> Again, use whatever you want. But this is such lazy writing
It is, but I also think ‘use whatever you want’ is lazy, or at least resigned, in a different way.
There's a pattern that often takes hold with new desktop Linux users involving an intense evangelism phase. Some of the reasons for that phase are cultural artifacts that aren't especially interesting or valuable, like a tendency to ground one's identity in consumer choices.
But the evangelistic phase in a new Linux user's journey with desktop Linux is also grounded in experiences of joy, wonder, and a kind of digital ‘pride of place’ that really are special to free software desktops, and is nowhere realized as fully as in the desktop Linux world. Those kinds of experiences are worth sharing, examining, and celebrating, even in naive forms. Some good examples of content creators who've gone through this process in the last few years are Jason Evangelho (Forbes writer and longtime tech/gaming journalist) and Chris Titus (longtime Windows sysadmin and power user gone Linux YouTuber).
The ‘right tool for the job’, ‘use whatever works’ nostrum is as uninteresting and useless a meme as ‘Arch Linux is teh best and Ubuntu is for n00bz!!1’, with the additional problem that that its emptiness is obscured by its apparent even-handedness.
To be clear, I agree with most of what you've said and overall critique of the specific article in the OP. But I want to point out that ‘why Linux’ as a genre or topic is not just flamebait, and that there are other articles along those lines that I think have a legitimate place on HN or any forum where people are interested in people's experiences with computers.
> To be clear, I agree with most of what you've said and overall critique of the specific article in the OP. But I want to point out that ‘why Linux’ as a genre or topic is not just flamebait, and that there are other articles along those lines that I think have a legitimate place on HN or any forum where people are interested in people's experiences with computers.
This is totally fair and I wouldn’t want to imply otherwise. My issues are with this article and the others of its ilk, but not the general genre of content.
And you make good points about “use whatever you want” being an uninteresting meme too.
And you make excellent points about the evangelism phase (which I think we both agree, this article isn’t indicative of, tho I imagine the person who shared it might be in that wonderful phase themselves), which is definitely important. As a longtime Mac user, we have that phase too (also, the fact that I still primarily identify as a Mac user even tho I’ve been using Linux since 1998, even if primarily on the server (I still distro hop like a mofo all the damn time tho), speaks to those cultural artifacts you mention that just stick with us), and Mac users are just as obnoxious as Linux users but in a different way.
I truly have come to a place where I want people to enjoy what they enjoy and share that. I’m just exhausted by the evangelism and fierce defensiveness by any sect. But I’m definitely guilty of it too (she says as she types away at 100 words a minute on her iPhone that she is slavishly devoted to).
It is, but I also think ‘use whatever you want’ is lazy, or at least resigned, in a different way.
There's a pattern that often takes hold with new desktop Linux users involving an intense evangelism phase. Some of the reasons for that phase are cultural artifacts that aren't especially interesting or valuable, like a tendency to ground one's identity in consumer choices.
But the evangelistic phase in a new Linux user's journey with desktop Linux is also grounded in experiences of joy, wonder, and a kind of digital ‘pride of place’ that really are special to free software desktops, and is nowhere realized as fully as in the desktop Linux world. Those kinds of experiences are worth sharing, examining, and celebrating, even in naive forms. Some good examples of content creators who've gone through this process in the last few years are Jason Evangelho (Forbes writer and longtime tech/gaming journalist) and Chris Titus (longtime Windows sysadmin and power user gone Linux YouTuber).
The ‘right tool for the job’, ‘use whatever works’ nostrum is as uninteresting and useless a meme as ‘Arch Linux is teh best and Ubuntu is for n00bz!!1’, with the additional problem that that its emptiness is obscured by its apparent even-handedness.
To be clear, I agree with most of what you've said and overall critique of the specific article in the OP. But I want to point out that ‘why Linux’ as a genre or topic is not just flamebait, and that there are other articles along those lines that I think have a legitimate place on HN or any forum where people are interested in people's experiences with computers.