Re: Using Ubuntu absolves the user of personal responsibility?

Gilles Gravier <Gilles@xxxxxxxxxxx>:

So Michael got the spirit of the response, though not the words. :)

No, Michael did NOT get the spirit of the message. He invented something,
as he's annoyed by me, or something like that.

I really think that in many cases, giving the immediate answer helps a lot.

Disagreement. It doesn't help, it's actually bad help, as people
might not understand what they're actually doing.

Eg. somebody might suggest to read the mail from root by doing

sudo rm -rf /

If people get into the habbit to just copy'n'paste a command, they
might get hurt.

Let's be realistic, many of the Ubuntu users don't really WANT to be
techies... Ubuntu is "Linux for human beings"... not for geeks.

Fine.

So don't try to make a geek out of every user who asks a question.

I don't.

Those
who want to be geeks, once they see the mount -t iso9660... answer will
go and man mount to learn more.

Or they might not, as the command works right away. It's much more
straight forward, to point people to the documentation, so that they
can find out for themselves what to do.

I think it is important that in the non geek population of people who
try out Ubuntu (instead of Windows), we make their life easier... Not
their study of Linux, some of them don't care, just as they don't care
how the internals of Windows XP tick... so giving the immediate answer
let's them continue happily with their test of Ubuntu (instead of giving
them the message of "you can't find it by yourself, so go back to
Windows" - which they might).

I did NOT give that message.

We want more people on Linux... and yes, newbies as well. In fact, the
more newbies on Linux, the more we get newbie questions that help us
make Linux a more newbie and grandmother friendly operating system.

Hm. That might be VERY arguable if "we" really want that.

No
way am I going back to Yggdrasil.

Oh.... and... as Michael points out... if you do find a newbie question
irritating, why not take a deep breath, and let somebody less irritated
by it answer it. While I certainly find that when you go into details
your posts here are extremely valuable, I would prefer less drama and

NOW: *I* did not make a drama here...

more direct help to the newer users. Let them learn at their pace.

I do let them learn at their pace. But I reserve the right to
point people to the documentation, if I know where the documentation
is.

Alexander Skwar
--
Forest fires cause Smokey Bears.



--
ubuntu-users mailing list
ubuntu-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-users

Relevant Pages

  • Re: OT: who said on this group "try Linux" a while back?
    ... took an old 120gig drive and put latest release of Ubuntu on it. ... linux will *never* be anything other than a tech nerd curiosity. ... setting in windows that I couldnt do with a few mouse clicks. ... terminal, paste in this command, job done" doesn't matter which DE you are ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: Which Distro
    ... which distro is suited for me, and it said Ubuntu may not work on my ... Yes, to answer my own earlier question, Opera does have a Linux ... While I get the feeling you dont care much for Windows, ... a Linux distro that looks and works similar to ...
    (alt.linux)
  • Re: Well, Windows is back on the disk.
    ... and people just like the ones at Microsoft. ... OS's like Windows, there will be people who think the ... > intricacies of Linux. ... Ubuntu Help and User Discussions ...
    (Ubuntu)
  • Re: Why Ubuntu (Still) Sucks - Part 2: Compiz Fusion
    ... In the first part of the video, the unseen demonstrator shows-off Windows Vista Aero, including some of the more talked-about UI effects. ... they show Ubuntu with Compiz Fusion enabled. ... Of course, like most attempts by the Linux community to parrot Windows Vista, the aforementioned "eye candy showdown" misses the forest for the trees. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.vista.general)
  • Re: Why Ubuntu (Still) Sucks - Part 2: Compiz Fusion
    ... In the first part of the video, the unseen demonstrator shows-off Windows Vista Aero, including some of the more talked-about UI effects. ... they show Ubuntu with Compiz Fusion enabled. ... Of course, like most attempts by the Linux community to parrot Windows Vista, the aforementioned "eye candy showdown" misses the forest for the trees. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.vista.general)