02:31:07 +0000

I think some are taking much too literal what is generally a rhetorical article. Christopher Tozzi isn’t making direct accusations more as he is suggesting food for thought, IMHO.

By: Jay

Jay — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:27:51 +0000

I go by the philosophy: “Use what works”. For me, it’s Fedora. For my father, its Vista. For my girlfriend, its XP (though she’s warming up to Fedora). I don’t push my ideas upon anyone else. If they come to me with Linux questions, I’ll gladly help out.

By: beavis

beavis — Thu, 07 May 2009 21:15:34 +0000

no linuxcanuck your wrong. just because someone uses a distro like gentoo, slackware, or arch does not make them elitist…

By: Curtis

Curtis — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:57:51 +0000

Concerning people who should not be running Linux…
Josh Said…
” I think some of this elitism exists because Linux advocates are often recommending Linux to people who probably shouldn’t be running Linux. This constant condescension about which OS one runs is a silly at best, and arrogant at worst.”

Most of my family members have used Linux for years without problems. My wife had used it on and off having a slight preference for Windows. During the last two years she had gone back to school and the University web site and requirements for .doc format assignments made it easier to run Windows. Unfortunately her system got infected twice in about a 6 month period. But times when she was in crunch-mode. The second time she figured the small inconvenience (extra step required) to save filed in .doc instead of OpenOffice format in Linux was better than occasionally loosing the ability to use your computer and access needed data.

Long story short: Lately I’ve heard her tell people how well it works and that she is glad she is not using Windows anymore.

As to the infection problems… both times I had to clean the machine and recover her data withing a very short time to meet assignment deadlines. If I had not been available she would have been out of luck as she has no idea how to do these tasks or where to go to have this done.

Hate to say it, but in my experience (this one and many others)
I would have to turn your statement around and say that in reality (actual practice) Windows advocates are the elitists, They tell people to use Windows because it is simple enough for the average person. Except that correctly maintaining the system and recovering data are both frequently needed functions that require elite assistance. In Practice there are many elite Linux users that will help but there is very little elitism in the community. (Those that pick the rare immature comment out and complain seem to ignore the huge mass of the friendly and helpful as if they do not exist. I can’t help a person that refuses to fully open their eyes.)

The Blog does correctly point out that there is a perception of elitism but I think goes astray in saying that the Ububtu community needs to do more to fight the image. A visit to the forums shows that they already have successfully fought this.

The people that still hold this perception must take time to visit and see for themselves. They need to fight their own misconception. If they are not willing to look and see for themselves what reality holds, no one else can help them.

By: Frank

Frank — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:23:23 +0000

Please understand,

Many linux developers, SA’s, SE’s, and technologists like myself are entirely indifferent to any technology’s marketing or perceived reputation. We want tools that work. When a tool doesn’t work, or doesn’t exist, we fix it or build a new one. We’re busy making sure your cell phone can make calls and that ATMs spit out money with minimal fuss. The fact that you want to help Joe User get his Okidata printer working is noble, but not something that the majority of linux developers have the bandwidth or social grace to assist with.

My recommendation for any Joe User is that they lean heavily on his distribution/provider for support. If all else fails, he can look upstream (CUPS for example) for targeted support options.

Last but not least, stop “marketing” Linux. The vast majority of marketing is lies. We need to stop lying to users and simply let them know that there are OS options, that they work fairly well, and that they can obtain them free of cost. Let the users decide when linux is ready for the desktop, not the analysts. I am optimistic that this will happen gradually and naturally.

By: br3n

br3n — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:10:55 +0000

i have been a mandriva/mandrake user and now am a edubuntu user.when i first started i took 6 months of hanging out in irc channels to find the group that helped the people coming in with questions.i am not a techy nor was i an experienced windows user.ubuntu groups have been the best i have seen in helping people.maybe if people didnt come in with the expectation that everyone should just drop everything and deal with them others attitudes might improve.the helpers are usually working jobs and answering questions during spare minutes.they are not paid for their technical help,they do it out of wanting to give back.maybe journalists bloggers could point this fact out more and that would help all in the guture?
br3n

By: hallowname

hallowname — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:50:14 +0000

heh, the community is friendlier than i would have ever expected. duh they are elitists. they are elite. lol.

horrible article…

‘craft an image’? meh, corporate PR tactics. it is what it is.

By: Alan

Alan — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:22:23 +0000

@Donofca: ask at the ubuntu forums

By: Donofca

Donofca — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:13:13 +0000

(Aside to Alan) What does “sudo aptitude clean”, mean?

By: Donofca

Donofca — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:06:30 +0000

While I generally agree that SOME Linuxers are abit above themselves but all in all, as a “Newbe”, I have found my introduction to Linux and Ubuntu very favorable. I have had my share of guf but I live with it. I have found other cases though, where a newbe gets into trouble setting up his distro and asks for help. When it isn’t delivered fast enough he will go on a rant about the snobishness of the mods and others who are “supposed” to help. This upsets me more than the fools on the other side since everyone that is helping does so on their own dime. You don’t pay for some no-nothing reading from a script, you get real help from people that know. They may say” Do this, Dummy” once in a while but you do get help. I just found the answer to a problem that had ben bugging me for months, but a kind person took pity on me and showed me the way, “Do this, Dummy!”

Now if someone asks me that question I can say “Do this, Dummy!” and look like I know what I’m talking about.

By: Alan

Alan — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:48:10 +0000

Here’s a scenario I’ve seen at least 3 or 4 times on Ubuntu’s forums:
– Newbie posts a “testimonial” about Ubuntu that is fairly negative and based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how Linux works, punctuated with a declaration of their “returning to Windows”.
– About 10 people respond cordially or try to inquire into the problems the person was having (since it’s usually the poster’s first post).
– 1 person makes a snide comment.
– The OP returns to make a massive rant about how “elitist” the community is and how Linux will never succeed because of it.

If all it takes is one snide person to make you judge the whole “community” and pass on a great stack of free software, then probably you never really wanted to make it work that bad to begin with.

And about this command line stuff: When I help someone on a forum, I try to gauge the person’s level of expertise from the post. Sometimes I get it wrong. There’s nothing wrong with a person asking follow-up questions, if they don’t understand. Why should everyone have to pedantically explain every process in painstaking detail just because one person might not understand you? Get real. If someone doesn’t know how to fsck their hard drive or where to type “sudo aptitude clean”, then they can ask. That’s the point of a forum.