Something's Amiss in the Linux Community

I wonder if tuxchick even read this piece before rating it down. If anything, its just a bit of conspiricy conjecturing. Astroturf? It complains about astroturfing and other things, and then ends on a positive note, emphasising the strength of the community.

Aside from the fact that it was short on links and documentation, I saw nothing wrong with the piece...maybe a bit skinny on fact, but if we can take the authors assertions at face value, then indeed there is something here that does not pass the smell test. If fact, I am going to include the link to this bit as part of my blog...a very interesting turn of developments in the fight for some schools in the Austin Independent School district. Should be finished by 1 am Texas time. Thats Central time for you yankees

helios

**blush** I did read it, but carelessly. I take it all back.

Well.

It's in-vogue to control thoughts by controlling media nowadays.

Why should this technique not work here – as it has worked so well elsewhere??

101 How to Gain Political Control: Buy up the media, get your mouthpieces to set the agenda, wait for a decade or so till most people have heard no other set of arguments.

Light blue touch paper with a few well placed emergencies and stand well back. It's reaction time!

Actually it's all a bit slow, but it's what's driven America to the ultra-right without upsetting too many.

Mind control. Now, where has my foil hat gone?

Actually it's all a bit slow, but it's what's driven America to the ultra-right without upsetting too many.

Actually it's begining to back-fire on the ultra-right. Bush is falling to 43% overall approval with 1 in 3 supporting his forgien and domestic policies.

At this rate of decline hillarey will be elected president. now that is scary.

>At this rate of decline hillarey will be elected president. now that is scary.

Hillary's not so scary, and I still can't believe that I'm saying that.

As Democrats go, she is thoughtful and pragmatic.

Admittedly, given the Howard Dean-Nancy Pelosi-Barbara Boxer-Harry Reid-Ted Kennedy-Dianne Feinstein wing, that may not be saying much, but Hillary does show signs of caring as much for her country as for her party, a rarity among Democrats. Even Republican pols (including the big Newt himself) have said nice things about her.

Yeah Dino I agree ;-) Hillary for President!

richo123 -

I haven't gone that far yet, but stranger things have happened.

Actually, I have this strange vision of Hillary v. Condy in 2008.

It would be different.

OK.

I buy in.

So what?

Everything you say has been true since the adolescence of linux - that period when it had grown up enough to be useful and was known enough to be widespread. Heck, I played a tiny role in rooting out and removing an astroturfing editor at LinuxToday four years ago.

I don't think there's any difference in the Linux community today (except, perhaps, it's size), but there are differences around and about it.

First, Linux is now recognized as a viable option for business computing. That makes it a serious threat/competitor. It also means that advertising has to change from the "bunch of flaky kids trying to emulate the big boys" approach to more serious attacks aimed at people who aren't prepared to write Linux off so simply.

Second, there used to be a nearly 1 to 1 correspondence of linux users and the linux community. Now, it is much more reasonable to be a linux user in the same sense that you are a Microsoft or Sun user. Nothing "out there" about it. No cause for alarm -- it's the inevitable result of success.

Nothing amiss.