How to convince people to choose linux?

DeletedUser201201 · 2011-06-14 13:36:56

This approach isn't going to work. GNU/Linux people have to realize that not everyone has our need for control or efficiency our systerm provides but rather a need of familiarity with their system. The computer for some is a toolbox with the tools they need to work. From personal experience I have observed that forcing program 'alternatives' to otherwise knowledgable people, reduces productivity and raises anxietes over problematic behaviour from the computer. Although, there is the matter of ethic when talking about free software, trying to convert someone by force or otherwise propagating that 'it is just better' isn't going to produce positive results. As such, our reasons - personally mostly ethic, that most here don't share - aren't the same as the other. Using exagerations as facts is also wrong.

It would be nice to have everyone in our families or friend circle understand what GNU/Linux is and in an utopian world, use it but reality is that most people just don't care. They sit with one (first) operating system, learn to use their tools, get their job done on the computer and they don't think about it much longer. It just works for them and it should for us. Reactions like that force a bad name to the community.

Hyugga · 2011-06-14 13:55:51

jgreen1tc wrote:

First off, your English is better than most people I know here in the States. I hate it when adults type like they're in grade school.
Secondly, I agree with you completely. No one convinced me to use Linux. I'm the only person I personally know who uses it. And no matter how much I tell my friends about it, I doubt they would switch. They can appreciate that it looks cool (compiz effects) but don't want to have to re-learn what they have learned about computers and lose all the software compatibility that Windows brings. Most wouldn't even switch to Mac, let alone Linux. But if someone ever does, I'll try to help as much as I can.

Thanks.
That happened to me too. I have a friend who heard about Ubuntu from me, he always had virus problems and i told him to give it a try. Next week he came back to windows because he didn't like openoffice.

eightbitbrad · 2011-06-14 14:30:37

I used to be of the "convert everyone you know to Linux!" camp myself. Eventually I began to realize that converting is not how it should be. If someone is happy using Windows, let them continue to use it! Why force something new on someone unnecessarily? One point that was made in this thread was "Using Windows, they were having a lot of problems. Now with Linux, I don't hear from them again.". What happens when they want to upgrade to a newer release of something? If they aren't using Arch (and personally, I would never throw a new Linux user into Arch), are they going to be able to complete the upgrade themselves? Rather than blindly trying to convert someone, take into account what they are doing with Windows. Ask them how important staying updated is. Believe it or not, parents and other family members may enjoy games too. What happens when they call you up because they can't play their favorite game? My father at one time asked me for a computer. All he wanted to do was surf the web, do a spreadsheet here and there, and play some web games. Perfect scenario for Linux, right? I had an old iMac lying around, running OS9. I gave that to him.. no problems.

I don't subscribe to the "convince people our way is right" method any longer. I'm of the "let people use what they feel is most comfortable to them" mindset now.

xamaco · 2011-06-14 17:35:17

Tell people they can go on porn sites without risking viruses and other malwares :-D ?

MurdersLastCrow · 2011-06-16 08:19:32

To second eightbitbrad's sentiments, I never try to help someone get with Linux unless it's obvious that it suits their needs, and they're having difficulty with Windows or other software. After showing them some shiny things and showing them how to do common stuff on your own computer, or using a LiveCD while trying to shortly solve the immediate Windows problem with a remote virus scan or something, you can explain that it's fairly low maintenance and help them get whatever they need working in WINE and otherwise the patent-encumbered media support.

But unless you can see them actually benefiting from it directly, it's pretty much a waste of time trying to get them into it. It might improve their opinion of open source in the short term, but if it's not for them it's not for them. Part of the reason I like Linux is because it helps me spend less time on a computer- I think you'll see that a lot of non-geeky people really want something like Linux, though.

In fact, it usually goes like this, "I'm having so many stupid problems with Windows, it's driving me nuts. I wish I could afford a Mac."

"Linux is pretty decent, and has similar roots- it just doesn't run all the Adobe applications. You won't have to deal with anything but an occasional update, and I could help you with anything you have questions about. And it's kinda' fun to use."

