How to answer distro snobs (in a friendly way!)

[joseftu]

So, here's what I'm hearing on another forum:

(In reference to the news about Google using a Ubuntu-based distro) Are you sh*tting me? You know, with all these supposed geniuses working for Google, they chose one of the worst builds to mimic and go from? Why? Because of that silly Benniton Peacenik ad crap?!?

Ubuntu is a hog, horrible dist.

Red Hat would have been a lot better, and I hate Red Hat. Ubuntu is just THAT much worse.

You obviously didn't try Vector Linux.

Ubuntu is geared so much to the noob that you can't really learn what Linux is all about. Many of the "standard" linux features are locked down to where you have to jump through hoops in order to do something that should be rather simple.

Now, I generally like and respect these guys, and they're way, way more experienced than I am. I'm a total newbie with Ubuntu--but so far I like it a lot--and it works on my machines. I told them that, but I'm still getting the same lines.

I like what I have. I'm willing to try other distros (I've tried Red Hat in the past, and pretty much all the live CD versions I can find of other distros). It's interesting, when I have time, but Ubuntu really seems like the one that's worth sticking with. I don't care a whole lot if that makes me seem like a n00b, but I'm wondering if that really is a common impression of this distro?

So what do you think? Is it worth answering them? Are there any good answers? Is this kind of attitude common in the larger Linux community?

[ardchoille]

The best thing you can do, in my opinion, is to ignore them. People are always going to have their opinions about a product and if that opinion is "it sucks" then you are going to do little to change their already closed mind - anything you say to them other than "you're right" is only going to be met with a flamewar from them. Ignore them and use that which works for you.

I have been using Linux (various distros) for about five years and I have helped 99 people and businesses switch from Windows to Linux. I have gone through 14 distros and all have their pro's and con's, there's no getting around that. I currently use Ubuntu because it is up-to-date as far as app versions go, it has huge repos and I have yet to experience a single major problem on this outstanding distro. I use a lot of command line and some gui's. I have seen that Ubuntu is great for people who are new to Linux and it is great for people who have been using Linux for years.

The bottom line is, however, that the user should use the distro which best suits their needs. If that is Ubuntu, great.. if it isn't Ubuntu, great. Linux is all about choice :)

EDIT: I run Ubuntu on 11 machines in my home and I have no plans to switch to another distro. In fact, I am looking forward to installing Ubuntu 6.04 (Dapper Drake) on my machines when it is released as stable. I have noticed that Ubuntu has been the number one distro at www.distrowatch.com for a while :)

[endersshadow]

The impression is that things are locked down and that it is "dumbed down." In fact, Ubuntu just uses the sudo model and does not enable root by default (but it's very easy to do this...quite literally, one command).

Also, Ubuntu makes installation a snap by automatically detecting hardware and installing the correct packages. While you can do this automatically, Ubuntu just does it for you...which is nice. Ubuntu has made a distribution that's easy to use, but doesn't take away any features. I'd ask what that person could not do that he wanted to do...it's probably something remarkably easy...

[TechSonic]

Who cares about Manual installs, I mean geez. Ubuntu does the work for you! If you don't want something, just take it out. Ubuntu only takes 1 CD compaired to others that go up to 3 to 8 cds. It's not like it installs everything! You choose the packages you want, plain and simple. There is nothing 'en zero zero be' about it. Ubuntu doesn't restrict you, it gives you choices.

[krusbjorn]

Ubuntu is geared so much to the noob that you can't really learn what Linux is all about.
This guy obviously didnt ponder that what linux is all about differ depending on the user. To me linux is all about ethics, choice and helping me do what i need get done everyday. Out of the 10ish distros i've tried, Ubuntu does the best job. Saying that "linux is all about this and that" is shooting yourself in the foot, cause generalizing like that sends your arguments straight to the abyss. It isnt any harder than that, really.

And there will always be fanboys flaming each other. Just look at the Bill Gates fanboys versus the Steve jobs ones, or the ipod people versus the iriver/iaudio ones. Or political parties. Or religions. It's all the same phenomena. This type of people never manages to convice each other of what is "right", so why try to? Ignore them. Let them play.

[joseftu]

Thanks!
I'm really not about to get into a pushing match with these folks--they've got their opinions and that's fine. But I wondered if there was some glaring deficiency in Ubuntu that I was missing...that's common knowledge among other user of other distro's.

You know what they say about opinions. Personally, I hate German Chocolate Cake. But my wife loves it. So I feel glad that she can enjoy a slice of it, while I stick with ice cream and pie!
:)

[midwinter]

I don't know, i feel after a couple of months of using it that ubuntu is a little dumbed down for my needs but that's fine, I still think it's a great distro and as my first distro it was perfect really. I do think it is noob orientated but that was great for me.

I'll definitely recommend it to people but will be moving on myself in a week or two.

[krusbjorn]

You know what they say about opinions. Personally, I hate German Chocolate Cake. But my wife loves it. So I feel glad that she can enjoy a slice of it, while I stick with ice cream and pie!
:)

As long as she doesnt like Sacher Cake, it's all fine with me ;)

[mstlyevil]

I have tried a few other distros. You want to talk about dumbed down, try Linspire or Xandros. I bet most of these people flaming Ubuntu are using Suse 10. When I used Suse 10 I found the community that surrounds it has a superiority complex. What is funny about that is that in many ways Suse 10 is easier to set up and use since YAST does everything without ever touching the command line. I never had to touch the terminal once when I used it and that included getting the latest NVIDIA GC drivers. I had to manually install those in Ubuntu including killing x to finish the install in text only mode. In my opinion Suse is way more dumbed down than Ubuntu but that is my opinion.

