attract people who probably won't use Linux anyway, and if they tried, are unwilling to edit a file or use Google.
This thread reminds me of a recent one on another list (which Steve participated in): a guy wanted to buy a laptop, install Mint, and give it to someone with zero Unix experience.
His question to the list was, what books should he include:
Plus:
I'm afraid I am going to insist that she learn Vim.
So, turns out the recipient was not nerdy in the slightest. Saw a
university semester's reading list, an insistence on learning some
inscrutable text editor, and declined the new Linux laptop
entirely.
What a waste. She could have been a happy Linux user, maybe passing along that info when the topic came up to her knitting group, bowling league, whatever.
But now she probably thinks Linux requires a whole lot of work just to do basic stuff. The opportunity for her as a new user is lost forever.
Because someone insisted they go full nerd just to check email, Facebook, etc.
What a wasted opportunity.
This elitist attitude is worse than useless, it's actively detrimental.