Flame war ahead! > As a long time Linux user I will soon try out OpenBSD, I have been > reading the list emails and contacted 1 OpenBSD top person who was > very rude.
OMG you sent mail to Theo de Radt asking for help? > There is some of the "RTFM" or "get lost" attitude in Linux, but if > a questioner seems sincere there is usually a certain level of > friendliness in Linux community towards them. Linux is a kernel. That attitude will vary between lists for specific packages. It varies with different people too. If you ask things about Linux on, say, the Bash list, you will probably get an similar response. The difference is that OpenBSD is for advanced users. Some (not all) GNU/Linux distros are intended for people that asks things such as "How do I grab a package?". Nothing wrong about either, just different audiences. > Just what I have briefly observed the OpenBSD community is more > abrupt and less interested in helping newbies, they prefer one > find the answer solely on their own if possible. Yes. > I must say I detect a certain attitude that smacks of superiority > and even condescension at times. Is this a fair assessment of the > OpenBSD culture? > You will find this almost everywhere. One particular issue of some OpenBSD users is that they feel cool because they use OpenBSD over GNU/Linux. Like: "Hey you use Linux? I use OpenBSD, I'm more nerdy than you are, your loser". Something like that. I'm much more inclined to the GNU/Linux philosophy of Freedom, but I do like OpenBSD technically, and I use it because I want to learn how to write good operating system code. And also, OpenBSD is the only "non GNU/Linux", free, operating system that has the features I want and is not full of non-free drivers and stuff like that. You shouldn't decide what OS you will use based on your opinion on the developers. I don't like Linus Torvalds, not one bit. But I do use his kernel. I'm don't particularly love Theo, but I do use his OS.
