My Distro is Better Than Yours…. Not!

I read a lot of news feeds. Sometimes too many. I admit it. About 10% of what I read is new. Most of it is just regurgitated material and recycled themes. The most tiresome ones have to be the my-distro-is-better-than-yours. Only slightly less tiresome are the Linux vs. Windows ones. Both lines of discussion are low on entertainment value and offer little information.

Let’s face it. Most of these distro bashing pieces are politically motivated and have very little to say. The person has an axe to grind or feels that their distro does not get enough attention so they write a thinly veiled attack piece that poses as a review of the competing distro.

The problem is that there is no such thing as a best distro. Of course you use the distro because it works best for you, but that does not make it the best. Also when a distro does not work for you, it does not mean that it won’t work well for others. It may mean that your hardware is not suited for some reason or that you may not be as proficient as you think that you are. Writing a high profile attack piece may just be a way of advertising your own ineptitude or stupidity.

You have a problem with distro A so you assume that everybody has the same problem or that we all want to know about your problems. We don’t. Most of us are too busy enjoying ourselves with our own favourite distro and many users are using the distro that you are trashing and we are probably having more success than you, which defeats your whole argument and makes us smarter than you. Your hard luck story just does not interest us, so keep it to yourself. Please!

If something does not work, don’t complain. Use something else or if you want to complain do it in a constructive manner by going to the developers rather going public with it. Except that is not your game, is it?

You do not want to really improve the product. Your goal is to make it appear to be problematic so others will not use it. That’s what I mean when with being political. Your goal is to influence others to move away from one product and toward the one that you use. You have not revealed a bad product. You have revealed a bad attitude. Namely, yours.

We don’t need users like you.  We need people to test distros and provide feedback for the developers. Each distro has its way to do that. Going public with problems does not help them and it does not help us either. Nobody likes to listen to complaints. It has no entertainment value. When was the last time anybody went to a movie or watched a show that features a list of complaints. Why would anyone care to read that you have a problem? That’s what help forums are for. Ever heard of them?

A good review features the strengths and weaknesses in an unbiased way. You will never be able to pull this off so try to be what you are, a propagandist. However, a good propagandist knows how to frame things so the the reader will form the opinion that you want. You don’t have to give it to them. So once again you reveal your deficiencies. You aren’t even a good propagandist.

So what are you? You are a hack and a whiner. Admit it and you will feel better. Then perhaps you will find something useful to do, such as write pieces that extol the virtues of the distro that you want us to use. Attack campaigns don’t work, especially on the internet where there is a wealth of content and much of it is entertaining and informative. So, don’t add to the drivel; it wastes bandwidth and time.

All of this whining and complaining serves to undermine Linux in general. It creates division. It promotes the idea that we can’t get along. It gives the wrong idea of the Linux community. You see, most people who come to Linux actually do find help and are grateful to the very community that you are trying to undermine. I see it every day in the help forums that I frequent.

Finally, you are giving ammunition to those who do not want Linux to succeed. Your petty goal of trying to direct us has the opposite effect. It drives people away. People avoid conflict. It will either send them back to where they came from or scare the heck out of them. Most of them are uncomfortable and vulnerable to begin with and you, unnecessarily, cause them to wonder what they are getting into.

Whenever you put down another distro you are working on behalf of the competition. Not just another distro, but another operating system. They would pay you to do what you are willing to do for free. You might as well be in their employ. Then we would all be able to call you a sell out as well.

The way to strengthen Linux is to work for the developers of the distro that you like, to strengthen the community and to help others. The way to strengthen the position of your favourite distribution is to promote it with good public relations and to advertise its merits. Stay positive and we all get better.

If you genuinely aspire to being a reviewer, then you need to sharpen your skills. You need to be willing to use the distribution for a time and to get to know its strengths and weaknesses and you need to review both. Any criticism should bear in mind that many people use what what you may be condemning and that many developers work for the project. When you dump on a distro then you are in the end dumping on people. If that makes you feel good, then see a doctor.