An OS Intended for use by the Ill-Informed

The other day, I grabbed a link from my Twitter feed (File system), and after reading it, I was reminded of an issue that has been infesting the open-source community as long as I can remember.

Now I have been guilty of asking questions that would have probably been easily answered by a Google search or reading the given documentation. On the other hand, I have also been the first to say "RTFM." I understand both sides of the argument: sometimes it's easier when others do the work for you, and it is really irritating when you are asked the same question thirty times a day.

Here lies my issue, why is it that we either treat new users like lesser life forms, or take it as a personal assault when someone questions some part of our flavor of choice?

I can relate to telling someone that something is a bad idea. I get that using harsh terms help some people convey urgency. But, do we really need to berate and belittle people who might not be as far in their learning as we are? Does it make you feel bigger than they are, making you somehow more important or higher on the project's food chain? Really, what do you get from it?

It's About Time

I have quit Facebook and I think you should too. I could go into a tirade about the security issues (and, they're there); all of your personal information that Facebook is selling "on your behalf," and the millions of man hours that are wasted "farming." I know I often rant about the topics I feel strongly about, and I own that.

First, lets clarify the WHY. I could go on about Facebook's lax nature towards its user's privacy. Its standpoint in that (as a user) once you are signed up, you have opted into sharing everything. I think Chris Pirillo has said it best in his two-step program:

"Step 1: Stop sharing SHIT you don't want the world to discover, Step 2: See Step 1"

Let's be honest. In our use of Facebook, we have wasted numerous hours that we could have spent creating *something*. From sharing daily happenings with relatives, to reconnecting with people you went to high school with, Facebook has willfully absorbed my attention. Even with all of the great things I have accomplished in connecting with people on this network, I have been putting more into it than I have gotten in return.

I have come to the conclusion that I need to own my time. More importantly, I need to firewall the access I enable the world to have to me. Moderation is key. If you think of this as a media diet, I need to eat better.

I don't really have a plan for this, in all actuality, I'm going to be handling this on a step by step basis. There doesn't seem to be a Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers system for limiting the expectations that people are allowed to have for you. There are some crystal meth type methods for content consumption, but I'm still trying to prove that I can't be replaced by a Bash script.

I just can't be occupied by things that are noisier than useful, just as I can't be bothered by small-return bullshit. I need to look at making faster decisions about what I *don't* need to be doing. Most of all, I must demand personal focus on making things. And with all of the constant commotion going on around me, I have an increasingly minuscule amount of time to devote to my projects. My TODO list is currently weighing in at 112 tasks. I should also keep a close tie to the bipedal mammalians that I physically surround myself with.

As for you, I have to make an amends to those I may have talked into joining Facebook. Not only have I slaughtered countless of my own man hours, but I also led you off of the cliff with the rest of the lemmings. I have to own that.

You have taken the first step and have found me here. You can find some of my work here, here, and here. As for my lame attempt at thought collection, it can be found here. It is bat-shit insanely easy to do have your own online presence. It just depends on where YOU want to go. Quit being the lemming! And, if you need help, don't be afraid to ask.