The now-infamous OMG Ubuntu article discussion

[MCVenom]

Article here, if you aren't already familiar with it: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/08/dude-youre-35-year-old-with-neck-beard.html

What do you all think? I think he has some good points, but the article was unneededly in-your-face (like the people he claims to be against) and offensive to some people. It also could be seen as a Leadership CoC violation, considering he leads the Ubuntu Manual Team.

PS: Please be respectful in your replies. :P

[szymon_g]

i see nothing wrong with that article.
and anything may be offensive to some poeple (for example: some cartoons to muslims)

[phrostbyte]

I very much enjoyed reading the comment section. :)

[MCVenom]

I very much enjoyed reading the comment section. :)
I observed the identi.ca fallout. Honestly, I wonder if this drama is going to last long; I hope not, but I can't deny it'll be entertaining if it does. :P

If only to justify these posts:


Dear !FOSS enthuasists. Just read OMG !Ubuntu (http://identi.ca/group/8/id) article. Very dissapointed. I want you to know, when you come to lynch Ubuntu users, I use !Fedora. Please spare making me part of any crapstorms or lynchings, I use !Fedora. Thank you for understanding that I use !Fedora, and not !Ubuntu (http://identi.ca/group/8/id).

I was kinda lying, but still :lolflag:

[phrostbyte]

I observed the identi.ca fallout. Honestly, I wonder if this drama is going to last long; I hope not, but I can't deny it'll be entertaining if it does. :P

If only to justify these posts:



I was kinda lying, but still :lolflag:

Wait? You use Fedora? [-X

[MCVenom]

Wait? You use Fedora? [-X
Well, I will once I figure out how to dual-boot Ubuntu and Fedora >.>

Having installed it before, the open source drivers are somehow light years better than Ubuntu's (I use the proprietary ones anyway for 3D, but it's nice to get full, clear display resolution out of the box), and scrolling in Firefox is smoother. So I think I'd like it, even if I only end up booting into it to marvel at those little things. :P

[fatality_uk]

"infamous" It was posted a few hours ago.
Plus it's a persons opinion, not a call to arms.

[MCVenom]

"infamous" It was posted a few hours ago.
Plus it's a persons opinion, not a call to arms.
Mostly it was meant jokingly, but it's been going around quite quickly.

I don't see anyone calling it a 'call to arms'.

[MCVenom]

That article sounds as if it was written by a 14 yo, looking for his 15 minutes of blog fame, not by an Ubuntu Team leader (unless ubuntu team leaders are 14 yo looking for 15 minutes of blog fame).

Ok, he has some valid points here and there, nothing new, nothing insightful, but points nonetheless -- but overall the thing lacks severely both in style and in content.
They guy prides himself as "upsetting the internet by writing controversial articles" -- the only thing controversial in his post is some gratuitous insults and name calling, and even those lack anything original.

That's pretty much my opinion. It wouldn't have been as bad if it was just some blogger; but it's not proper conduct for a Ubuntu member imo, let alone a team leader.

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

Where is the option for "I thought it was a joke, and I don't find the article to be offensive."

I thought the part about the beard funny. I am the only Linux user I personally know that has a beard. Many of them are to young to grow one even if they wanted to.

[MCVenom]

Where is the option for "I thought it was a joke, and I don't find the article to be offensive.

I thought the part about the beard funny. I am the only Linux user I personally know that has a beard. Many of them are to young to grow one even if they wanted to.
Well do you agree, or not agree with Benjamin's points? Because he *was* trying to make a point, and that's what the poll reflects. :P

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

Well do you agree, or not agree with Benjamin's points? Because he *was* trying to make a point, and that's what the poll reflects. :P

I agree with some of what he wrote, and disagree with others parts of it. I agree with more of it than I disagree with.

[MCVenom]

I agree with some of what he wrote, and disagree with others parts of it. I agree with more of it than I disagree with.
Then Agree/Not Offensive or INS/Not Offensive :P

I tried to make the poll as inclusive as possible without getting unwieldly. :P

[NCLI]

I thought it was just fine. I guess the people who are offended are the ones targeted by the article in the first place.

[Regenweald]

I think it's really cool that the internet has given people the world over the power to be offended by persons they otherwise would never have had the opportunity to be offended by. Technology is great.

[frup]

I don't like it's tone nor agree with its content. I also shave everyday and don't much involvement at all, I'm just your typical user that the article seems to want to reach out to.

