I practice self-indulgence at the big holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's. I'm probably going to share some of my truths, in a friendly way of course, sometime next week. In the meantime, let's look at the surface, thru the lens of the software industry that provides a structure for so much learning about humans. So much of my experience with Linux is thru the postings and emails from the Linux zealots, who remind me much of the Mac zealots who protested loudly as I and others wrote about the retreat of the Mac OS as a platform of importance under the leadership of Sculley, Spindler and Amelio. If these people really had the interests of their OS at heart, my argument goes, they'd beat me with a feather instead of throwing rocks at me.
Rocks hurt but feathers are fun.
But to be fair, some of the voices, usually quieter ones, speak with respect and patience and statesmanlike behavior. I make an effort to pay more attention to these voices. For example, about a year ago, a gentle man, whose name I don't remember, sent me an email offering to come to my office and install a Linux machine, free of charge. But I remember the elegance of this person's pitch. It made a big impression.