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Can someone explain to me why Linux users seem so interested about having this long heated discussion about very low level piece of the OS infrastructure they a

Can someone explain to me why Linux users seem so interested about having this long heated discussion about very low level piece of the OS infrastructure they actually have no expertise about and don’t really care about in a direct way? It’s a never ending source of amusement for me. If what you do is broken, just go see your OS provider and ask them to fix it. Why do you even care about how things are working under the hood and how developers chose to spend their time?

smorrebrod 3y ago
I think it is because Linux users tend to be more familiar with their software than users of other OSes. They chose it and they configured them, sometimes for hours. Also they may have bent software to their liking and when you change something so important as the way images are rendered, then their particular workflow can go haywire. I was in the community for less change (wayland, systemd, etc.) however now I tend to agree with you, I don't really care if I can still send emails, watch my DVDs and play some games.
- vetinari 3y ago
  > I think it is because Linux users tend to be more familiar with their software than users of other OSes. But they really don't. They might have familiarized at one point of time, but that snapshot is not where the world is at now. They cannot really expect that the world around them will stop developing, so their know-how and hacks stay current. It is still this, all over again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTdUmlGxVo0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTdUmlGxVo0. 12 years later and we still argue in circles.
  - smorrebrod 3y ago
    > But they really don't. They might have familiarized at one point of time, but that snapshot is not where the world is at now. They cannot really expect that the world around them will stop developing, so their know-how and hacks stay current. Maybe we have different experiences. I am not working in a computer related industry so the people I know who use Linux are the only one following tech news, self hosting services, etc. So in my experience they are more familiar with their software. But my point of view is necessarily incomplete. What I wanted to say was that people who do not know enough to be able to not run in circle, do it because they feel attached to them after becoming familiar with them after so many hours learning their paradigms, their inner workings, etc. Again, it may be my incomplete POV but I have never seen any Windows user look at source code to try to understand a particular function to adapt the software to their workflow. I've seen numerous Linux users do this.
    - dale_glass 3y ago
      > Again, it may be my incomplete POV but I have never seen any Windows user look at source code to try to understand a particular function to adapt the software to their workflow. I've seen numerous Linux users do this. It exists, but in smaller numbers than you'd hope for. Eg, Slashdot is full of greybeards who apparently believe computing peaked in the 90s, learned next to nothing since, and as a result can't understand why systemd does what it does. I don't mean they disagree on the technical merits, but like they're confused as to why would a Linux system needs functionality that caters to a modern desktop laptop user, and it's not enough to have what was required in a server room in the 90s.
nortonham 3y ago
>Can someone explain to me why Linux users seem so interested about having this long heated discussion about very low level piece of the OS infrastructure they actually have no expertise about and don’t really care about in a direct way? lmao this is basically every discussion about wayland, systemd, the gpl, red hat, you name it. People feel the need to argue about things especially in the linux/foss world. reddit, hacker news, et al would have far less traffic if people didn't want to argue about display servers or init systems.

smorrebrod 3y ago

I think it is because Linux users tend to be more familiar with their software than users of other OSes. They chose it and they configured them, sometimes for hours. Also they may have bent software to their liking and when you change something so important as the way images are rendered, then their particular workflow can go haywire. I was in the community for less change (wayland, systemd, etc.) however now I tend to agree with you, I don't really care if I can still send emails, watch my DVDs and play some games.

vetinari 3y ago
> I think it is because Linux users tend to be more familiar with their software than users of other OSes. But they really don't. They might have familiarized at one point of time, but that snapshot is not where the world is at now. They cannot really expect that the world around them will stop developing, so their know-how and hacks stay current. It is still this, all over again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTdUmlGxVo0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTdUmlGxVo0. 12 years later and we still argue in circles.
- smorrebrod 3y ago
  > But they really don't. They might have familiarized at one point of time, but that snapshot is not where the world is at now. They cannot really expect that the world around them will stop developing, so their know-how and hacks stay current. Maybe we have different experiences. I am not working in a computer related industry so the people I know who use Linux are the only one following tech news, self hosting services, etc. So in my experience they are more familiar with their software. But my point of view is necessarily incomplete. What I wanted to say was that people who do not know enough to be able to not run in circle, do it because they feel attached to them after becoming familiar with them after so many hours learning their paradigms, their inner workings, etc. Again, it may be my incomplete POV but I have never seen any Windows user look at source code to try to understand a particular function to adapt the software to their workflow. I've seen numerous Linux users do this.
  - dale_glass 3y ago
    > Again, it may be my incomplete POV but I have never seen any Windows user look at source code to try to understand a particular function to adapt the software to their workflow. I've seen numerous Linux users do this. It exists, but in smaller numbers than you'd hope for. Eg, Slashdot is full of greybeards who apparently believe computing peaked in the 90s, learned next to nothing since, and as a result can't understand why systemd does what it does. I don't mean they disagree on the technical merits, but like they're confused as to why would a Linux system needs functionality that caters to a modern desktop laptop user, and it's not enough to have what was required in a server room in the 90s.

nortonham 3y ago

>Can someone explain to me why Linux users seem so interested about having this long heated discussion about very low level piece of the OS infrastructure they actually have no expertise about and don’t really care about in a direct way? lmao this is basically every discussion about wayland, systemd, the gpl, red hat, you name it. People feel the need to argue about things especially in the linux/foss world. reddit, hacker news, et al would have far less traffic if people didn't want to argue about display servers or init systems.