I'm not offended but I'm not pleased to have that kind of rant associated with Ubuntu. I think it's incredibly immature, short-sighted and naive.

I think the dude needs a holiday.

[MCVenom]

I thought it was just fine. I guess the people who are offended are the ones targeted by the article in the first place.
Personally, I was bothered by his contention that online privacy is ridiculous. Obviously, someone's never heard of Facebook's old Beacon feature. :roll:

I'm 14, haven't shaved yet, consider myself quite fit, spend much time outside, have an okay social life, and I believe in free software and online privacy. So I found the 35 year old basement dweller stereotype he proceeded to lump me into, offensive. :P

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

Then Agree/Not Offensive or INS/Not Offensive :P

I tried to make the poll as inclusive as possible without getting unwieldly. :P

I'm sorry my original comment offended you. It was meant as sarcasm. I guess people are to sensitive about this issue to recognize sarcasm. I guess I should have used the <sarcasm></sarcasm> tags.:)

[MCVenom]

I'm sorry my original comment offended you. It was meant as sarcasm. I guess people are to sensitive about this issue to recognize sarcasm. I guess I should have used the <sarcasm></sarcasm> tags.:)
Didn't offend, confused :P

[phrostbyte]

Where is the option for "I thought it was a joke, and I don't find the article to be offensive."

I thought the part about the beard funny. I am the only Linux user I personally know that has a beard. Many of them are to young to grow one even if they wanted to.

I am very offended by your beard and demand you shave it immediately.

[MCVenom]

I am very offended by your beard and demand you shave it immediately.
And I demand you remove the offensive remarks about my mother on your avatar's forehead! :P

Meh, back on topic: Honestly, one can find cause to be offended by anything, really. I think we all know that; but stereotypes are the trickiest way to create humor.

As someone who's played with humor based on stereotypes, I would say that I personally would stay away from it if it's not needed to make my point. People get hung up on them. Someone in a leadership position should know better.

[KiwiNZ]

Todays thought...

A Beard and Moustache during Flu season is disgusting

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

I think it's really cool that the internet has given people the world over the power to be offended by persons they otherwise would never have had the opportunity to be offended by. Technology is great.

I agree. Where I work we use both Microsoft Windows and Linux; therefore, we have quite a few people that use Linux on their personal computers. They downloaded a distro, Googled to get it working, then never join a Linux forum nor read them.

Everyone gets along just fine with no argument about which distro is better or whether Microsoft Windows or Linux is better. Most of them don't even know what a Linux Zealot is; because, they haven't read about it in the forums they don't read.
:lolflag:

[MCVenom]

Todays thought...

A Beard and Moustache during Flu season is disgusting
This is the best post in this whole thread. :P

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

I am very offended by your beard and demand you shave it immediately.

hehe.

I recognize the writing on your avatar. So, you may understand that the beard is going to stay.

:lolflag:

[koenn]

I thought it was just fine. I guess the people who are offended are the ones targeted by the article in the first place.

He's generalizing and stereotyping in such a way it's pretty difficult not te be targetted/offended.


to quote an example that is not FOSS/Ubuntu/Linux related :

In my own life I have learnt to minimize the amount of friends I have who are vegetarian, religious or have extreme views about something. If I didn't, I'd probably be so depressed from being lectured and told off all the time for eating meat or not believing in God.

So if you're a vegetarian (50% of the world population ?) or religious (80% ?), you're already classified as a whining zealot who makes normal (sic) people depressed.
Note, you don't necessarily need to be extremely religious or vehemently vegetarian - he says "vegetarian, religious, or have extremist views."
And while we're at it, let's label everyone who holds a different opinion as "abnormal"

OK, maybe that's not what he actually meant.
But it's what he wrote, and published. It's the only thing we have to go by, unless you're psychic. If he can't accurately express himself in writing, he has no business publishing editorials.

[MCVenom]

Just wanted to bring this over from the blog comments:


At the core of the post, you have a reasonable point which people are already aware of but you pulled it off in a very immature way.

I have a beard and am a Linux user and tend to actually play into the stereotype because I find it funny. I am not offended by the remarks posted but that is not to say others are not.

People just want to be treated nicely and in a positive way, by doing so you will get a positive outcome. Attacking them will just create hostility and they will not want to listen to what you have to say. You could have easily made the same points with positive criticism and without offending anyone.

