Sometimes we in the Linux "world" get a bit carried away with a piece of software. We get into out little geek niches and form clubs and setup forums. We have fun with it. Sometimes though, we get a bit "too" carried away. When you live in a digital world and you begin to spend too much time online, the line between reality and virtual reality can get hazy.
"If Linux were a great and demanding God of OS's, what might it demand from us?" is a topic I saw recently. I immediately had to have fun with this.
1) Thou shall worship no distro before me.
Behold that the distro is the messenger and it is the message they carry that is to be focused on, not the messengers themselves. I am the one and only OpenSource OS and the distros but carry my message in all variety of possible uses to the world.
2) Thou shall "tweak" thy install.
Lo my devs are good and righteous, but not even their splendid ( or otherwise) displays shall be so eminent that thou ( the end user) may not alter your install to your wishes, this is my promise to you.
3) Thou shall not demand instant gratification for free.
I give thee a gift called "search" use it wisely and harass not others to do for you that which you can do for yourself.
4) Beware of capitalists bearing promises.
My gifts are for all the world to use and no one, regardless of the riches they bring and the splendors they promise, shall intervene. Step not lightly into their house, for it is a gilded cage.
5) Take thyself not too seriously.
These digital wonders are not the periphery of life. Strange and incredible things lay beyond your front door. Lo I shall call it "outside". Go and explore this "outside" and let not your faces pale or your wrists ache there.
OK, I could only think of five instead of ten. I still think it's a tremendously funny thing to take some digitized code so seriously as to place it in the same arena as a deity.
Friday, November 6, 2009
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3 comments:
Funny. Is number three supposed to mean that end users need to read the manual rather than ask for direct help? I'm not sure if that's what you meant, but I've run into that notion again and again and doubt regular folks are going to be willing to become computer geeks just to get their computer to work. The frustration level for those who won't ever even ranks as n00bs needs to be lowered considerably.
Perhaps there's room to add, "Thou shalt not covet proprietary apps."
Number three says search. There has always been a hubbub about whether people coming in to a new OS experience should expect people to rehash and do the homework over and over and over again for each and every person who comes along and asks.
I do not beleive that people are stupid just because they are new to an OS experience. Most people who have attended at least some level of public education at the least, should have learned how to find information on their own. Use those skills and do a little homework before asking a question. at before demanding that everyone else cater to one persons demand for instant gratification.
That's my position anyway.
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