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Date:      Fri, 19 Feb 1999 09:59:23 -0800 (PST)
From:      "K. Marsh" <durang@u.washington.edu>
To:        root@isis.dynip.com
Cc:        freebsd-newbies@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: Very Common Question
Message-ID:  <Pine.A41.4.05.9902190932510.51518-100000@goodall1.u.washington.edu>
In-Reply-To: <199902191310.QAA44457@isis.dynip.com>

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On Fri, 19 Feb 1999 root@isis.dynip.com wrote:

> I am hearing tooooo much now about linux.

> I'm sick of it, now I hear that IBM is making some deal with Linux
> people for installing Linux on their new machines, I am very very sad,
> and very very gelous.

Jeeze.  This is some real axe grinding here.  It's only natural to be
loyal to whatever you've decided to use, but to actually wish silence upon
all others is a bit extreme.  Even fascist.

You have to keep in mind the social patterns that are well establish in
the U.S.  Quality is of less importance that reputation.  When a user is
considering FreeNIX, he/she goes to the bookstore and they see shelf after
shelf of Linux titles, but only a couple of books (if they can even find
them) on FreeBSD.  This is when the average Joe thinks, "If FreeBSD was
better, there would surely be more books about it, and I would have heard
about it on the news."  So they choose Linux.

This kind of flock behavior is really comical if you think about it.  Just
go to the mall and look at all the Tommy Hilfiger (sp?) stuff walking
around, or go to the bus stop and watch folks huddle around the door of
the bus, as if the first ten passengers to board were going to get free
tickets to Hawaii, or go to the theater and watch folks line up to pay
five bucks for popcorn that they wouldn't eat on a bet if they weren't in
a theater.

After that, these users fall into a pattern of self-delusion in which
they convince themselves that "their brand" is the best one - whether it
really is or not.  I agree that FreeBSD is better than Linux, but to take
it to the extreme that you have, I'd say you are suffering from the same
delusion.  Marketing professionals call this "brand loyalty".

As far as I'm concerned, I hope Linux is a HUGE success.  The more people
that go to Linux, the less people there'll be on the Windows bandwagon.
When the dust settles, if FreeBSD is really better then it will emerge
victor through the process of natural selection.

So please, root, take a chill pill before you go postal on a Linux user's
group!

  Kenneth J. Marsh             University of Washington 
  durang@u.washington.edu        Chemical Engineering



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