Retired Linux user wants to switch

[Jerry McAllister]

Hi,

> I've been using Linux for about 7 years. At the
> beginning the Linux community was still very small and
> ... 
> All these years I've seen Linux grow. I helped people
> on IRC while more and more users were coming with
> their questions. Yesterday I decided to go back to the
> IRC channel, after about 4 years, to ask a question
> about USB (I'm not really into USB). What happened
> really turned me off. They called me "a troll", that I
> should "go back to Windows", I'm "too dumb to use
> Linux" and because I told them "I've been on this
> channel even before you began using Linux" they kicked
> me off. This is 1 of the many examples.
> 
> It may sound weird, but because of what the Linux
> community has become I would like to try and switch
> some of my systems over to FreeBSD. First I have some
> questions about what to expect:

Welcome to FreeBSD.
It doesn't seem so weird.  We have seen a lot of people stepping up
lately.

I see someone more knowledgeable than I has answered your specific
questions, but on the issue of the list[s].

It is generally a friendly environment with a lot of tolerance for
newbies and, like myself, thick-heads that take several times through
for some things to register.

You might occassionally get called a troll on a FreeBSD list, but
if your question is serious and you persist without inflamitory
language, people will settle down and respond with serious posts.
People on these lists tend to dislike someone flaming another person
more than they do posting "dumb" questions or being a newbie.
If you really seem to be a troll, generally you won't get booted
off, just ignored.   

Besides trolling and flaming, the worst sin on these lists seems to 
be jumping to post a question without doing some of your own searching 
first.  Always check the handbook, the FAQs and Google, etc before 
posting - if for no other reason than it may help you better formulate 
your question.   And, most problems and mistakes have come up before
and been written about extensively somewhere.  There is a huge body
of material written about the system - most of it quite good, but always
try for more than one opinion if you are searching the archives.

People on these lists seem more interested in creating and supporting
well running systems than massaging egos, unlike what you see in some 
places.  (but I suppose having the most reliable, efficient and 
reasonably secure system does some good for the ego... ;-) )

////jerry

> ...
> These were all question for now. I hope the story at
> the beginning wasn't too much and didn't violate the
> rules of this forum.
> 
> Thank you,
> Mike Machuidel ;)
>