I remember going to a Linux user group meeting a month after I presented CF on Linux to them (which they liked). At the meeting, Eric Raymond was speaking and afterwards I went up to him to say hello and talk to him about all these new Linux users coming from the CF world. His response was to ignore my hand, tell me "Why should I care about ColdFusion when I have Zope" and turn his back to me. No handshake, no nice words, nothing. This seems to be the slashdot stance and I for one really think it sucks. On the other hand it is not the only stance from the Linux world. Jesse Noller from MM is very big on Linux and helps out a LOT with it. The CF-Linux list is almost his alone.

Let me actually take this a step further. The month before the incident, I had
spoken at the same user group about CF on Linux and it was very well accepted. Not only did I speak on it, I went through a full install while everyone watched. There was even this old guru looking guy (one of the board I believe) who came up to the screen to look at some code closer. He smiled, nodded and went back to the wall. The CF language had a nod of approval. At that point in time I had a Linux box on my desk at work, a few books on order to read and the future for me using CF on Linux looked great. The CF-Linux list was ready to roll and everyone was happy. Then the raymond incident and I was shocked. He turned me off from Linux. He showed me the dark, selfish side of the Linux world that I didn't NOT want to get into. He turned me off from going anywhere with CF on Linux.

How many others have suffered because of him? How many others have suffered due to slashdots attitudes or the attitudes of others in the Linux and open source world? I know I'm one and I know of a few others. MS sucks, but the attitude that some get from the Linux community sucks even more and has a greater impact. It's not a corporate attitude but a community one. If the Linux community wants to be taken seriously, they're going to have to look at their behavior. Seriously.

Let's talk about something that has been bugging me for the last year.
I meet lots of people, both online, and in real life, in the industry and out,
all computer people. Most poeple do not realise this about me, that I get
around. Some of the nicest people I have met through these channels. That is
why what I am about to say may shock you: the linux community sucks.

I say this as a Linux advocate, as someone that has had contact since late 1995
and as someone that has ran and continues to run as his operating system of
choice. Sure, I have other machines, and they all run a different form of UNIX,
but my main workstation, my baby, runs Linux. And this knowledge has catapulted
me into a thriving industry working with Linux and UNIX in general. I get to
play with Linux everyday, be it at work or at home. I could never do anything
else. I love my career.

Almost everyone I have ever met in the Linux community, save for a handful of
people, are complete ********. I say this without remorse. It is true. Here is
your first clue that they are ********: ever ask a Linux person how to do
something? He will probably bash you for not reading the man page, or the
how-to. Even I am guilty of this. But what if you did read the man page? and
the how-to? What then?

I help lots of people with lots of things. It is my job, and some how that
carries to my personal life, and to my online life. I do not mind as much. I can
do almost anything in Linux with ease, even if I have not learned how. Why?
I read the man pages, I read the how-to's and perform general research. I do
not consider this special, I just consider this reading. But some people do.

Some people want a medal for this. You know the type, idling in some #linux
channel somewhere, the "we are here to help" type. Yet, they don't give a damn
about what you have to say. If they don't know it, they will act like they do,
so they won't be looked down on. I have caught several people in this. Why do
these people do this? Who knows, most likely to get into some developers pants,
or to be a general scene whore. The developers themselves for the most part,
are the same way, again save for a few. Everyone wants a piece of the pie.

So, now I have hurt your feelings because you thought you were cool that you
could run a Linux box. BOOHOO! I will tell you why you are not special. For one,
you have just copyed the latest trend in today's computing. Maybe you started
several years back. Thats okay, Linux is the worst chain letter ever created.
Two. Linux itself is a great operating system, and I love it. But the community
has stolen almost everything from BSD, or sad to say Microsoft. Before you go
off saying that I am off my rocker, think about this. You want plug n play
support? You want USB support? You want full hardware support in the OS?
These are things that have been pushed by the devil himself. In 1979, IBM was
the devil, and Microsoft was out to slay them. In 1999, Microsoft became the
devil, according to Linux advocates, and I bet in 2009, when and if Linux has
taken the market, there will be someone else there to slay THEM.

Think I am crazy? No. I am just tired of all this in-fighting between
different distro's, all of these posuer people that act like they want to better
humanity by promoting Linux, yet they talk down to any person they don't know,
and I am tired of watching these people create this image of Linux. They don't
deserve to wreck the community. What gives them the right? Linux has stolen
everything they need, or will need. Just like Microsoft. Don't act holier then
thou, just because you are one of the 13 million that know how to work the thing
, because soon, EVERYONE will know how to work it. Then what will make you
special? hmmmmmm?

Another professor only teaches windows apps. classes, but is encouraging in my use of linux where applicable.

Encouragement I don't mind. When someone forces you to use something and tells you that you're an idiot if you don't, especially a professor, it's when it becomes annoying. I've learned to move on, but when you're paying for a class, you're paying to learn, not get annoyed.

Encouragement I don't mind. When someone forces you to use something and tells you that you're an idiot if you don't, especially a professor, it's when it becomes annoying. I've learned to move on, but when you're paying for a class, you're paying to learn, not get annoyed.

Do I need to rattle of a list of fortune 500 companies that use IIS & microsoft products to your narrow minded professor?

Your professor may think that, but that tells us nothing. the real question is why?

Revitalize the High Technology Sector to Pave the Way for Industries of the Future. Kerry will erase the digital divide and will fight to connect every American family to the Internet, encourage a renewed educational focus on science and math, bring the best practices of operational efficiency from the private sector to the public sector, and restore the government's commitment to scientific achievement through increases in research funding for the Department of Energy, NASA, and the National Science Foundation. Kerry will also strongly support programs targeted at the next generation of innovation, such as nanotechnology and biotechnology research.

im a huge linux advocate and i know exactly what you mean about the linux community being full of ppl who are so die hard for Linux that they hate helping ppl out and are jst play stupid cause they wont even listen to someone elses point of view about something, the thing that really pisses me off is when there is someone defending linux and they dont even have there facts straight about it. But on the other hand there are also a bunch that are really good about helping out others that are new to linux and even listen and having an educated debate about linux and other OS and even other technologies. As for me i love to help ppl out with the stuff that i know about linux (its not a heck of alot but some ). i havent had a professor like that yet but i havent take all that many Comp Sci classes at the University level and im sure i will run into a few like that. thats jst my own opinion about it though

this a point from John Kerry's webpage jst so you know he plans on supportting and funding nanotechnology jst wanted to point this out.
source is on this site http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/urban/