People often say Linux users are the worst enemies of Linux, but I've come to notice an ironic trend. Increasingly, this is less the problem, than people simply repeating the claim.
(Short) Thread.
I just watched a YT Short (no pun intended), claiming that it was Linux users who forced the developer of DuckStation (full disclosure: I don't use it and personally have no stakes in caring about that application, specifically) to stop supporting Linux because "Linux users were <entitled> and <unkind>" (paraphrased).
But a quick jump into the comments revealed, none of that was true.
Turns out, the developer was uspset that package maintainers were creating unofficial, and outdated, packages. Users were reporting bugs about those outdated versions, and that was the real issue. Plus, it was originally an issue with Arch, and then expanded to other distros.
However, AppImages (according to the comments) are still being created.
All of this to point out something, which I've been noticing even as Linux is experiencing a wave of popularity on social media:
Many people are more concerned with saying what *sounds* right, and sounds like the popular opinion, that actually taking a moment to get the facts, even if they are influencing potentially millions.
Now, this isn't that big of a deal, on the surface of it, I mean - you do you, my guy.
You're absolutely free to make whatever unfounded claims you want about something you either don't like or don't use.
But I do see this as a reflection of a larger problem in general: We need to stop letting these people do our thinking for us; and we need to stop thinking like this.
Just because it's popular to say, doesn't make it true.
@rolandixor And that's why teaching critical thinking is becoming oh so much more important. And not only for Linux, of course!
@nicolaromano absolutely! It's far from optional, it's essential!