We are all Linux users and enthusiasts on this site, as well as caring about FOSS. Although technically this is a site for technical Q&A, I think some level of Linux activism is possibly beneficial, in the sense of helping newbies "get into Linux". It should not be our job to convince people to use Linux, but maybe it can be our job to help total newbies (who are already convinced) to get started?

The majority of computer users have baby duck syndrome for the major commercial OSes (Windows, Mac OS, Chrome OS). This is exacerbated because Linux does not have the marketing force to educate new users, and commercial vendors follow abusive strategies of removing the user's control of their own computer and obfuscating the operation of the OS. As a result, when people hear about Linux and even after they accept it as a superior alternative, it is very hard to get started because so much of it feels like an alien environment.

I propose we explicitly define a category of "basic Linux survival skills" like using the shell, working with files, basic scripting, man files, obvious resources for getting help (besides this site, so for example Arch wiki), troubleshooting strategies (such as dealing with FOSS bug trackers, collecting appropriate logs, etc). Newbies should not have to glean such information in between the lines of other posts, it should be directly spelled out.

This can be in the form of a "newbie question" tag (probably a better name can be found), or perhaps a "fundamentals" section of the site where more experienced users can write primers. Crucially, newbies struggle not just with basic tasks, but understanding the correct way to even phrase the question, so it makes sense to ask the correct way for them. We don't need to spoonfeed everything to them, just enough basic skills that they can actually use a Linux computer for basic tasks, and thereafter we would expect people to compose their own questions like "regular" users would.

I think this is a good way to cut down on basic question, improve the health of the Linux/FOSS ecosystem and improving the activity of the site (I would expect basic Linux questions are a popular search query). It's easy to do, since most people here probably know most Linux basics and can easily research the ones they don't.

What is the community's opinion on this?

posted 8 months ago

CC BY-SA 4.0

8mo ago by trichoplax‭

matthewsnyder‭

1116 reputation 79 53 179 73