These days, there are two kinds of Linux runners. Thanks to the
corporate-sponsored yuppy geeks at KDE/Gnome/freedesktop.org and
the distros that support those Windows-clone user-interfaces,

There are the true Linux runners, who want to learn Linux and to
share their knowledge with others and/or write-maintain the free,
open-source software that makes Linux possible.

And there are the false Linux runners who simply want a
free operating system and free technical support, who
don't care about learning Linux and don't have any intention
of doing their fair share of the work needed to maintain
Linux. Or of donating to the developers and maintainers of
the software they use.

They just want to watch videos and listen to music and shop
and play video games and engage in mindless chatter with IM
and IRC and on web forums, etc.

The false Linux runners are destroying Linux, which is precisely
why the corporations have put 10's of millions of dollars into
KDE and the like.

They know the couch potatos won't take the time to learn Linux
from the command line (note that I am not talking about Linux
without X, which I use) and they won't learn to type because
they need one hand free for their beer, cigarettes, junkfood,
cellphone, or whatever else they are consuming while they click
and point with the other hand.

The corporations really want that other hand free to consume...

And they really _don't_ want people to learn how to run computers.

Once most of the people running Linux are ignorant couch potatos who think
that KDE (etc.) and Linux are the same thing, the game is over. The
software will become non-free and non-open source.

They've already tried, remember:

http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?doc_cd=116445

But there wasn't a high enough percentage of couch potato, false
Linux runners around to allow them to pull it off.

If we don't do something about this situation, if we don't drop KDE (etc.)
like the radioactively hot potatoes they are, you can kiss Linux good-bye.

Or prepare to become, literally, outlaws.

No, KDE (etc.) are not nice ways to introduce people from the Mac/Windows
world to Linux. They are traps deliberately set and baited by huge corporations
who hate free and open source software and people who really understand computers.
And they especially hate computers they can't access at will. Which they cannot
on Linux OSes that don't run KDE (etc.).

Yes. I know that every blabbermouthed idiot on the Linux groups going to reply to
this. Sorry. But don't blame me. If it wasn't for KDE (etc.) none of these
lazy, thieving couch potatoes would be running Linux.

If I can ignore their malicious gibbering, so can you.

Tom


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gmail [DOT] com