this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2024
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That's a lot more prevalent online than in-person.
If you ask a Linux user in-person about Linux, they'll likely oversimplify, but if you ask 2-3 Linux users at the same time, you'll quickly get into jargon. That's not a Linux problem, that's a problem with pretty much every niche interest, people really like to one-up each other in whatever that is. Just try it sometime. Ask someone about their favorite board game, what camera to buy, etc, and you'll get a simple answer. Then repeat, but with a group of people who all like that thing, and you'll get a much more complicated answer.
As with any hobby, there's always another level of depth you can go. The trick is to corner one nerd, and only one nerd.
What is the problem with "jargon" anyway? You can't discuss technical things without using technical language.
If you take a bunch of Windows nerds (yes they exist), and get them talking about group policies and registry edits and powershell cmdlets, you get the same thing.
Exactly. And that's not helpful for your average Windows user. If your average Windows user calls tech support, they'll get a simple answer. If they instead walk into a tech support room, they'll get multiple answers, with the techs trying to one-up each other because that's how they work.
So if you're a novice in an area, talk one-on-one, don't ask a crowd.
They'll get a simple answer alright. In fact, they'll be lucky if they get any answer at all that is not reboot, retry, reinstall or some other cargo cult nonsense from some on-paper "MCSA" in a third world country.
And sorry for going on a rant here, but Windows tech support forums are truly the shit tier of all tech support forums, because very few people actually have the skill to properly diagnose problems in Windows when something outside of the realm of expected behavior occurs. It's all learned behaviorisms instead of understanding: reinstall your drivers! defrag your hard drive! run ipconfig /renew! clean your cache folder! delete your cookies! Never: "look in the system eventlog for an error event coming from this source, and tell me what the error code says"
And 90% of the time, that'll solve the problem.
The other 10% of the time, hopefully you have a decent IT dept at your work or school. I worked at one, and we occasionally had a weird one where we needed to actually check the event logs and figure out what was going on (usually it's faulty HW).
If I was bored, I'd even look at people's personal equipment, provided they asked nicely and they were okay with my upfront "no guarantees" spiel. At that point, I had already switched to Linux 100% on my personal devices (and my work machine was Linux w/ Windows in a VM), though my job was Windows tech support. However, when anyone came in, there would always be a host of "did you try X?" and whatnot, where X is some relatively obscure cli-only tool (e.g. flushing the DNS cache) or some BIOS setting. Nerds love a puzzle, and a visitor bringing a problem is a much more exciting puzzle than whatever is in the ticket queue, and they want to impress the guest with their knowledge (but more often than not, the guest just ignores everything they say).
That lone person will give you a simple answer. It may not be the best answer, but it'll probably solve the problem, though it may cost you more (e.g. you may need to buy some new hardware or spend time reinstalling). But it'll be simpler and probably not overwhelming.
Corner the nerd and grab them by the throat until they explain Linux in sufficiently simple terms. This is what I learned from this thread.
is there nothing bullying cannot solve
dude where do you think I'm hanging out that I'm gonna find people who use Linux in person
We're not some rare breed, you'll find us at grocery stores, bars, on the bus, etc. We're pretty good at hiding though, and we get startled when approached.
If you want to attract a Linux nerd, put a Tux sticker somewhere. Don't do anything distro-specific like an Ubuntu or Fedora sticker, because that'll attract the wrong kind of attention, just a cute Tux sticker. It may take a few days for us to sense it's not a trap, but you'll eventually get someone asking about the sticker, and it'll be a bit quicker if you happen to be a girl (but if you're really cute, it'll take longer).
Linux night isn't Mondays at your local hole in the wall?