this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2026
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This is a detraction from the point of this post, but I wanted to express my feelings on this anyway.
I don't feel great about that suggestion because Linux (anecdotally) has a serious problem of fanboyism and the community is notorious for driving people away from Linux because they're too pushy. I feel that veganism has the same issue.
Sure, you might do this in a more constructive way like up cycling or refurbishing old machines to run Linux and donating them out to people in need, thus introducing them to the world of Linux and normalising an alternative OS - but is that "converting" them?
If you are converting people, then you must have them also ditch Windows, MacOS, iOS and Android with Play Services. That, to me, is unreasonable and not the approach the Linux community should be taking.
For me, I tend to show, not tell. I'll use Linux casually as I would any other system, and if anyone asks me about it or expresses interest, I'll answer their questions honestly. If they do want to move to Linux, I'll help them where I can, but I wait for them to want to do it.
Your comparison of Linux fanboyism and veganism is on-point (I am a Linux user since 2001). However, regarding "converting" them - this picture is a joke, not really to be taken seriously.
Since I've been unemployed, I've been taking on more "pay what you can" work for friends and neighbors.
You know what a whole lot of people are struggling with right now? Their somewhat outdated laptops, that were always budget priced and underpowered, are practically self-immolating they're trying so hard to run Windows 11. Its so bloated and ad-and-ai-riddled that it just plain sucks to use now.
They're so fed up that when I'm like "Linux is pretty easy to use these days. I can set you up with Mint in a couple of hours?" They're usually ready to try if it means a useful computer again. And setting them up for my friends made me happy and excited about computers in a way I haven't felt since childhood.
I set up some open source audio and DJ stuff for a podcasting and dabbling musician friend, Krita for an artsy friend, etc. These are mostly just web browser and word processors, but I get to ensure my friends are using ad blockers and a privacy enhanced browser, libre office instead of MS. And they get some fun! Computers used to be fun; little wonder boxes that wanted to help you do the things you loved better.
Yeah okay, that makes a lot of sense and isn't as extreme as I thought the original post to be. I suppose that for me, I used to push Linux way too hard on my friends and when I saw what I was doing, I hard pivoted away from pushing it to hardly even mentioning it unless it comes up in conversation.
But clearly there's a very agreeable and respectful middle ground where you can bring it up as a legitimate tool to solve a very real problem for people putting up with the woes of Windows 11.
I see what you’re saying but is it possible that you might have a negative bias to the word “convert”?
My father in law asked me to reinstall Windows on his 10 year old laptop to make run faster. I advised that he will face the same problem with windows and suggested Linux mint as an alternative. I cloned his drive as a backup incase he didn’t like the change, did a clean install on Linux Mint, and showed him the ropes on how to navigate the OS. It’s been a few months now and he doesn’t miss windows and his laptop is more responsive as ever.
Could I say I converted him?
That's a fair way of doing it I think, and I think you're right in that I did have a negative bias towards "converting" as I tended to imagine something more extreme akin to a cult.