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View Full Version : Is Linux a Cult?



Dr. E
December 15th, 2005, 10:24 PM
When I've used an OS in the past I felt that I was the consumer of a product. Since toying with Ubuntu and lurking on this forum I feel more like I've joined a fraternity or cult rather than chosen a product. Is there a special code word I need to know (besides Windows sucks)? Will I be accosted at night and hauled off to some secret hazing ceremony? Do the rituals somehow involve penguins or vilely desacrating XP CDs? ;)

Mr. Electric Wizard
December 15th, 2005, 10:30 PM
Not really, but when you start to Gel with the Ubuntu, you can never go back.
It is such a beautiful thing, this FOSS stuff!
:p

HarryMangurian
December 15th, 2005, 10:44 PM
I did work with some members of the Linux mafia, who took it personally if you said anything negative. Their lives were a bit shallow , I guess, because they took pride in knowing stuff that newbies did not. They went out of their way to make explanations in the most obscure "Linux-ese" possible. On the other hand, I have found most of the Linux gurus on the forums - especially at Ubuntu- very gracious and helpfull. They also deal with your follow-up questions very quickly.

If I could get all my peripherals and essential software to work with Linux, I would make the switch because it's definitely cleaner and less system taxing, as well as a lot more fun, than *******.

If you have a machine disconnected from the internet and still have a copy of the original Windows 98 or NT,,,,,,,, Load it up for a very fast non-bloated experience - feels every bit as good as Linux. Security problems and patches as well as the stupid registry is what took away the attractiveness of Windows.

j.hill
December 15th, 2005, 10:49 PM
Will I be accosted at night and hauled off to some secret hazing ceremony? Do the rituals somehow involve penguins or vilely desacrating XP CDs? ;)

Don't worry; we'll be gentle. Just FYI, though: It hurts less if you don't fight it.

deNoobius
December 15th, 2005, 10:52 PM
If you have a machine disconnected from the internet and still have a copy of the original Windows 98 or NT,,,,,,,, Load it up for a very fast non-bloated experience - feels every bit as good as Linux.

Um...No offense, but I think with respect to Windows 98 that you may be looking back with rose-colored glasses. I ran Win98 on one of my computers until about a year ago. It's very unstable--crashes every few days or more--a single program crashing takes down the whole system. Do you not remember the BSOD? The memory leak that would gradually make your system slow down?

WinXP is a huge improvement performance-wise, although the incessant need for patching is annoying.

kingsidy
December 15th, 2005, 10:53 PM
Is it a cult or is it a different experience? Hummm let me think

Perfect Storm
December 15th, 2005, 11:02 PM
We have secret hand shakes and a burnmark of the ubuntu logo on our butt ;)

earobinson
December 15th, 2005, 11:04 PM
No linux is a peice of software how can that be a clut

NOTE:Could a mod please move this to the community chat.
EDIT:Thanks

KingBahamut
December 15th, 2005, 11:08 PM
Just remember the Sun is bad, because the beast cant come out, cause it hurts his eyes and stuff. Dont show up all sunburned and stuff.

kingsidy
December 15th, 2005, 11:15 PM
We have secret hand shakes and a burnmark of the ubuntu logo on our butt ;)
:razz: lmao

kairu0
December 15th, 2005, 11:16 PM
Linux is a community. There are no entrance fees. You can come and go as you please. It is open every day of the year.

Linux is relaxing. You can play games in Linux, you can just pass time in Linux. You are always welcome to be informal and even childish.

If you want to leave your mark, you can. You can participate casually or you can become addicted. If you don't like the Linux group that you hang out with, you can always find another down the street.

CONCLUSION: Linux is a bar.

Ultimo Aliento
December 16th, 2005, 12:13 AM
Hmmm, i dont know, after so many crashes, so many formated partitons, so many virus, and now spyware in windows... Linux is like a Oasis, with nice people , and if you dont want to talk with no one, it has a nice library too ;) (google, the guides, this forums).

For me, Linux it's like a nice town, plenty of things to do, many good people and a less worries...

For the secret hand shake, can we make sounds like "Huzaaa!!" after the hand shake?

matthew
December 16th, 2005, 12:41 AM
Linux is a community. There are no entrance fees. You can come and go as you please. It is open every day of the year.

Linux is relaxing. You can play games in Linux, you can just pass time in Linux. You are always welcome to be informal and even childish.

If you want to leave your mark, you can. You can participate casually or you can become addicted. If you don't like the Linux group that you hang out with, you can always find another down the street.

CONCLUSION: Linux is a bar.LOL!!

I was about to say "fraternity" in the best of senses--the Linux community is generally mutually-supportive and welcoming to anyone who wants to be a part (provided they are willing to do a bit of study themselves and not just be a leech). I was going to say that the OP doesn't need to worry about the hazing ritual because we generally just show up at the person's house at the proper time...now I've decided we are nothing like that.