I mean, just because you shouldn't force it down someone's throat doesn't mean you can't take a few minutes out of your day when the opportunity is really obvious and you're well suited to help a friend. But that's far different from 'convincing' someone. The people most capable of adapting to Linux naturally are already 'convinced' they can and should try something new. Even if you only say it because you care, it does sound elitist to tell someone who's happy on Windows about what they're "missing out on."

Last edited by MurdersLastCrow (2011-06-16 08:20:12)

1lj4z1 · 2011-06-26 05:57:43

show them some compiz magic.

spctrl · 2011-06-26 09:39:08

I used to do this when I was much younger, but it's pointless and detrimental to the freedom to choose whatever the hell you want to use(tm).

Nowadays if I hear someone zealously going on about how this or that is so much better and you have to use it, I make a point NOT to use it just because in the end it's me who decides. Certain software seems to have the highest density of zealots, and that really pisses me off to the extent that I don't even try it out. I ignored git for many years because of this, which I now regret.

So my advice is to only mention it in case you have a friend over who is computer savvy and he is interested in the OS you are running. In most cases they don't give two cents as long as they can do what they want. Never ever just start talking about how great linux/whatever software is, because that just pisses people off. I see this endlessly in forums and the like where someone asks a question about how to do something with software X and gets a reply that he should use software Y instead. That does not help the user of software X, and it just makes the user who suggested to use software Y instead of helping out look like a moron.

Awebb · 2011-06-26 11:10:38

1lj4z1 wrote:

show them some compiz magic.

I show them Gnome 3. They won't chose linux afterwards, but they certainly will appreciate their Windows 7 a lot more...

1lj4z1 · 2011-06-26 11:15:51

Awebb wrote:

1lj4z1 wrote:
show them some compiz magic.
I show them Gnome 3. They won't chose linux afterwards, but they certainly will appreciate their Windows 7 a lot more...

totally loled

TectonInd · 2011-06-26 23:01:15

Awebb wrote:

I show them Gnome 3. They won't chose linux afterwards, but they certainly will appreciate their Windows 7 a lot more...

It'd definitely convert them if they use an iPod.

dakt · 2011-06-27 14:37:59

Awebb wrote:

1lj4z1 wrote:
show them some compiz magic.
I show them Gnome 3. They won't chose linux afterwards, but they certainly will appreciate their Windows 7 a lot more...

What's Windows 7? Where can I download it?

ScionicSpectre · 2011-06-27 19:32:29

Ironically, GNOME 3 got some of my friends interested that thought the ol' Compiz with cubes and docks a bit over-the-top and pointless. They seem to find something attractive about how GNOME 3 works/looks/feels. D:

Show them fluxbox, openbox, Haiku, or something with a really groaty old theme and a lot of right-click menus. That'll get them booking in heartbeat. XD (just realized the forum he said that on...)

kolos · 2011-06-27 21:34:22

make a speech dr. strangelove-style telling them that you wont use pants anymore if they don't use linux, (fake) choke yourself a little every time that windows/mac is mentioned and end it with "mein torvalds, i can hack"

i wanted to give a serious answer but eightbitbrad and MurdersLastCrow said it all

Larsson · 2011-06-29 09:30:12

Question is rather how to make existing linux-users to donate money yo projects

ryukafalz · 2011-07-01 06:09:52

I generally make my distaste for Windows well-known. Odd that I'm typing this from my only Windows box, but... meh.

My recommendation would be to not try and convert people though. Well, I have converted my sister. She used Ubuntu a while ago on her desktop, used Windows 7 for a while on her new laptop but wanted another Linux distro. (Did a little distro-hopping today to find one that would actually work on her computer out of the box, ended up with Fedora 15. Ubuntu and its derivatives have some odd problems on that hardware.) My brother's not into it, he considers himself a Windows power user. He uses an unlicensed copy of Windows that prevents him from running his MS antivirus software and pops up a warning every hour or so. I do wish he would switch to Linux.

