This was cross-posted to the following Groups, by someone calling
himself Tom Newton: comp.os.linux.setup, comp.os.linux.misc,
alt.os.linux.slackware

The follow up was set to: comp.os.linux.setup

Readers may wish to skip straight to the penultimate paragraph to learn
what Tom Newton thinks of those who use KDE.

> These days, there are two kinds of Linux runners. Thanks to the
> corporate-sponsored yuppy geeks at KDE/Gnome/freedesktop.org and
> the distros that support those Windows-clone user-interfaces,

> There are the true Linux runners, who want to learn Linux and to
> share their knowledge with others and/or write-maintain the free,
> open-source software that makes Linux possible.

> And there are the false Linux runners who simply want a
> free operating system and free technical support, who
> don't care about learning Linux and don't have any intention
> of doing their fair share of the work needed to maintain
> Linux. Or of donating to the developers and maintainers of
> the software they use.

> They just want to watch videos and listen to music and shop
> and play video games and engage in mindless chatter with IM
> and IRC and on web forums, etc.

> The false Linux runners are destroying Linux, which is precisely
> why the corporations have put 10's of millions of dollars into
> KDE and the like.

> They know the couch potatos won't take the time to learn Linux
> from the command line (note that I am not talking about Linux
> without X, which I use) and they won't learn to type because
> they need one hand free for their beer, cigarettes, junkfood,
> cellphone, or whatever else they are consuming while they click
> and point with the other hand.

> The corporations really want that other hand free to consume...

> And they really _don't_ want people to learn how to run computers.

> Once most of the people running Linux are ignorant couch potatos who
> think that KDE (etc.) and Linux are the same thing, the game is over.
The software will become non-free and non-open source.

> They've already tried, remember:

> http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?doc_cd=116445

> But there wasn't a high enough percentage of couch potato, false
> Linux runners around to allow them to pull it off.

> If we don't do something about this situation, if we don't drop KDE
> (etc.) like the radioactively hot potatoes they are, you can kiss
> Linux good-bye.

> Or prepare to become, literally, outlaws.

> No, KDE (etc.) are not nice ways to introduce people from the
> Mac/Windows world to Linux. They are traps deliberately set and baited
> by huge corporations who hate free and open source software and
> people who really understand computers.And they especially hate
> computers they can't access at will. Which they cannot on Linux OSes
> that don't run KDE (etc.).

> Yes. I know that every blabbermouthed idiot on the Linux groups going
> to reply to this. Sorry. But don't blame me. If it wasn't for KDE
> (etc.) none of these lazy, thieving couch potatoes would be running
> Linux.

> If I can ignore their malicious gibbering, so can you.

> Tom

> calhobbit (at)
> gmail [DOT] com
--
Nemo