From: dolio@... (Dan Doel)
Date: 2004-06-15T22:53:29+09:00
Subject: Re: Switch to .ruby extension?

> Hello? "the command line isn't the issue".

Okay, what is the issue, then?

You mentioned Unix text editors? Yes, vi isn't intuitive. But it's
very powerful once you take the time to learn it. If you don't want to
take the time, don't use vi. Emacs lets you just start typing, like
notepad, and allows you to have tons of power if you learn it well.
You can also use nano, which is a lot less powerful, but is very easy.

Or you can use any number of graphical text editors for KDE or Gnome
which are as easy to use as notepad or textpad. Kate which comes with
KDE is Textpad-like.

I don't understand why you're choosing to use one of the hardest to
learn tools, and complaining that it's hard to learn, when there are
alternatives out there for you.

Is it that you got told to RTFM? Well, that happens when you go to the
1337-1inux IRC channel and ask "newbie" questions. Some people are
arrogant. However, there are plenty of websites out there for Linux
newbies, like LinuxQuestions.org for example. A Google search for
"linux" or "linux newbie" or something like that would have probably
lead you to results. Also, most distributions (at least the commercial
ones) come with manuals, and I'm sure they have all sorts of online
tutorials. Gentoo, for example, has plenty of great tutorials, some of
which even teach you to use the command line for various things (and
their forums are great, too).

There _are_ people in the "Linux community" that are concerned with
user friendliness. Just look at all the changes Gnome has gone through
in that pursuit. Grokdoc just got announced on Slashdot yesterday so
that Linux newbies can go to yet another place to learn. Not everyone
in the "Linux community" is a h4x0r who talks only in acronyms. But
it's a diverse group. There are disparaging Windows users as well.

So what exactly is your problem with Linux user friendliness? There's
the GUI out there which isn't hard to use at all. And the command line
isn't hard to use if you look up a little information (how is Windows
any different? If I'm coming from Linux, does typing 'man cp' tell me
about 'help' and 'copy'?). The only editors that I can think of that
are hard to use right off the bat for even basic functionality are vi
and ed, and even if you're using only the command line there are
easier-to-learn alternatives. The man pages aren't great in all cases,
but every problem you have has probably been had before, and if the
man pages can't help you solve it and it's not discussed on the
product's website (and how is the MS documentation any better? It
barely ever helps me solve any problems), then it's probably been
solved in one of the myriad of Linux forums out there. You just need
to look.

But it really doesn't make sense to buy a manual transmission car,
complain it's not as easy as the automatic you could have bought, and
complain at the  unhelpfulness of the illegal street racers you asked
to help you learn stick, and claim that they represent the whole
car-making community (And this is a programs-within-Linux anlogy, not
a Linux-vs-Windows analogy).

-- Dan