What helped/encouraged you to increase your Linux understanding?

[m4c-attack]

Many people choose to use Linux as a FOSS app launcher and I don't blame them. Linux has become increasingly user-friendly (although there's always room for growth).

For those that decided to dig deeper beyond Linux 101 and leverage more nuanced aspects beyond basic commands... like system-d, bash scripting, port-forwarding. What incentivized you to do so, and what resources did you use?

[steve_v]

Necessity (machine too slow to run win '95/98 + loathing of DOS), free time (yeah, I had that once too), and most importantly: curiosity. As for documentation, that would be man pages, TLDP, and the lovely collection of offline docs included with Slackware.
Amazing what one can learn about system configuration, scripting, and the CLI in general when loading a GUI takes 5 minutes and eats most of your RAM. Guess that's what GNOME3 users must feel like today.

Aside, the devil's name is spelled systemd. Not Systemd, systemD, or system-d. I really don't understand why everyone seems to think it needs capitalisation or hyphens, it's plenty sinister enough without them.

[eor2004]

I was so sick of Windows XP problems and headaches that I needed to try another OS, so this system called Linux allowed me to have more control and the best part it was free so what I had to loose, I'm very glad I took that step!

BTW... My resources were the internet and lots of trial and error and sometimes I RTFM, .

[revmacian]

I adopted Linux back in 1999-2000, when you had to do a lot of things manually. I still remember that I often had to configure and make install for so many apps.. I had to spend so much time in the terminal just to get the system the way I wanted it. I recently moved over to KDE Plasma after spending 20+ years in gnome 2.x/3.x and found that I had the system up and running the way I wanted it and didn't have to touch the terminal at all.. Linux has come a long way in 24 years. Ease and convenience can be nice, but it doesn't do much in the way of actually teaching the user to maintain the system should things go awry. If I turned on my computer today and the desktop or network failed to load then I would know exactly how to fix it.. thanks to all that time I spent learning about Linux all those years ago. One of the things I learned early on was how to automate things using bash scripts. That, and the proliferation of python, led me to learn how to code in python.

Knowledge is power.

[NFT5]

The fear of not being able to solve my own problem(s) and having to resort to public admission of my shortcomings by posting a question here.

[Uptorn]

Linux has become increasingly user-friendly (although there's always room for growth).

Linux has come a long way in 24 years. Ease and convenience can be nice, but it doesn't do much in the way of actually teaching the user to maintain the system should things go awry.

The notion that linux is "not ready yet" always amuses me. I'm not saying that this is what either of you are insinuating, but it is a pervasive assertion that I hear all around the internet without end. In order to understand what people mean by "not ready yet" we need to translate that terminology.

To some, "not ready" == "doesn't play 100% of my proprietary games library"

or to others, "not ready" == "There are still UI differences that force me to rethink the way I use my system"

or perhaps "not ready" == "The behavior of my computer under linux still isn't 100% identical to what it was under windows/mac"

Unbeknownst to many of these people is that much of linux's "failings" are a result of vendors refusing to open their code, or at least having the decency to make available their software or drivers or whatever natively to linux even if it remains proprietary.

[Uptorn]

A bunch of things.

• Running game and voice chat servers for a friends group
• Avoiding dragnet surveillance collaborators, to the best of my ability
• Writing scripts to increase my own creature comforts
• Hosting websites
• Using non-x86 systems

And probably quite a few that escape me at the moment.

[Dr Cheeto Cornchip]

I usually just do an internet search whenever I run into a problem or need to do something I haven't done before. I like to learn as I go in pretty much all of my endeavors. Posting a question on a forum is a last resort if all else fails type of thing and, a lot of the time, I don't get the right answer anyway.

I don't hate Windows, MacOS, Android or iOS. I like the customizability of Linux distributions, I like that they tend to favor privacy. But I think super user friendly operating systems like Windows and MacOS are necessary for the majority of users who don't want or need to know that much about the inner workings of a computer or computer software.

The ecosystem in nature is rife with diversity and I think that's the way humanity works as well. Where nature has a need there is a creature to fill that need, likewise where humanity has a need there is a person or group of people to fill that need. Some of those needs require technical know-how while others do not. It is best, I think, if those who fill a need that does not require technical know-how are not encumbered by a system they don't understand and will never need to understand. For these people something that sacrifices customizability and control, but just works makes more sense.

After all, a biologist who thinks RAM is a type of pickup truck, but could tell you the health benefits of three hundred different types of mushroom isn't stupid. And I'm not suggesting that people posting here feel that way, but such thoughts do seem to be prevalent in the open source community. Some people like it one way, some like it another and that's just fine in my book. The world doesn't need another Windows, neither does it need only Windows.

I, myself, have been giving considerable thought into switching back to Windows largely due to the rampant toxicity that seems to saturate the open source community. I just can't seem to get over the data theft and probably the soon to be ad-supported nature of Windows. I love Linux distros, but Debian is pretty much my last straw I guess.

At the same time I'm typing this up on an Android device which makes Windows look like a fort knox of data privacy and security.

