It is quite normal to be stuck while exploring a new operating system, or a new programming language or anything new to be honest and one of the great advantages we have now is the ability to go online & search for answers on the Internet and if you are unable to find a fix then you can request for help on forums. There are forums specific to all sorts of niche areas and some of them are quite active. I doubt that it will be a surprise to many that I am part of multiple Linux Forums and in this post I am going to talk about a specific post on one of them that is a masterclass on how not to ask questions/how not to ask for help/how to ensure your questions are never answered.
Let’s start with the post, then we can dig into each line of this gem (The first line is the subject of the post and the rest are the contents).
Linux is bad
Dear Linux users,
Here is the top 3 reasons, I think Linux is bad:
1- Hard.
2- NVIDIA drivers.
3- I don't know how to write shell scripts.
My friend told me that I don't need to, the community is very helpful.
So I thought I should test them and see if they can help me finish my simple shell homework.
Sorry for the bait. I will switch to Linux if I get help, but you probably don't care.
Hopefully there is a weirdo who will think this is fun.
I have a hard time believing this is not some troll posting crap just to get a rise out of people but if that is not the case then this goes out of it’s way to ensure people react badly to the request, so without further ado lets dig in.
Here is the top 3 reasons, I think Linux is bad:
1- Hard.
2- NVIDIA drivers.
3- I don't know how to write shell scripts.
Ok, not a great start. You are posting on a linux forum stating that it is bad because you find it hard, and don’t know how to write shell scripts. (I will partially give them the point about NVIDIA drivers because historically they have been a pain.) How is it Linux’s fault that you don’t know how to write shell scripts? Did you honestly believe that the creator of the OS should have come to your house to teach you shell scripting so that you don’t find it ‘hard’? There are multiple resources online that teach shell scripting, including some great courses on Udemy, YouTube, Coursera etc etc. All you have to do is be willing to put in the effort.
To the other point about Linux being hard, it is not. It is different than Windows and does things differently, that doesn’t make it hard. It’s just what you are used to, I use Linux for my primary OS and when I have to troubleshoot my wife’s Windows 11 laptop there is usually a lot of cursing involved. When I started with Linux it was the other way round, for the longest time I kept trying to do things the ‘Windows way’ and it didn’t always work. However, once you take time and explore the system the flexibility it gives you is fantastic. Don’t like the Desktop UI, change to a different one, don’t like the file manager, use a different one etc etc.
My friend told me that I don't need to, the community is very helpful.
So I thought I should test them and see if they can help me finish my simple shell homework.
Umm, who do you think you are that you need to test the community. Plus ‘testing’ by having them do your homework is not testing. This is called negging, where you give backhanded compliments and generally making comments that express indifference toward another person (in this case an Operating System) in an attempt to get them to go out of their way to impress you/do things for you. It is a tactic used by pickup artists to get women by putting them down so that they would go out with them/sleep with them to gain their approval. Sorry, that only works with emotionally distressed folks and not folks on a technical forum. We have no need to gain your approval.
Someone on the forum had the perfect answer for this: “The community is helpful, but you seem to have put more effort into trying to get someone else to do your homework for you, than into actually doing it yourself. We aren’t going to do your homework for you (and if you bothered to check the LQ Rules and “Question Guidelines” you’d see that), but we will help you if you’re stuck. “
Sorry for the bait. I will switch to Linux if I get help, but you probably don't care.
Yes we don’t care and why should we care that you swtich to Linux? Do you think you are someone important? This person needs to realize that they are not the center of the universe and that it is irrelevant to others if they decide to switch to Linux or not. Honestly speaking I don’t care if you use Linux or not. Linux users (for the most part) are no longer the anti-Microsoft zealots who will try to force you to use Linux. In my opinion you should use it if you like it, if you feel Windows or Mac works better for you, use that.
Hopefully there is a weirdo who will think this is fun.
What a way to encourage people to help you! As calling people names is sure to make them want to help you… Right? No? How is that possible??? I thought I was the center of the universe and all the lesser people would fall over themselves to help me as they should feel honored that I am allowing them to help me.
Nope, it doesn’t work that way. It only works like that in movies (and maybe in some of the schools/colleges) where the Jocks/popular kids are treated like divine beings and others fall over themselves to help them so that they can bask in the glory of having interacted with the cool kids. Real life doesn’t work like that and most places you will be laughed out if you try to do this nonsense at work.
If you want help it helps to be humble, talk about what you have already tried, what specific portion is giving you problems and stow the attitude.
Interestingly enough people on the forum still gave hints on how they could approach the problem and pointed them to resources that can help if they put in the effort.
What do you think? Is it ok to post for help like this? Would you answer this person if you came across the post?
Original forum post in all it’s glory: linux is bad for reference.
– Suramya
