On Sunday 16 February 2003 12:04, Mark Stahlke wrote:
<flame bait> We Linux geeks tend to perpetuate that perception. How many times have you seen "l33t f00lz" sneeringly refer to average users as "Joe Six-pack" or, at best, somebody's grandmother? As if they aren't intelligent enough to understand computers. The implication is that since they are not computer geeks they must be idiots. These people are NOT idiots! They are computer USERS. The computer (and its OS) is a tool. Nothing more. They want and deserve a tool that just works. And they don't want to spend hours RTFM-ing just to print something.
Elitist attidudes only serve to alienate these people. They deserve our respect and consideration.
Actually, I think my entire original post approached flame bait, but it wasn't intended that way. The "somebody's grandmother" might not be intended as being derogatory, however. It usually - in my mind - refers to a person who *ISN'T* a computer type who is trying to use a computer. I have a friend that puts it this way: "I don't want a computer program that's easy enough for a 7 year old to use, I want one that's easy enough for a 70 year old to use." He has a point
Just had to get that off my chest. :^)
Thanks for listening, Mark Stahlke
-- Satterwhite's Observation #2: In any situation in which theory conflicts with reality, reality wins every time.