Advocacy Done Right
It’s no secret that one of the on-going debates among Linux
users is over the proper role and form of advocacy. Sadly,
this is made all the more problematic by the terrible image the
very word conjures up; “advocacy” has gained such a bad connotation
across the Linux landscape that I’m hesitant to even use the word,
for fear of giving readers the wrong impression. Just so
there’s no misunderstanding, I’m talking about level-headed and at
least reasonably objective support of Linux, not the psychotic
rants of the arrogant, reality challenged, hormone overloaded,
arrested development cases we all encounter in newsgroups and other
online venues. The most productive thing we can do about those
people is ignore them and hope they’ll find another hobby and group
of innocent people to annoy.
But I’m not here (solely) to carp about the online nitwits, but
to address an often overlooked aspect of responsible advocacy,
particularly when dealing with mainstreamers: Understanding the
other person’s viewpoint.
The first hurdle you encounter with mainstreamers is one of
simple name recognition. I know it’s hard for people who leave,
breathe, and eat Linux to believe, but there are many intelligent,
computer literate people out there in the real world who just
happen to know almost zip about Linux. Many of them still haven’t
heard of it. Even though Linux has caught the Mac in terms of
desktop market share (depending on whose numbers you believe),
Linux’s mindset in the mainstream is about 1% of the Mac’s. I guess
we’d be doing better if we had lots of sappy, prime time TV ads
with Jeff Goldblum gushing about how quickly you can connect Linux
to the Internet, or how you can make your own digital home movies
with it. (And if we had the budget we sure wouldn’t spend it to
show Jeff dancing around like a PCP-altered condor in our ads.)
Even without a big advertising budget or Steve “reality distortion
field” Jobs on our side, we’re still in a perfect position to
promote Linux through friends, co-workers, and relatives, but only
if we do it right.
I mentioned in my recent
Magic Wand column that I’d had an interesting talk with a
relative (my wife’s Uncle Bill) at a family gathering about his
constant hassles with Windows server crashes at the high school
where he’s the principal. I told him that one possible solution was
Linux, since not only was it conspicuously more robust than
Windows, but it was free to acquire. (I didn’t then, and I’m not
now, claiming Linux has $0 TCO, so Windows advocates please don’t
get your knickers in a knot.) There I was, talking with a really
smart guy and a dedicated educator, someone whose enterprise could
benefit tremendously from Linux, who’d never even heard of it. Once
we got past the “yes, it really is free, no you won’t go to jail
for copying it, and yes, it really was started by a college kid and
no one company owns it” stuff, Uncle Bill had more questions than
you can shake a microwaved Windows CD at.
Beyond this surface-level name recognition, it’s also important
to let people know just how robust Linux really is. This is related
to another of those details that surprises Linux enthusiasts:
Mainstream computer users are so used to Windows’ legendary
instability that they no longer distinguish between bad software
and bad computers; they literally think that all computers crash a
lot and need to be restarted routinely because, well, that’s just
the way computers are, right? Even the more advanced mainstreamers
generalize and implicitly assume that hardware is generally robust
but all software is flaky as grandma’s apple pie crust. Tell these
people about the Linux-based Internet servers that have been
running non-stop for years without a single second of downtime, and
they think you’re kidding or exaggerating. Once they realize you’re
not this fact quickly becomes one of the most compelling things
they’ve heard about computers in a long time, and you can literally
see their opinions of computers, and in particular, Windows, change
right on the spot.
A related surprise to many mainstreamers, of course, is
security. Tell them about how much more secure Linux is overall,
and how much quicker fixes are created and disseminated on the
Internet for the problems that do arise, and you’ve got their
attention. But be warned: If they work in an office that’s been
ravaged by a Microsoft Outlook virus, they might be so thrilled
that they try to adopt you.
Even higher on the fun scale is telling someone (as I’ve done
with several acquaintances and clients) that everyone in his or her
family, including the kids, can have their own accounts on the
family system, with everyone’s data and configuration insulated
from each other’s actions, and the system protected from all of
them. Then make the transition from feature to benefit, and explain
that this capability will prevent anyone from turning the family PC
into an electric, breathing paperweight via excessive downloads or
picking up a virus. Inevitably people want to know why the heck
Windows 98 can’t do this, and I’ve heard more than one person say
something like, “So, in other words, Windows 98 is a toy.”
Mainstreamers usually pick up the full ramifications of this
feature in seconds, and they love it. I’d even go so far as to say
that this is the single most interesting feature to mainstream
users, since it gives them more control over their systems in a way
they can very easily understand and desperately need.
Make sure you’re ready, when the chance arises, to show people
some of the fun stuff they can do with Linux on a desktop–five
minutes browsing through themes.org should get their
attention.
Of course it’s critical you don’t get carried away and oversell
Linux. When people ask if they can run their Windows programs with
it, be honest. Tell them there is no Quicken, Jack Nicklaus golf
game, AOL client, Quark, PageMaker, or Internet Explorer for Linux.
Just as important, don’t over promise in the gray areas, like how
well OpenOffice supports Microsoft Office file formats. Sure,
OpenOffice has improved a lot in that respect, but don’t tell
people OpenOffice can flawlessly support any file Office (which
includes at least the three most recent versions in the mind of
most mainstreamers, and documents with embedded files) can crank
out, ’cause it just ain’t so. Similarly, if they ask if there’s a
version of PhotoShop or Paint Shop Pro for Linux, don’t tell them
GIMP is just as good; matching those programs in raw features isn’t
enough, and GIMP is different enough from those programs that it’s
not a reasonable replacement in the eyes of people who don’t have
the time to learn a new program.
If you get someone seriously hooked on the idea of giving Linux
a test drive, make sure you stress that device support isn’t as
close to painless and universal as it is under Windows. You know
the main trouble areas: some printers and scanners, many cameras
and other digital gadgetry. Tell them up front that they’ll have to
do their homework to make sure their system will work as expected.
Even assuming all their hardware goodies have available,
compatible, and reliable device drivers, tell them that sometimes
they have to locate, download, and install the drivers on their own
(or enlist the help of at least one Linux guru along the way).
Make it clear that Linux on the desktop isn’t a drop-in
replacement for Windows. Even with the latest version of KDE or
GNOME installed, its user interface is noticeably different from
Windows in terms of operations, not just looks, and even
experienced users will take a little time to get comfortable.
(Example: How many new users will be frustrated by Konqueror’s
bizarre default behavior of using its internal viewer for many file
types, like plain text files, when you left click on them? Sure,
it’s easy enough to reconfigure, but it defies user expectations
and is a major usability gaffe. This looks a lot like programmers
showing off a cool feature they added instead of thinking like a
user.)
And finally, be ready to recommend a specific distribution, as
well as books and web site newbies can use to educate themselves.
There’s no point in making them start their personal odyssey with a
search for “Linux” in Yahoo! or Alta Vista. If you can possibly
spare the time, volunteer to help them along the way. Nothing will
get a Linux newbie up to speed quicker than a little personal
assistance from someone like you, and it also might keep them out
of newsgroups and away from the more toxic personalities until
they’re more capable of fending for themselves.