Bar/cafe - take your pick. The analogy is a good one.

EDIT: Now vi and emacs are cults... <stands back to see if a war erupts>

HarryMangurian
December 16th, 2005, 12:44 AM
I'll bet your talking W98 with service packs and security updates.
I still have W98 rev 0 on an old laptop and it's great. Zippy and it takes less than 800meg on the HD. I do agree you have to reboot every day because of memory leaks and stability issues. I would not, for a minute, hook it up to the internet, because of security. I only want it on my anciant laptop in order to offload photos from my camera when I travel and do some minor edits.

I guess it's all beside the point because, if I can solve WiFi issues, I will put Ubuntu on it and (sniff, sniff) say a final goodbye to W98.



Um...No offense, but I think with respect to Windows 98 that you may be looking back with rose-colored glasses. I ran Win98 on one of my computers until about a year ago. It's very unstable--crashes every few days or more--a single program crashing takes down the whole system. Do you not remember the BSOD? The memory leak that would gradually make your system slow down?

WinXP is a huge improvement performance-wise, although the incessant need for patching is annoying.

HarryMangurian
December 16th, 2005, 12:49 AM
Hey guys ! Don't forget the holiday kool-aid party next week !!

nocturn
December 16th, 2005, 09:24 AM
When I've used an OS in the past I felt that I was the consumer of a product. Since toying with Ubuntu and lurking on this forum I feel more like I've joined a fraternity or cult rather than chosen a product. Is there a special code word I need to know (besides Windows sucks)? Will I be accosted at night and hauled off to some secret hazing ceremony? Do the rituals somehow involve penguins or vilely desacrating XP CDs? ;)

First off, Linux is not a product as you are used to. If you get Windows, the philosophy behind is to make money, period (the same goes for Mac OS X).
The philosophy behind Free Software is a lot different, and although one can make money of it, it is not the primary and only goal.

You get Linux form a community, by using it and participating in forums, you become a part of that community.
This is not something childish like a fraternity like you stated, but rather something very basic. Since the dawn of our race, humans have lived in communities that were tied together by a whole lot more then money, although our modern civilisation has wiped that community feeling out in most of the everyday world, the idea is so strong it cannot be killed.

Welcome to the 21st century version of that idea.

nocturn
December 16th, 2005, 09:30 AM
If you obtain an OS from a community, it is a lot different from buying a commercial one.

A commercial product is out there to make money, a side-effect of this may be that you can use your computer, but it is not the goal.

If something happens (like the outbreak of the Sony rootkit), a commercial product has to protect its goal, that is, protect the money stream generated from it. In some cases, this leads to protect the side-effect of you using your computer, but in other cases it does not (MS did not act against the Sony rootkit until public outcry forced it to do so, threatening the money stream).

Free Software has a different goal, if something happens, the community is the one that need protecting, that also means you as a user and your ability to use and protect your computer from harm. Getting a fix out for a security vuln and giving all information to users becomes more important then legal damage-control and PR statements.

23meg
December 16th, 2005, 09:38 AM
Dr. E , you should at least take a brief look at the history and reasons of existence of free software, which will put things in context for you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Software_Foundation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software
http://www.gnu.org/
http://www.fsf.org/

HarryMangurian
December 16th, 2005, 02:16 PM
Mac users are more cultish. (I am an escapee).

If Linus Torvald announced that the next version of the Linux kernal will only run on forthcoming models of Gateway computers, the Linux community would rebel and tell him it was time for him to bow out.

When Steve Jobs says the same sort of thing about OS #nn, Mac users will pre-order the product and praise it before it is even released. (I am being hyperbolic just to tweak my Mac friends- no malicious intent, but more than a grain of truth - and yes, I have an IPOD and I use Itunes). ;)


ps. Windows users need no cult. They are already in hell. I know this because I often must use *******.

jobezone
December 16th, 2005, 02:32 PM
DR. E, if you need to ask, then you're not in it...

To all my brothers, have you seen my dagger? I thought I had left it at the altar during last month's Sacrifice to the Matrix, but it was gone later that day. Please P.M. me if you have it. I promise to disregard its "temporary displacement".

TeeAhr1
December 16th, 2005, 03:42 PM
Yes, it's a cult. Come be one of us. One of us! One of us! ONE OF US!! *insert goat sacrifice here*

Pablo_Escobar
December 16th, 2005, 03:44 PM
Yes, it's a cult. Come be one of us. One of us! One of us! ONE OF US!! *insert goat sacrifice here*

I'm with You :) I'm already a GrandMaster of Ubuntus Secret Toilet Society :p


*insert goat sacrifice here*

You've made a slight mistake here, it should be like this


*insert g@tes sacrifice here*

:D

Heck, After all, we're all just a bunch of cultists :razz:

ubuntu27
December 25th, 2005, 09:58 PM
I'm part of this cult that sacrifices anyone related to Willian Henry (Bill) Gates III :D LOL :D