I have had very little experience in Linux/FOSS evangelists bar one guy looking down on me for using Ubuntu. Saying that, I dealt with him very easily. I ignored him.
Why do these people bother you so much? They are one part of the Linux community and there are many others that you can focus on.

On a last note, what IS wrong with people who don't use Facebook and Twitter for privacy reasons? Good on them! I ended up using Facebook to keep in contact with friends I don't live near but privacy is always on my mind.
Again, this is another point that you could just ignore, they aren't hurting you.

[phrostbyte]

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/infrastructures.png

Pretty good xkcd. Just replace 2003 with 2010 and it would be right on the money. :)

[MCVenom]

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/infrastructures.png

Pretty good xkcd. Just replace 2003 with 2010 and it would be right on the money. :)
I love it too (side note: there's actually an app in the Android App Store now called 'Tiny Open Source Violin' because of that comic).

But what would we replace 2010 with? Will the blissful ignorance never end? :P

[Elfy]

I'll not bother posting anything other than the fact I rarely read the blog and it is even rarer for me to take any notice of any made up story it tells - any other comment can wait till I am black again and not too bothered about whether I stay here or not.

Fanboi's are fanbpoi's whatever the costume.

[Warpnow]

I find his comments about vegetarians far more offensive. I'm a vegetarian, but I don't lecture my friends. The guy's obviously not very bright. Strikes me as someone with a bit too much time and a bit too little intelligence.

[Elfy]

Strikes me as someone with a bit too much time ...
Indeed

[splicerr]

I think this reflects very bad on Canonical that this kid is somewhat associated with them.

[Elfy]

Not really sure that he is - though I would have to agree if he is.

[Simian Man]

I am very offended! Black jelly beans are the very best kind!!!!!

But no I actually agree with much of the article.

[koenn]

Not really sure that he is - though I would have to agree if he is.

with something like this


Benjamin Humphrey is the founder and leader of the Ubuntu Manual Project, an Ubuntu member, and was sponsored by Canonical to attend the Ubuntu Developers Summit for the Maverick release earlier this year.
right under his blog post, one could get the impression that what he's saying is something more than just 'personal opinion'

[Groucho Marxist]

I use an ergonomic Microsoft Keyboard Elite. I use various versions of Windows and Windows programs; heck, I'm contemplating purchasing an Xbox 360.

Yet, I'm still a fervent supporter of FOSS, Linux and Ubuntu in particular. In fact, my oldest and closest friend has just informed me that he will take his first steps towards Linux by dual-booting Windows 7 and Ubuntu on his new laptop. Do I think less of him? Absolutely not. We utilize that which achieves our desired goals.

As much as I would like to use FOSS 24/7, I must still keep abreast of Microsoft's OS developments for academic and business reasons. (If, however, I ever start my own business, I shall make use of as much FOSS running on Linux as I possibly can.)

In terms of the article, rampant "Fanboy/fanboi"-ism is an obstruction to the very thing the fan originally enjoyed. It prevents critical thinking by way of obfuscating reason with passion. Linux and FOSS can accomplish many things, but they are in no sense of the word "perfect." As such, I warn fellow computer users that I love to use Linux and FOSS but I do not want them to expect these solutions to instantly solve computing issues on x proprietary platforms.

Linux, much like Windows and Apple computers, is simply a means to a beginning. What you do after that is entirely up to you.

[themusicalduck]

I don't think it's so much whether or not people agree with the article, since I think most people do including myself, it's more the way he tried to get his point across.

Saying that somehow anyone with an opinion is a negative influence (even just in his life apparently, as he says he tries to minimise contact with religious people and vegetarians.) What I then don't get is that he makes a point of his church telling both sides of the story of religion and allowing him to make a decision on whether to believe it or not, yet in other parts of the article he talks about rejecting and avoiding the opinions of others.

Personally I always try to listen to and consider any opinion that is presented to me, because it inspires knowledge and wisdom (and so often makes you realise just how little you actually know about a certain subject.)

There's a quote from somewhere that states that the wisest of people are those who realise they know nothing at all.

[SoFl W]

I am so thinned skinned I get offended at EVERYTHING, even if it has nothing to do with me. I get offended thinking it might offend someone! WOA IS ME! This cartoon is clearly a hate crime in terms of offensiveness to some people out there and should be pulled and removed from every site it has been posted on. SOMEONE MIGHT BE OFFENDED - MAKE IT STOP!

