Alright, the other day I read an article entiled 5 types of very annoying Linux users, and the article is very true. The article is a reflection of a certain Linux user who observed that there are many kinds of Linux users and that there are five types of Linux users that seems to be annoying to the digital culture. Although it may be too harsh to admit that there really are Linux users who are annoying but the author said, “I must say I’ve gone through each of the above states except for the last. And is not so bad, what is wrong is to stay in only one of them forever.” It is also a matter of choice and preference. So before you continue reading my article please do take a look on the article I just hyper-linked, because this article is my own thoughts and classification of Linux users today which are not discussed by the previous article but these classifications are not limited to disturbing Linux users.
This article is an attempt to bring in some thoughts and ideas about some Linux users that we encounter today whether they are annoying or fun to be with. I will be quoting some facts about Linux users based on what I have just read and observed but I changed some terms about what type of Linux users and add some thoughts about them. So sit back and relax. I may offend some of you users out there but please take this as a challenge, this is just my own honest opinion and observation when I started using Linux and if things get funny and weird please do correct me.
Types of Linux Users That We Have Today
Ubuntu Fan Boys
These type of Linux users are the hardcore fans of Ubuntu, which is a Debian based distro. They are highly criticized by some distroist (distro racist). These type of users trust in Ubuntu because of its simplicity and user-friendly guides and interface and some of them may also tend to switch to another distro if they think that using this distro is not challenging. After all, man is transcendent.
Anti-Windows / Windows Hater
“While the vast majority of Linux users know what are the advantages of Linux vs. Windows, there are those who exaggerate. Not only bothered if someone speaks ill of Linux, but also if someone speaks well of windows. That is, if someone says things like “photoshop is better than gimp” this could be true or not, but these users began a war of offensive comments in blogs and forums. Windows users are criticize and discriminate for simply using Windows as an operating system.”
Anti-Ubuntu / Ubuntu Haters
As what I have said in my first classification of a Linux user, Ubuntu is heavily criticized by Ubuntu haters and that they like to “use words like ‘typical winbuntu’. Generally they believe that they are better than people who use Ubuntu distros just because they use ‘tougher’ distros as Arch, Slackware or something like these.” These kind of people may tend to be boastful of what they achieve but have failed to understand some part of the idea of open source, and that is being open-minded. They see Ubuntu as alter-Windows.
Noobz
These pipz are newly converted Linux users and may soon become a die hard Linux user / fan. But some may not end up in using Linux if he has the attitude of a complainant in which he wants everything to be served in Linux and has no desire to learn, they are dissatisfied with Linux and may go back to Windows again. Some may become programmers or others are motivated to use Linux because they want to learn penetration testing and vulnerability assessment because most of the pentesting tools are easily served in Linux. This is what I call the stage of transition. We all passed through this…
Hacker and Programmers
These guys build Linux to what it is today. The correct definition of a hacker is that they are builders and creators, not to crack and destroy Linux. They may also be penetration testers and vulnerability assessors. These guys are the heroes of computer revolution and the master of Linux imbaness. Linus Torvalds is a Linux h4x0r.
Penetration Testers
These guys were converted to Linux because they want to learn vulnerability assessment and they want to crack up some things in the cyber world. They should not be confused with hackers since not all penetration testers are programmers and hackers, instead they know how Metasploit , SQLmap, SQLninja, Wifite, etc. works. Although some penetration testers are indeed hackers and programmers but I met a lot of skiddies that only understand how to use tools in Backtrack without even understanding Linux itself. These guys love BackTrack, Nodezero, Backbox, Samurai, Project Playground, etc.
RPM Lovers
These guys love to use RPM( originally means Red Hat Package Manager, RPM now stands for “RPM Package Manager”) based distros like Fedora and Cent OS, and are familiar with the command yum install.
Debian Based Lovers
These kind of people love Debian and Debian based distributions like Ubuntu, Project Playground, Xubuntu, Damn Small Linux, etc. They are familiar with the command line apt-get install.
Gnome Environmentalist
Users who love to use the GNU Object Model Environment (Gnome).
XFCE Environmentalist
Users who love the lightweight desktop environment for UNIX-like operating systems which is XFCE. According to a test, it consumes lesser resources of memory than KDE and Gnome but consumes higher memory than LXDE. Users who love this often criticize Gnome as gay and a sucker. According to my friends, Linus Torvalds uses XFCE.
LXDE Environmentaist
Just like the XFCE environmentalist, they love the lightweight desktop environment and energy saving desktop environment but faster than XFCE.
Unity Fan Boys
These guys love the interface or desktop environment of the Ubuntu’s Unity Shell. Unity shell is also heavily criticized by some Linux users out there and think that it is very horrible.
Evangelizers
These guys are the reason why there are n00bz and newbies in the Linux world. They are Linux converters and the missionaries of the Linux Philosophy and Idea. Richard Stallman for example is one of the evangelizers and Linux philosophers of our time. They usually suggest curious guys to try out Ubuntu as their first step to Linux transformation.
Virtual Machine Linux Boys
These kind of people can be newly converted Linux users because they use virtual machines like Virtualbox and Vmware player to boot and try out Linux. As what they say, “Nothing beats the first kiss.” Thus, these people may end up Linux or may stay with Windows maybe because of satisfaction/dissatisfaction.
Distro Hoppers / Jumpers
They switch from one distro to another distro. But this is not what you call as ‘cyber ninjitsu’. These users love to explore Linux distros and are well-balanced Linux users.
Distroist
Once upon a time, I met ‘Tatz’. He is a teenage Linux users who loves Arch Linux but then he hates Ubuntu, Backtrack and other distros. This kind of a Linux user is called a Distroist, at first I called ‘Tatz’, a Distro Racist but then another Distro Jumper told me, “why not call him distroist”; and so we ended calling up ‘Tatz’ a Distroist. Thus, Ubuntu Haters are also called Distroists.
Conclusion
There are still a lot of Linux users out there who exhibits a very different attitude towards other distros and Windows. It’s not bad to hate Windows and Ubuntu as long as you don’t speak ill of users since they all have their own preferences. People have the right to choose what they want and that is what you call as freedom. But, as a Linux user and a believer of the Open Source Philosophy, it is really a good job to introduce to people what Linux and FOSS is. I leave all the rest to you of what you think about this article. If you have any additions about other Linux users, then you can drop by a comment so that we can have a healthy conversation together.
And so what kind of Linux user are you?
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