Outside my family, I don't really try to convert people, though I will show off the OS to anyone that's interested.

(And am I the only one here that actually likes Gnome 3? )

dakt · 2011-07-01 07:16:12

ryukafalz wrote:

(And am I the only one here that actually likes Gnome 3? )

No, I use it to because it is the best DE ever made for Linux. KDE, XFCE and others, suck!

Anyway...I think that I repel people from Linux and the reason why is that my terminal is _always_ opened. I even do all my programming in emacs(no graphical IDE), so when we are in the class, everyone got their laptops with VisualStudio and I'm the black sheep with Linux, emacs and gcc compiler.
"Hey what's up with that black and white screen", "we are in 21 century now", etc...but at the end of the day I am always first to complete my exercise.
Eventually I would end up the discussion by asking, how old is your Windows installation?
But since I got Gnome3 its a bit better unlike when I had spartan look of XFCE. Really ugly...DCE look alike, but fast and functional.

tgoossens · 2011-07-01 22:22:04

Lol.

Some windows guys are ruining the whole documents:p

How did they get the link? ^^

lunix · 2011-07-01 22:41:23

tgoossens wrote:

Lol.
Some windows guys are ruining the whole documents:p
How did they get the link? ^^

Well, to start with you posted it publicly on your forum.

(and these Windows guys also include Mac, BSD and Linux users that hate FUD and love lulz.)

Last edited by lunix (2011-07-01 22:41:47)

tgoossens · 2011-07-01 22:45:29

Lol

No problem,

It's an open document so feel free :-)

lunix · 2011-07-01 22:47:59

Thanks!

Blµb · 2011-07-02 07:40:42

Ultimately you have to accept their choice. So you actually shouldn't convince people (as it was stated a few times in this thread already.)
I DO however strongly support convincing people that linux is an actual vald and working *option* they *can* choose.
So: if someone talks bad about linux: talk back.
If someone simply says he doesn't want to use it: accept it.

In any case: here's my recipe ^^

Gamers: They won't.

99% of the rest: show them ubuntu and how they can just click on libreoffice, firefox, chromium in the "Software Center", and show them the games from kde/gnome games packages - specifically: card games.
NOTE: do NOT, under any circumstances, show or admit, that when they work together with other NON-linux users - using word AND libre/open-office for the same document will keep screwing up page-numbers and footnotes (especially "ibids") due to different font rendering.

and for Students: because it's cheap and you can do all your work there as well, unless your university sucks (yes offense - in case you're someone who's responsible for your university using windows).
- no argument needed for IT students
- for language students: libreoffice, and, yes I'm serious: latex - seriously, if you show them that biblatex can automagically insert "ibid." where it belongs, and keep track of section numbers, pages, etc. they'll love it - keep in mind you need *actual* working sample files. Simply "telling about it" won't help.
- any other: anything they need can be run in wine - and if they need "S" show them "R" ('pacman -S R' in case you don't know it...)

(in case you're sheldon from big bang theory: no I'm not implying that "(population - gamers) * 0.01 = amount of students in the world)

Last edited by Blµb (2011-07-02 07:41:01)

Arch Linux

#76 2011-06-14 13:36:56

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#77 2011-06-14 13:55:51

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#78 2011-06-14 14:30:37

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#79 2011-06-14 17:35:17

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#80 2011-06-16 08:19:32

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#81 2011-06-26 05:57:43

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#82 2011-06-26 09:39:08

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#83 2011-06-26 11:10:38

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#84 2011-06-26 11:15:51

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#85 2011-06-26 23:01:15

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#86 2011-06-27 14:37:59

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#87 2011-06-27 19:32:29

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#88 2011-06-27 21:34:22

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#89 2011-06-29 09:30:12

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#90 2011-07-01 06:09:52

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#91 2011-07-01 07:16:12

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#92 2011-07-01 22:22:04

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#93 2011-07-01 22:41:23

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#94 2011-07-01 22:45:29

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#95 2011-07-01 22:47:59

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

#96 2011-07-02 07:40:42

Re: How to convince people to choose linux?

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