Why such hostility lately?

[iceman]

Not so much here at this forum but I do see hints of it. I mean in general around the Linux community I have been seeing a lot more rudeness. Especially around the Gnome 3 and Unity changes. Why is this? For example if someone dislikes Gnome 3 and they voice it, why must there be people that just come back and say deal with it, that's the way it is. Speaking for myself it sounds more like Microsoft.

I have noticed even more of these negative attitudes in other popular Linux forums, (I am purposely NOT mentioning these places for, I hope, obvious reasons.)

I worry that things are getting much too negative, especially with the fanboys of various Distro's and DE's. So much so that it leaves no room for someone to give their opinion on their likes and dislikes. It seems so childish and destructive for newcomers to Linux. Especially if they want to share their frustrations about other OS's that made them switch over to Linux.

[Randicus]

I do not want to delve into the issue of rudeness in general, but the rudeness concerning Gnome3, Unity, and I would add KDE, may be the result of unwanted changes being "forced" on people. Perhaps recent changes that have made those DEs slow and unwieldly, by sacrificing functionality in favour of eye candy, unnecessary applications and an overall appearance of mobile telephone screens, dramatically altering (or destroying, depending on point of view) the DEs they had enjoyed using irritates many people. Add to that the real, or unreal but apparent, situation that developers are not listening to criticism has probably raised the irritation to anger. Especially when developers and "fanboys" respond to criticsm with "Oh just use. You will grow to like it."

As for hatred directed at other OSs, all I shall say is it only takes one match to light a fire. The zealots of Distro A start saying we hate Distro B. It does not take long before people using Distro B start firing insults at Distro A.

[ZACHARiAS]

I do not want to delve into the issue of rudeness in general, but the rudeness concerning Gnome3, Unity, and I would add KDE, may be the result of unwanted changes being "forced" on people. Perhaps recent changes that have made those DEs slow and unwieldly, by sacrificing functionality in favour of eye candy, unnecessary applications and an overall appearance of mobile telephone screens, dramatically altering (or destroying, depending on point of view) the DEs they had enjoyed using irritates many people. Add to that the real, or unreal but apparent, situation that developers are not listening to criticism has probably raised the irritation to anger. Especially when developers and "fanboys" respond to criticsm with "Oh just use. You will grow to like it."

As for hatred directed at other OSs, all I shall say is it only takes one match to light a fire. The zealots of Distro A start saying we hate Distro B. It does not take long before people using Distro B start firing insults at Distro A.

amen to that!
kudos

[debianized]

I think it's for two reasons:

1. The previous DE iteration was just that good.

2. The new DE iteration doesn't work at all like the previous, which makes some things more difficult to do, leading to frustration and anger.

If you look at either of KDE 3 or Gnome 2, people REALLY, REALLY liked KDE3 and Gnome 2. Now with KDE 4 and Gnome 3, those things which used to be so simple are now extremely difficult, if not impossible, to do. This leads to frustration and anger, which comes out in various ways on the forums. I view the anger/frustration/rudeness more as paying homage/appreciation to the previous DE iterations than anything else.

[bmc5311]

I view the anger/frustration/rudeness more as paying homage/appreciation to the previous DE iterations than anything else.

+1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Moved_My_Cheese%3F

[dasein]

Unless I misread, the OP is focused more on the responses, not the original complaints.

And the fact is that some folks are so psychologically fragile that they all but have a panic attack when someone doesn't share their taste(s). Stupid? Sad, even pathetic? Sure. But also undeniably true. Just look at how many folks come here trolling for a Debian "rolling release"

[vbrummond]

I dunno I guess I am kind of a hostile guy.

[cannae]

Why not? The big DE players are shifting to glossy glitzy tablet plastic DE's for no other reason then they can instead of foucssing on more important, core bits of a DE. Why do we need all this touch screen, voice activated rubbish? And then there are the new idiots switching/trying to/out Linux and thinking everyone else will fix their problem instead of Googling for a 10min solution. They forget (or never know in the first place) that Linux is and always will be hands on.

[dbruce]

Some people never outgrew the need to throw tantrums, or just see if they can get a reaction and maybe some attention.

[iceman]

Some people never outgrew the need to throw tantrums, or just see if they can get a reaction and maybe some attention.

If this is true, I hope it is only temporary. Good thing is many that use Linux are not like this. But the ones who are, are the most noticed.

[Randicus]

I feel there is nothing wrong with being unhappy about something or something someone else says, but as dasein mentioned, some people feel worried, threatened or insulted if others have a different opinion. Personally, I believe the easiest way for a forum (any forum, not this one in particular) to deal with such trouble makers is to simply revoke their registrations. That is my opinion, because I have no trouble with authoritarian environments. If fora were stricter in enforcing decorum, it would be more difficult for trouble makers to raise a ruckus.
(I can foresee the ruckus this post will cause. )

[vbrummond]

Heh, I half agree. A lot of times I think how much I would ban were I the dictator. Though to be honest I do not mind things as they are. People are people and all we can do is be respectful as much as possible. Unless of course they are like "Oh mint is the best distro ever" and then I can say something like "you mean debian right, because that is what mint is".

[iceman]

Heh, I half agree. A lot of times I think how much I would ban were I the dictator. Though to be honest I do not mind things as they are. People are people and all we can do is be respectful as much as possible. Unless of course they are like "Oh mint is the best distro ever" and then I can say something like "you mean debian right, because that is what mint is".

I love saying that as well. Ubuntu, Mint and many others are just variations of Debian. I say it respectfully and polity but it still doesn't go over well. Sometimes it gets even worse when I say it is all Linux.

[HungGarTiger]

I think what frustrates most people is not so much the change, but there not being a choice. Hence why people are leaving Ubuntu so rapidly, they dont want to use Unity, they wont, so they leave. This is probably the end result of (sometimes percieved) complaints that get attacked by the die hard fan-boys, "This DE isn't for me, neither is this forum. So I'll go elsewhere". I imagine this is most peoples thought process.

In terms of RTFM posts, I can understand this if there a multiple threads on a given topic. Maybe a more sutible reply would be PUTFS (please use the ****** search) - but sometimes people need direction before they can help themselves.

And trolls are just trolls, dont feed them.

Thats my 2cents anyway

[BowCatShot]

"In terms of RTFM posts, I can understand this if there a multiple threads on a given topic. Maybe a more sutible reply would be PUTFS (please use the ****** search) - but sometimes people need direction before they can help themselves."

Never ever ever tell anyone to RTFM or PUTFS. If you're going to help someone then help them and then STFU. If most of you cowards would tell someone to RTFM to their face they'd knock you on your A$$.