If these fanboys want difficult distros to install then they need to use Gentoo or Debian Sarge. Ubuntu is a intermediate distro not a noob distro if you honestly take a look at what it takes to get it up and running if you do not use Automatix or Easy Ubuntu. What makes this distro noob friendly is these forums, the wiki and the community surrounding it. If being a a**hole to noobs is what makes a distro advanced then there are a lot of advanced distros out there.

[Cesium]

I love Ubuntu. Isn't that enough? :D

[weasel fierce]

we're all linux / open source people.

More options means more linux.

[briancurtin]

I have tried a few other distros. You want to talk about dumbed down, try Linspire or Xandros. I bet most of these people flaming Ubuntu are using Suse 10. When I used Suse 10 I found the community that surrounds it has a superiority complex. What is funny about that is that in many ways Suse 10 is easier to set up and use since YAST does everything without ever touching the command line. I never had to touch the terminal once when I used it and that included getting the latest NVIDIA GC drivers. I had to manually install those in Ubuntu including killing x to finish the install in text only mode. In my opinion Suse is way more dumbed down than Ubuntu but that is my opinion.

If these fanboys want difficult distros to install then they need to use Gentoo or Debian Sarge. Ubuntu is a intermediate distro not a noob distro if you honestly take a look at what it takes to get it up and running if you do not use Automatix or Easy Ubuntu. What makes this distro noob friendly is these forums, the wiki and the community surrounding it. If being a a**hole to noobs is what makes a distro advanced then there are a lot of advanced distros out there.
i wouldnt say SuSE is dumbed down. it provides an incredibly easy way to install and configure everything, but it could all be done by the command line, and it is pretty powerful in my experiences. i started on SuSE and i wouldnt really even consider it a starter distro.

[mstlyevil]

i wouldnt say SuSE is dumbed down. it provides an incredibly easy way to install and configure everything, but it could all be done by the command line, and it is pretty powerful in my experiences. i started on SuSE and i wouldnt really even consider it a starter distro.

I don't consider it dumbed down either, I just was using the logic some Suse users use to describe Ubuntu as dumbed down. Easy to use and set up does not make a distribution dumbed down as long as the option is still there to do advanced configurations. Both Ubuntu and Suse have these same qualities. Suse 10 is easier to set up and use overall than Ubuntu because of YAST but it is no less advanced.

[TechSonic]

Some times I wish that there was only one distro of Linux and everyone worked on that.

[egon spengler]

Personally I disagree with the idea that allowing gui setup = dumbing down. I think what it is most of the time is that certain people like to feel superior whether it's through their taste in music or books or car or OS. I'm sure the same people don't shun using a word processor and printer in favour of using a piece of wood and a printing press so as to avoid "dumbing down".


I don't know, i feel after a couple of months of using it that ubuntu is a little dumbed down for my needs but that's fine, I still think it's a great distro and as my first distro it was perfect really. I do think it is noob orientated but that was great for me.

I'll definitely recommend it to people but will be moving on myself in a week or two.

Out of curiousity, what is it that ubuntu restricts you from doing?

[Lord Illidan]

Some times I wish that there was only one distro of Linux and everyone worked on that.

But what would we do without choice, then? It would be like the case with Windows. Everyone using Windows XP...boooring.

[wrtrdood]

Truthfully, there's no such thing as a "dumbed-down" GNU/Linux distribution. The guts of the system is basically the same across the board. The primary differences are, of course, the init system and the package management. If one wants to learn the GNU/Linux internals, it's possible to do that on any Linux distro. Methodology might vary but the core system is still the same.

Ubuntu is a distribution that provides us with increased capability by virtually eliminating the dependency nightmare some distros run into. I equate this to sophistication, not limitation. What's wrong with being able to "just do it"? Most of the time I don't get sidetracked into system internals unless I really want to. I can't say that for many of the other distributions, especially Slackware. :)

[mstlyevil]

Truthfully, there's no such thing as a "dumbed-down" GNU/Linux distribution. The guts of the system is basically the same across the board. The primary differences are, of course, the init system and the package management. If one wants to learn the GNU/Linux internals, it's possible to do that on any Linux distro. Methodology might vary but the core system is still the same.

Ubuntu is a distribution that provides us with increased capability by virtually eliminating the dependency nightmare some distros run into. I equate this to sophistication, not limitation. What's wrong with being able to "just do it"? Most of the time I don't get sidetracked into system internals unless I really want to. I can't say that for many of the other distributions, especially Slackware. :)

Good point. I entirely agree with this post.

[rjwood]

Why even compare distro's? The one thing that seperates Ubuntu from ALL others is the forums.....:cool:.... How much fun or educational for that matter would it be to listen to people knock others to feel good about themselves??

I alway's tell people that when you buy a car, the most important criteria is 'resale value', not much else. When it coms to operating systems--the most important criteria is the community...This one is the best---hands down!!!!;)

[xequence]

The people who say a GUI is for n00bs are annoying. They just want to say "hey doodz, I am so smart, I installed from the command line, worship me now!".

[Stormy Eyes]

So what do you think? Is it worth answering them? Are there any good answers? Is this kind of attitude common in the larger Linux community?

I usually answer such people by gently tapping their heads with my sledgehammer, instead of ramming the head into their bellies to break their guard and then swinging at their heads at full power.

[rjwood]

Then again, you could alway's point them towards 'Stormy Eyes' and let him handle it....