What's with all the hate against Ubuntu?

[mkmanifesto]

I listen to a lot of Linux pod casts and my favorite is The Linux Action Show. Those guys are pretty open to Ubuntu, but obviously they prefer Arch Linux. Looking around at other Linux sites and pod casts they don't hesitate to bash Ubuntu stating its becoming more Windows like. I for one don't understand that statement at all.

I for one am proud to be a Ubuntu user and prefer it over other distros. Yes it is easy to use, but the main reason I use it is because of the community and support behind the OS. I run Ubuntu 12.04 LTS on my laptop, desktop, and server.

Does anyone else notice the hate coming from other Linux users or is it just me? Its almost as if individuals who choose to use something other then the Ubuntu flavor of linux feel as though they are better and more knowledgeable.

[mikewhatever]

Sure, Ubuntu has become more like Windows. It's easier and more user friendly then other distros I've tried, good looking, supported by a friendly community, and used by millions. What's not to hate here. Actually, I suspect, hating and bashing another distro is part of the true linux experience.

[rackit]

It's human nature to not like that which is not our own. This applies to many thing beside linux distributions. Sports teams, what beer you drink, countries, etc. I've learned to let people like what they like and not engage in waste-of-time arguments about things that really don't matter. People are entitled to their opinions whether I like them or not. I'm certain many people disagree with my views but that's okay too. I like ubuntu and have used it on my main workstation for over ten years. I have a laptop with windows 8 on it. I've set up servers running FreeBSD, Windows servers, ubuntu servers.

Let people rag on ubuntu. It's a stable and robust platform and no amount of narrow-minded rants are going to effect what I know to be true based on my own experience. If it's a lack of technical expertise we have, I can run around the cli naked with my eyes closed (that's not a pretty sight!). Let distro snobs be distro snobs. Apple users aren't any better - partly because they pay a lot of money for their devices.

[monkeybrain20122]

These guys are like sport fans who cheer for their home teams. But the most hilarious are Mint users who bash Ubuntu...don't know where their distro comes from apparently.

Not sure in what way Ubuntu is "like Windows". The UI? No. Is it open source? Yes. Is it free as in beer? yes. I don't agree with Canonical for making online search by default, but it is more google like than Windows and doesn't warrant the drama. Then there is the latest thing erupted over Mir. I won't go into it but Redhat doesn't get the complaints from these same people (check Phoronix forums) for systemd because it is big enough to ram it down everyone's throat so that becomes the "standard", --and Canonical ends up being the guilty party for "fragmentation" for not switching over..

[ian-weisser]

It's normal human behavior to identify with/approve of the (perceived) small, scrapy, underdog. Consult any basic psychology text.
If it's viewed as a competition, the larger / more powerful / wealthier / more successful player will usually be viewed unfavorably.

Ten years ago, for example, when Google, Apple, and Canonical were much smaller, Microsoft was in popular disfavor for being very successful. When Ubuntu started, Mark Shuttleworth used that disfavor for Bug #1, the rallying cry for Ubuntu's first six or seven years.

As Ubuntu use grows and gains wider acceptance, this kind of immature foolishness will also (more slowly) increase. Price of success.

[lykwydchykyn]

There are a small number of people I have met on Linux forums and social sites who have a burning, pathological hatred of Ubuntu.
There is another small number of people who are absolute Ubuntu fans, constantly bash other distros, and will tolerate no criticism of it.

Then there are a whole lot of people in the middle who are just expressing opinions, concerns, and questions that either run afoul of one of the first two or get mistaken for them. "Hater", like "fanboy", is a convenient way to dismiss someone's ideas by suggesting they are just irrational emotion.

[3rdalbum]

A lot of it is "Tall poppy syndrome": When you become successful, people resent your success and want to cut you down.

And the rest of it is irrational hate from former users who thought Ubuntu was going to stay exactly the same the rest of their lives: "As soon as I saw Unity on my desktop instead of the old familiar Gnome, I erased it and installed Linux Mint Mate!".

[Gone fishing]

The change to Unity upset many users, personally I've always rather liked Unity, however, the home scope really upset a lot of people me being one. How do I feel now, I turn the online search on and off - I feel it could be a useful feature but isn't as yet. It should be turned off by default and have the toggle switch on the dash - I don't want Ubuntu to become adware or track me in a Google like manner - with the recent revelations concerning prism, GCHQ and the NSA I don't trust corporations, even canonical not to just hand over my search history etc - not that it would be particularly damning I just don't want the organs of the state picking over my personal life.

I think Canonical has a vision of the future which is good thing, but has not tried very hard to keep users on-board or informed about what that vision is, many users see Canonical as high handed.

[grahammechanical]

Some of us have experienced this irrational hate for more than 2 years. I do not like it when it is brought on to this forum. I do not like when they post their criticisms in the help sections pretending that they are wanting support. I especially do not like it when they clearly have no knowledge of what they are talking about.

Ubuntu is just a computer operating system (Linux distribution). It should not be something to get upset about. Think of all the suffering and injustice that is taking place all around the world. It puts things in perspective. Does it not?

Regards.

[craig10x]

@monkeybrain20122: yeah, i know what you mean about some of the mint fans on the mint forums (and also sometimes come here) to bash ubuntu...it does look like they don't seem to know (or want to forget) that mint is ubuntu underneath with some modifications of course I suspect some think that Clem sprinkles some magic fairy dust on it and when he is done it is no longer ubuntu...just mint