Ok, so most prolly by now know I cannot stand these posts that are simply put up to attack distro’s, operating systems, desktop environments. They are pointless in my view, and just fragment the linux community, they also make the linux community look rather childish from the outside.
Yes it is just a small minority, yes it happen elsewhere, yes other os’s also have their childish fanboys attacking linux, apple, etc, but are the posts needed, or should they be trashed. Does it give any value to the opensuse community to have these posts or does it side track and discourage people from other distro’s/os from partaking in this distro when they come across it? Can OpenSUSE become more attractive by being the positive distro? And remember this forum is the community face of opensuse.
People are entitled to their opinions. A lot of people switch to Linux because they are completely fed up with Microsoft, and many people switch between Linuxes because they are completely fed up with Distribution X. They are going to dislike things, sometimes vehemently, and sometimes they are going to disagree with you. They are, however, entitled to their opinion, as wrong or childish as you might think it is.
Admittedly, a lot of rational discussions become flame fests after people stop calmly discussing the issues and start attacking each other over a simple software preference. When that happens, I think the best thing to do is agree to disagree, disregard any personal attacks they make on you, and leave the thread alone for a day or two. By doing so, you take the high road by not slinging mud back, and you give both yourself and the other poster time to cool down.
The openSUSE Forums have had a history not censoring or deleting posts. If the moderators or administrators see a personality conflict or emotional dispute, they will step in and take action, but I haven’t seen them delete or censor users’ posts.
This forum is a face of openSUSE, but not the face. Many members of the openSUSE community only use the mailing lists or IRC and never touch the forum at all. In regards to putting on a unified face for the community, see #1.
I more or less agree with AlienHealer’s post…an I more or less agree
with Andrewd18’s post.
Do I think some posts bashing other distros and other companies and
other operating systems are kind of pointless and distracting?..yes.
Do I think they should be censured?..No.
Do I realize that AlienHealer was just making a well intentioned, and
spot on (IMHO) plea?..Yes.
There was a study done at Yale where they determined that diversity
trumps knowledge in most cases. A group of varied opinion, but lower
knowledge folks assigned a task will generally come up with better
results than a group of like minded higher knowledge folks.
Because you have the right to do something doesn’t mean you should
In some places you have the right to put a sheet over your head and go preach racism, but you should have the maturity to know not to. You have the right to not like things, but you should have the maturity to have respect for those things and not bleat on about it, like so often happens in the linux community. IT gets very tired. The same old people with the same old anti stick up their bum rattling on
Yes there are mailing lists, but for the majority of new people the forum is the face of the community, and the mailing lists seem to hold more experienced people than new people. So the forum is in reality the first port of entry for people into the opensuse community.
I personal think it is obvious from a few threads that people are getting tired of these anti posts. This community, your life is yours to create. It’s not about censoring people, it’s about expecting people to have more respect, to expecting them to have more maturity. I find the posts about microsoft, ubuntu etc, to be childish. We should strive for the best, not limit ourselves and that is what these anti posts do, limit and fracture, they don’t put the best foot forward.
We can continue to have a fractured linux community where people argue over distro’s, argue over desktops, or people can finally realise these stupid things are fracturing the community, and start putting your best foot forward and showing other communities in linux that it is time to unite as one, and be positive. Negativity does not build a community, it destroys it.
> We can continue to have a fractured linux community where people argue
> over distro’s, argue over desktops, or people can finally realise these
> stupid things are fracturing the community, and start putting your best
> foot forward and showing other communities in linux that it is time to
> unite as one, and be positive. Negativity does not build a community,
> it destroys it.
Realize that open source software is a replacement for religion or a form of political activism for many people. And just like with religion or politics, you have a certain percentage of extremists. I’m still learning to live with it, and it is really hard sometimes, because it makes me terribly tired.
AlienHealer, you seem to have caught Lets-Not-Fight syndrome. You’ve been putting the same points on other threads (eg. this thread) which IMHO is seriously against Freedom Of Speech.
"Freedom of Speech"™ can always be respectful. Freedom of anything does not imply the right to demean or belittle another person. That is just simple cowardice.
there is a difference between freedom of speech and posts whose only intention is negativity. Perhaps you can see a point in someone posting to flood Ubuntu’s forums, or posting against bill gates. It’s stupid, and it reflects badly on the community. The only decent part of those threads is too see the people with common sense stand up against them.
Cryovac, yes, well said. People seem to think freedom of speech is a right to attack and be negative to put down. Look at these dweebs in the US who use freedom of speech to go to funerals of military men and preach their homophobic message.
Uwe it is tiring, and well, I do hope that as a community we all want better.
Perhaps you can see a point in someone posting to flood Ubuntu’s forums, or posting against bill gates. It’s stupid, and it reflects badly on the community.
I didn’t say I support hate threads. What I’m saying like many suggested before is just ignore such threads.
Infact nothing is going to happen if the forum admins delete hate threads. This forum may become purer but that doesn’t mean the whole opensuse community will become godlike. People will find other ways to write hate posts…their personal blogs or other forums or social networks.
> Perhaps you can see a point in someone posting
> to flood Ubuntu’s forums, or posting against bill gates. It’s stupid,
> and it reflects badly on the community. The only decent part of those
> threads is too see the people with common sense stand up against them.
I think that’s the real thing that reflects on the community: How such
posts are responded to. One person posting something that you or I
would consider “stupid” isn’t a reflection of the community, but the
responses from various community members is.
I prefer to let people post their nonsense. It provides the community
with an opportunity to shine.
> there is a difference between freedom of speech and posts whose only
> intention is negativity.
YOU are negative.
Against all who do not want to view the Linux/openSUSE world exactly as you
do–which you apparently think is the ONLY right way.
There is plenty of room here for people to both praise and moan–stop promoting
one and faulting the other, please.
Microsoft sucks. Always has, but we hope it might change–if just a few more of
the world governments haul their monopolistic ways into court (and/or switch to
Linux), they might.
Geee… someone expressing his/her thoughts and looking for reflection on how others think on a matter is not negative if you ask me… It’s actually a natural way to find a way to deal with something (inner growth if you want to call it that).
It would be another thing is someone stays ‘stuck’ in his/her same thought. That can become very passive and negative.
As many posting in forums will experience… it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to defend and fight against something/someone who’s intent is or seems negative to your point of view. The best way to ’ counter act ’ is by stating positive, venting you’re own view on the matter and more importantly… stay calm (no mud fights) and know when to leave something be.
Dealing with a matter by shutting up and accepting useally does not lead to true acceptance… moreover, it does not lead to growth… At least, that what I read on the back of the cireal box this morning.
Statically you’ll always find that 10% saying things suck, are total rubbish and there way is a much better way. That’s the way the cookie crumbles.
The solution here seems that the other 80 to 90% stick to their own and don’t let others kick them over it should be ok.
Just as long as the others don’t get abusive… but then the mods are allowed to kick them… so we ’ win ’ both ways…