[K.Mandla]

Possibly one of the most annoying groups of people are the extremist diehard Linux geeks - you know, the ones that refer to it as GNU/Linux, run as many commands as they can from a terminal window and think that taking their dog for a walk is adequate exercise for a year.
That was enough to be offensive. But I don't really care. If this is the mentality behind the site, then I won't visit the site. If it's the mentality behind the people who use Ubuntu, then I won't use Ubuntu.

There are lots of other choices out there that let you do what you want with your computer, whether you want docky or the CLI over ssh. No point feeling hurt and conflicted if the majority feel you don't fit in their club.

Arch Linux, anyone? :twisted:

[smellyman]

I find his comments about vegetarians far more offensive. I'm a vegetarian, but I don't lecture my friends. The guy's obviously not very bright. Strikes me as someone with a bit too much time and a bit too little intelligence.

I am vegetarian and keep it to myself. As soon as they find out I get ridiculed endlessly. It's not worth the hassle to let others know.

[Groucho Marxist]

There's a quote from somewhere that states that the wisest of people are those who realise they know nothing at all.

I'm not sure who said it, but the phrase I am sudo-apt to use is "I am aware of many things, but I know nothing." I say this because, to my way of thinking, knowing is* stating that the information in question is "set in stone" to the point that it would be futile to keep learning or observing.







*half the battle! GI-JOE.

[Greg]

I thought the whole develop for them not us was the worst part of that blog post. Seems a little obnoxious.

[MCVenom]

I thought the whole develop for them not us was the worst part of that blog post. Seems a little obnoxious.
Honestly, looking at his Twitter posts and one of his comments on his own blog, I don't think it's too much to assume he *enjoys* violating the CoC, being disrespectful, and ticking people off. :roll:

[earthpigg]

Stereotyping is easy and often emotionally convienent.

Some of us do it more than others, but we all stereotype.

Some of us keep it mostly to ourselves, and some of us blog.

That's all I got from the article, anyways.

[pinguy]

It's just a new generation of people and their thoughts on Gnu/Linux. I pretty much agree with most of what he said. He should of done it without offending most of the people that make Linux possible, but he has a point.

The new generation of PC users don't care about what system they are using. I see this all the time with my nephews and nieces, all they care about is if their system can work with facebook and youtube, and can they put music on there ipod.

I honestly believe for a Linux operating system to do well it's going to have to use some elements that are not open source. There is going to have to be some middle ground.

If we ever want PC components and software companies to work with Linux they are going to want peace of mind that what they do won't be able to be copied by everyone else.

After getting people used to open source and it's benefits it will become a lot easier later on to produce a pure open source Linux operating system.

[Merk42]

That was enough to be offensive. But I don't really care. If this is the mentality behind the site, then I won't visit the site. If it's the mentality behind the people who use Ubuntu, then I won't use Ubuntu...So he can't stereotype FOSS advocates, but you can stereotype all Ubuntu users?

[Greg]

So he can't stereotype FOSS advocates, but you can stereotype all Ubuntu users?

He clearly used conditionals.

[Bachstelze]

Would "this guy is an idiot, but that's not exactly fresh news" be respectful enough?

[Legendary_Bibo]

Wait, people were actually offended by this?! Really?!

[MCVenom]

Would "this guy is an idiot, but that's not exactly fresh news" be respectful enough?
Yes. :P

[Merk42]

He clearly used conditionals.Unless K.Mandia plans on individually asking the millions of Ubuntu users, then there would be stereotyping involved.

[red_Marvin]

He seem to have little understanding about what makes a foss developer tick in the first place, that they do and will develop tools they want to use, not tools they want to sell.

[SoFl W]

Wait, people were actually offended by this?! Really?!
You're just a hater.

[orlox]

I think the point he tried to make with the article was actually represented by the xkcd strip he pointed to without any mention to xkcd:

http://xkcd.com/619/

Most of anything else he said was kind of pointless though...

In any case, I don't agree with that general point of view, that most linux developers just care about features no one ever uses, and because of that, it will never be mainstream. I consider that to be simplistic. Not so long, omgubuntu posted about this:

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/07/gnome-census-is-out-reveals-canonical.html

They say in there that a recent census shows redhat commits 16x times more to gnome than canonical. Considering redhat is mostly worried about enterprise applications, I don't see how can anyone be indignated by the fact that they don't put much attention on the maisntream side. I'd think that things on the kernel side are very much the same, with the enterprise being the enterprise side powering much of the development...

