this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2026
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I mean this goes both ways. Someone asks for help diagnosing an issue in windows and inevitably some snarky Linux user feels compelled to say something unhelpful.
I've seen variations of a snarky "I never had this problem on Linux" one-liner comment so many times that I have to resist the urge to write "I never had this problem on Windows" every time I see a Linux user asking for help.
I'll save you the trouble:
"Well linux is maintained by volunteers not a billion dollar multinational corporation that should have the budget to do that"
With a side of:
"That's because windows got in bed with PC OEMs and contracted to be the ONLY preinstalled OS they can use years ago (when it also sucked less), so it became the standard, and now vendor lock in rears it's ugly head, so the other multinational corporations cater to windows. Had any other OS done that you'd use that, you don't like 'windows' itself you like vendor lock in."
Inevitably?
My friend, the MAJORITY of the comments will be unhelpful Linux snarks.
This wouldn’t be a problem if you used Linux.
Instead you would have a different problem.
And someone would definitely comment that you wouldn't have that problem on their distro.
And even if you did... You can fix it yourself. And submit the fix for others.
Ignoring that 99.999% of people have no idea how to even begin to write code and believe the terminal to be "hacker mode".
And then you have to figure out how to use git. I want to help OSS projects with translations and often run into having to submit translations through git or some other user hostile interface, using some obscure file format that I also break in the process…
Some projects do use some nice web gui and I help there, but I have enough other things going on in my life that I skip the hard to help projects.
Sounds pretty inevitable to me.
I'm using Arch btw
Yeah as a huge linux fan we gotta be honest with ourselves 😅 we're kinda fuckin insufferable at times
I think a lot of the technical folks who built the space made interpersonal skills kind of a dump stat- and to be fair, I benefit enormously from the technical ability they have in exchange for that lack of social skill. But it does define the culture of Foss spaces in a bunch of ways that aren't the greatest 😅
It's what convinced me to make a switch to Linux, two years ago by now.
I've seen it mentioned for years at that point. Did it feel annoying? A bit, especially when I was trying to solve something. But it was one post that pushed me over the edge. I've probably seen a lot posts/replies like that before.
I can't say why, I guess the stars aligned, but I'm glad it happened. I probably wouldn't do it, if it weren't for years of constant reminders that Linux is in fact an option.
Yeah, and sometimes the solution really is just "stop using a garbage OS".
Like maybe there's a good reason why it's such a common thing people suggest here
Especially when the only other answer to the problem is "windows is actively preventing you from doing X/doing Y to you because they hate their users and you are the product."
Yeah I think its a balancing act. That's why with this kind of thing I prefer to just share my excitement with people without expectations that they wanna engage with it the same way I do
I think you can share what makes linux special and expose people to the idea without it needing to be badgering. Which I'm sure works for some folks who are open to the idea, but it also just fuels kinda tribalistic antagonistism and resentment in many cases
It took a long time for one of my friends and I to be able to have conversations about linux cause she got so burned out by the prosthelytizing she'd gotten previously that she was defensive, and I got defensive that I couldnt easily talk about the thing I'm excited about. I'm really excited that these days I can just tell her about the shit I think is cool without her feeling like I'm demanding something of her :) yesterday we had a lovely conversation about social media and the fediverse ☺️
Yeah, what I've been trying to do, on a rare ocassion where I chime in with the whole "just use Linux" (because it's usually not necessary to be 27th person with the same comment), is to at least add more relevant info, or mention misconceptions that I know were reasons why I didn't switch, or what I found cool.
I.e for me it was gaming, which for a long time used to be considered bad on Linux, especially if you had Nvidia. Which is no longer true in the sligjtest, and I was pretty surprised how smooth the transition was, so I just share a bit of my experience.
But yeah, it's a balancing act. And as always, if you can't add anything to the discussion that already wasn't said (i.e just use linux), it's better not to add anything :D
Speak for yourself. I’m a huge Linux fan but I find it rather easy to not annoy people. Mostly because IDGAF what OS anyone who isn’t me is using. And the only time I’d ever recommend Linux is if someone technical was asking for advice. If they’re non-technical, I will tell them to not use Linux (no fucking way am I going to be their tech support). If they’re technical, they can decide on their own (unless they ask me directly).
On that subject of social skills not being my dump stat- if I include myself in the group I'm critisizing (WE have this issue, vs YOU GUYS have this issue) it is less confrontational and more people will be able to connect with what I'm saying and think about it. Its more effective verbiage
And ultimately I'm part of this culture too, dysfunction and all, and want it to be healthier :) trying to use my social skills to support that change is a way that I can contribute, even if I can't contribute technical expertise
I do maybe wanna contribute to UI design work for Foss/floss stuff someday though ☺️
It's odd to me to be a fan of an OS. It's the nuts and bolts needed to make a computer do things I actually care about.
I'm a fan of it for the way that it treats me with respect and represents the possibility of technology that isnt extractive and abusive. And as a ui nerd there is an element of the computing foundation that is exciting to me in and of itself :) I love seeing the different ui paradigms of different desktop environments and how they solve problems like making multitasking work well for users
But that just how I relate to it, it's totally valid for the computer or os to be more of a means to an end for people :)
So you mean like the OS? It's literally the most important (software) aspect of the whole thing
I like where my car takes me. I have zero interest in its transmission.
You would care about (or at least pay attention to) the transmission if your car kept breaking down because of it. But unlike a car, on a computer you could relatively easy change out the OS with something else.
As always, the analogy between cars and computers are not one to one.
It's because Linux is just objectively better.
That didn't take long.
Thank you for proving my point.