[Onsemeliot]

I wouldn't consider myself having learned very much about GNU/Linux. But I got as far as being the person other people around me turn to if they need help on their computers. (The one-eyed is king under the blind.) Originally I just didn't want to even touch Windows Vista. And then I ended up taking on old used laptops other people thought wouldn't be useful any longer. By using free software I could considerably extend the life span of this hardware. Often for longer than anyone wanted. ... It doesn't seem right to me to throw away perfectly fine hardware just because we can afford newer stuff. We could accomplish much more if we didn't act so wastefully. This extends to code optimization as well. I am aware that often time is more expensive than material. That feels wrong to me too.

[jmgibson1981]

Pure curiosity. It was different. I like the open nature although I'm not opposed to closed stuff. It's just a different way of thinking. I found the idea of shared libraries particularly fascinating. Efficiency at it's finest. It gave me something to learn.

At this point I'm sticking with it for the foreseeable future as Microsoft has decided that my computer is worthless. I refuse to run unsupported software so that leaves me with Linux. And it's turning out that Linux as expected is a better more useful choice. No reason to go anywhere else.

*EDIT* The downside of course is there is a huge percentage of zealots in the open source world who pick one thing over another and it turns into regular arguments and debates which go nowhere and only serve to irritate themselves and others who see / or inadvertently get caught up in them. Systemd, universal packages (appimage, snaps, flatpaks). People take these way to seriously.

[canci]

For me it was having an old computer that didn't work with Gnome/KDE and where I had to run a window manager, scripting a lot of the functionality that was taken for granted in desktops.

I've also been on this forum most of my Linux life and have learned from howtos and random posts.

[artytux]

I may be regarded as stupid but I am not lazy
When I was using another rolling distro one update caused the old black screen since it was my first encounter with this, no idea what to do, booted up the live session and logged on and asked how I could fix this as I did not want to re-install ( I never wrote this but I wanted to learn the why how etc to fix if that should happen again)
I was advised that maybe I don't have the ability to run a rolling distro ( that stung ) so with a boof headed attitude went looking and found the perfect fit =
1 - a rolling distro that at the time was going thru update breakdowns continuously.
2 - a forum that realized this that in order to survive things had to be fixed.
3 - were willing to help anyone tenacious enough to stick around.
That was the old Manjaro distro (before EndeavourOS) so crazy fun, helpful ideas and so supportive the old forum was it will always be a warm and lovely memory for me.
I learnt so much at the old Manjaro for 5 out of the 8 years there. (Sigh - miss them)
Love those folk.

[Uptorn]

The downside of course is there is a huge percentage of zealots in the open source world who pick one thing over another and it turns into regular arguments and debates which go nowhere and only serve to irritate themselves and others who see / or inadvertently get caught up in them. Systemd, universal packages (appimage, snaps, flatpaks). People take these way to seriously.

Please have a read through the very interesting article Technology Holy Wars are Coordination Problems. These debates occur because users of a given technology understand implicitly that standards falling out of favor with the majority will tend to lead to a dearth of developer resources and time dedicated to their cherished choice technologies.

[kc1di]

I began my linux journey back in 1994 with slackware. Only because I was and am a ham op and slackware was offered free. and my windows machine was no longer working correctly for what I wanted to do. I simply tried to learn as i went. and still the best way is to use linux and become familiar with it.
I've been 100% Linux since 1999. And learn something everyday. I most likely at my age now have forgotten a lot though. I often recommend this page for linux newbies that want to learn more.
Hope it's helpful to some.
https://linuxjourney.com
P.S. I've use many different distros over the years. But seem to come back to Debian over and over. Like to see what others are doing though.

[SamuelMac]

I guess it was the Time of the 80486 and I missed my 80286 with Coherent on it. no X.

[wizard10000]

My Linux understanding started to improve dramatically when I Quit. Using. Windows.

[m4c-attack]

Great reading all of the journeys people have taken.

To add mines to the list, I downloaded Debian Handbook for free but never could carve out the time to go page by page w/ a book. Months later, I found an intro course on Udemy that was more my speed and pulled the trigger. I prefer the structure of courses, but will also watch YouTube tutorials to dig deeper into passing interests like configuring ufw or setting up something systemd-related

[Uptorn]

My Linux understanding started to improve dramatically when I Quit. Using. Windows.

Corollary to that, one's understanding of computers overall tends to increase after ditching windows.

[m4c-attack]

Great reading all of the journeys people have taken.

To add mines to the list, I downloaded Debian Handbook for free but never could carve out the time to go page by page w/ a book. Months later, I found an intro course on Udemy that was more my speed and pulled the trigger. I prefer the structure of courses, but will also watch YouTube tutorials to dig deeper into passing interests like configuring ufw or setting up something systemd-related

About a year later and I wanted to update... Over the last month or so, I've started searched Amazon for few well-rated Linux books, and then reserving them at my local library:

Efficient Linux at the Command Line This one really hit me in stride and nudged me towards a bit more usage w/ the likes of sed & awk. Read it front-to-back (well I did skip half a chapter of brain teasers)
A Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editors and Shell Programming Thumbing through this one now. Focused primarily on the interesting chapters only.
Sed & Awk This one is waiting in the wing. Perhaps unnecessary but could be advantageous for automating more stuff.

[Trihexagonal]

"What incentivized you to do so, and what resources did you use?"

My chat ma8s could Sub7 my mighty Win98SE boxen at will every time I went to chat.
If I was going to survive online I had to up my game and this thing called Debian was just what I was looking for.

They thought they were my superiors offline, too, but I've told that story before.