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Why such hostility lately?

Off-Topic discussions about science, technology, and non Debian specific topics.
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iceman
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Why such hostility lately?

#1 Post by 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.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
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Randicus
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Re: why such hostility lately?

#2 Post by 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.

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ZACHARiAS
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Re: why such hostility lately?

#3 Post by ZACHARiAS »

Randicus wrote: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!
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debianized
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Re: Why such hostility lately?

#4 Post by 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.

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bmc5311
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Re: Why such hostility lately?

#5 Post by bmc5311 »

debianized wrote: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

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dasein
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Re: Why such hostility lately?

#6 Post by 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
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Re: Why such hostility lately?

#7 Post by vbrummond »

I dunno I guess I am kind of a hostile guy. :)
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cannae
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Re: Why such hostility lately?

#8 Post by 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? :roll: 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.

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dbruce
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Re: Why such hostility lately?

#9 Post by dbruce »

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

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iceman
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Re: Why such hostility lately?

#10 Post by iceman »

dbruce wrote: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.
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Randicus
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Re: Why such hostility lately?

#11 Post by 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. :twisted: )

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Re: Why such hostility lately?

#12 Post by 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".
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Re: Why such hostility lately?

#13 Post by iceman »

vbrummond wrote: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.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
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Thinking is over rated. Let the Government do it for you.

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HungGarTiger
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Re: Why such hostility lately?

#14 Post by 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) :D - but sometimes people need direction before they can help themselves.

And trolls are just trolls, dont feed them.

Thats my 2cents anyway

BowCatShot
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Re: Why such hostility lately?

#15 Post by 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) :D - 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$$.

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Re: Why such hostility lately?

#16 Post by bw123 »

try this

Code: Select all

man hostility
haha just teasing
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iceman
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Re: Why such hostility lately?

#17 Post by iceman »

bw123 wrote:try this

Code: Select all

man hostility
haha just teasing

You are right. I should have rtfm first. What was I thinking :twisted:
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
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dbruce
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Re: Why such hostility lately?

#18 Post by dbruce »

iceman wrote:
dbruce wrote: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.
Well those types have been around as long as I can remember. The mystery IMO is why various forums go through 'cycles'. It isn't just forums.debian.net (though I gather we are in one of those cycles) or even Linux or tech forums generally. 12+ years ago I was a very active user on a big web forum at that time (non-tech) and what started off as a helpful, polite place degenerated into nothing but a huge pissing contest that lasted for probably over two years. I can't say what happened, I don't think it was a problem with moderation ..... just that times changed, some new participants with different attitudes came onboard, and it all just got real nasty. Things finally turned around but by then key members had moved on and started alternative forums, and it's never returned to anything like its original 'glory'. Hope that doesn't happen here.

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iceman
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Re: Why such hostility lately?

#19 Post by iceman »

dbruce wrote:
iceman wrote:
dbruce wrote: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.
Well those types have been around as long as I can remember. The mystery IMO is why various forums go through 'cycles'. It isn't just forums.debian.net (though I gather we are in one of those cycles) or even Linux or tech forums generally. 12+ years ago I was a very active user on a big web forum at that time (non-tech) and what started off as a helpful, polite place degenerated into nothing but a huge pissing contest that lasted for probably over two years. I can't say what happened, I don't think it was a problem with moderation ..... just that times changed, some new participants with different attitudes came onboard, and it all just got real nasty. Things finally turned around but by then key members had moved on and started alternative forums, and it's never returned to anything like its original 'glory'. Hope that doesn't happen here.

Good point with the cycles observation. I never thought of it that way but it makes perfect sense and explains quite a bit.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
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Thinking is over rated. Let the Government do it for you.

cynwulf

Re: Why such hostility lately?

#20 Post by cynwulf »

Randicus wrote: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
And eventually it'd be just you and then, presumably, no more "trouble" eh...? I feel it's fair to say that luckily for the rest of us, you're not in a position of authority here.
vbrummond wrote:Heh, I half agree. A lot of times I think how much I would ban were I the dictator.
It's a slippery slope - dictators almost always abuse their power and when everyone else is just a pawn in one person's game it's just a little perverse...

In truth there is no correct way to run any forum - but it's far better to let people do their own thing than to impose unrealistic restrictions - the more you tighten up and the more rules you make, the more rules are there to be broken, dodged or hurled back in your face by "rules lawyers". A forum becomes worthless when it becomes the pet project of a dictator or an elite few and the user base become mere statistics. This is what they have over at some other well known GNU/Linux fora. "bean counting" systems where the fanboi masses provide volunteer tech support in order to increase the "score" and the authoritarian volunteer staff ensure that everything runs smoothly by censoring and removing the undesirables and encouraging and promoting the fanbois who have shown they can suck up well and parrot forum policy. At such fora, members are not treated as people but as an expendable "resource" to provide free tech support and bring in ad revenue. It is accepted that most will never be long term.

I've seen many decent forums fall apart due to the introduction of such authoritarian policies. This is simply because boards with 20 pages of rules and omnipresent moderation attract unimaginative dullards and arseholes who also aspire to be mods. Decent people leave, diversity - one of the most important factors in any forum, suffers and the forum declines.

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