[red_Marvin]

I think the point he tried to make with the article was actually represented by the xkcd strip he pointed to without any mention to xkcd:

http://xkcd.com/619/
That comic is a joke however, since a better flash player is not not developed because the devs don't want to, but it is a closed system, so the devs can't.

[MCVenom]

You're just a hater.
http://www.halolz.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/halolz-dot-com-teamfortress2-ohu.jpg

[splicerr]

I honestly believe for a Linux operating system to do well it's going to have to use some elements that are not open source. There is going to have to be some middle ground.

If we ever want PC components and software companies to work with Linux they are going to want peace of mind that what they do won't be able to be copied by everyone else.



##For Info or Update News About Pinguy OS Click Here## (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=9572021)
I see that your Ubuntu spin comes with all sorts of closed source software (eg. from Adobe and Skype). I've got to ask you. Do you have a license to redistribute their software? What about patent encumbered media formats? Does your distro have out of the box support for them, if so do you have the required patent licenses?

Do tell me. How can these software companies you are talking about ever have peace of mind when every Ubuntu derivative out there is infringing on their copyright and patents?

[MCVenom]

Unless K.Mandia plans on individually asking the millions of Ubuntu users, then there would be stereotyping involved.
You don't know he isn't ;)

[MCVenom]

I see that your Ubuntu spin comes with all sorts of closed source software (eg. from Adobe and Skype). I've got to ask you. Do you have a license to redistribute their software? What about patent encumbered media formats? Does your distro have out of the box support for them, if so do you have the required patent licenses?

Do tell me. How can these software companies you are talking about ever have peace of mind when every Ubuntu derivative out there is infringing on their copyright and patents?
? I think you might have posted this in the wrong thread. :P

EDIT: Ahh, ok I see the context.

[orlox]

That comic is a joke however, since a better flash player is not not developed because the devs don't want to, but it is a closed system, so the devs can't.

Yup, you're right there, but I think that's most of where his ideas come from. An end-user actually feels that way, that people on open-source care about stupid things like really allowing machines with giant numbers of proccesors to work like a charm, but they cant fix issues like full screen flash...

But unlike what he says most of the time in his post, this problem does not arise because of undesirable people who refuse to take a breath in the real world and see what "normal" people like himself (the author of the article) want him to develop.
Most of what makes linux adoption in the mainstream suffer, is hardware compatibility problems, firmware issues, video card drivers and closed source end-user software like flash behaving wrong, or thousands of companies not making linux versions of their programs.

xkcd puts up the comical reality of the situtation, but many people like this kid take it like a serious fault of OSS developers.

[Legendary_Bibo]

You're just a hater.

:lolflag: I'm just saying I think some people are a little too sensitive.

[phrostbyte]

I think the point he tried to make with the article was actually represented by the xkcd strip he pointed to without any mention to xkcd:

http://xkcd.com/619/

Most of anything else he said was kind of pointless though...

In any case, I don't agree with that general point of view, that most linux developers just care about features no one ever uses, and because of that, it will never be mainstream. I consider that to be simplistic. Not so long, omgubuntu posted about this:

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/07/gnome-census-is-out-reveals-canonical.html

They say in there that a recent census shows redhat commits 16x times more to gnome than canonical. Considering redhat is mostly worried about enterprise applications, I don't see how can anyone be indignated by the fact that they don't put much attention on the maisntream side. I'd think that things on the kernel side are very much the same, with the enterprise being the enterprise side powering much of the development...


How is proprietary software going to fix the mess with Flash? Flash IS proprietary software. If anything, that comic shows that we can not and should not rely on proprietary software to somehow "fix" Linux.

[phrostbyte]

I see that your Ubuntu spin comes with all sorts of closed source software (eg. from Adobe and Skype). I've got to ask you. Do you have a license to redistribute their software? What about patent encumbered media formats? Does your distro have out of the box support for them, if so do you have the required patent licenses?

Do tell me. How can these software companies you are talking about ever have peace of mind when every Ubuntu derivative out there is infringing on their copyright and patents?

You have an excellent point actually. If Pinguy did not get explicit written permission to distribute Skype and Flash, and he could potentially be in serious legal trouble for doing so.

[virusiidx]

I thought it was funny and take no offense. Of course it'll spark a controversy as that is what comes with stereotyping. Some will find it funny, some will be offended.

[Ctrl-Alt-F1]

I didn't think it was funny or offending. I DID think it was inappropriate, but it didn't offend me.

[mc4man]

The knock on black jellybeans was certainly uncalled for...

[Legendary_Bibo]

The knock on black jellybeans was certainly uncalled for...

???

[orlox]

How is proprietary software going to fix the mess with Flash? Flash IS proprietary software. If anything, that comic shows that we can not and should not rely on proprietary software to somehow "fix" Linux.

When did i talked about propietary software fixing the mess with flash??? Enterprise powering linux development != propietary software.

[phrostbyte]

When did i talked about propietary software fixing the mess with flash??? Enterprise powering linux development != propietary software.

Then what is your point exactly? You rather they not fund Linux development? Even code that goes to make Linux better on supercomputers eventually helps desktop users. I doubt anyone thought desktops would need multiprocessor support back when Linux got this feature nearly 15 years ago.

But no IBM et al. isn't interested in fixing Flash. But why should they?

Besides, they can't anyway. Flash is proprietary. Only Adobe can fix it, and they seem to not care enough to do so. For all we know, it might be fairly trivial.

[mikewhatever]

What's so infamous or important about that article? It's just another grumpy kid voicing his ideas about FOSS. What's the big deal? Don't you people have anything better to do then discussing it?

[Merk42]

What's so infamous or important about that article? It's just another grumpy kid voicing his ideas about FOSS. What's the big deal? Don't you people have anything better to do then discussing it?

Actually he was voicing his frustration with FOSS advocates that treat others that don't feel the same way, as inferior.
Basically "think like I do, or you're stupid"

Something the comments in the article and the replies in this thread show in spades

[orlox]

Then what is your point exactly? You rather they not fund Linux development? Even code that goes to make Linux better on supercomputers eventually helps desktop users. I doubt anyone thought desktops would need multiprocessor support back when Linux got this feature nearly 15 years ago.

But no IBM et al. isn't interested in fixing Flash. But why should they?

Besides, they can't anyway. Flash is proprietary. Only Adobe can fix it, and they seem to not care enough to do so. For all we know, it might be fairly trivial.

Neither I'm saying that IBM or Redhat should go and patch the flash binaries (god please don't let them loose their time like that...). What I'm trying to get to, is two points:

1) Most linux development funding, comes from people interested in the improvement of enterprise centric features, not mainstream features. So, the typical stereotype of linux developers being idiots cause they don't hear mainstream opinions is not too good (though it's sometimes right)
2)What I said in post 61 (http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=9691923&postcount=61)


What's so infamous or important about that article? It's just another grumpy kid voicing his ideas about FOSS. What's the big deal? Don't you people have anything better to do then discussing it?

It's true that his post would have been doomed to recurring in seconds, but the thing here, is that this kid is lead of the ubuntu manual team, and was funded to assist to the last UDS...

[mikewhatever]

Actually he was voicing his frustration with FOSS advocates that treat others that don't feel the same way, as inferior.
Basically "think like I do, or you're stupid"

Something the comments in the article and the replies in this thread show in spades

And? Does it make the article any more important or worthy of discussion? Why should anyone care what Benjamin Humphrey thinks?

[Sand & Mercury]

Agree with the article totally. Free software evangelists do not help anything, they only paint the community as creepy weirdos and unless we can take a cool, confident and quiet stance and image, the 'cause' (if you want to call it that) will never ever get off the ground. The only people who've made Linux get into the mainstream are companies, mostly because the mainstream is scared of communities that are represented by people like this:

http://stallman.org/RMS_13_bendicindo.jpg

I know for sure the first time I saw that guy I was like "WTF" and thought nothing of it, it was only when I was sucked in by Compiz' flahsy stuff and Ubuntu's nice installer etc that I really got into the open source thing.

From what I've seen, those OMGubuntu guys have the right attitude -- they're not all-out critics of free software, but they're not out to verbally fellate its projects either. They call a spade a spade and that's what we all need to do.

[MCVenom]

And? Does it make the article any more important or worthy of discussion? Why should anyone care what Benjamin Humphrey thinks?
Perhaps you're right. I think we should all move on now... :P

[mikewhatever]

You know what this thread is good for? It has an exceptionally high concentration of people to add to ignore list. :p
It's about time I connect a mouse and start clicking.

[Perfect Storm]

Thread Closed on request from the thread maker.