People do use it differently. I never use the CLI on Windows or Linux. I'm not in IT. I just do everyday user things. Many of which don't even have a CLI command.
> i get made fun of a lot.
Yes. They don't understand you need a way that works for you. We are all different. There is no one-size-fits-all.
Different user types have different capabilities. Some think in terms of text. Others are more visual. Neither is wrong. Just like a left handed person is not wrong. Good usability is about adapting the software to the person. Not the person to the software. For a lot of what I do there is no text command. And for many, the CLI is an unfamiliar interface. So it's a productivity disadvantage to switch over to a CLI just for a single command when the rest of the time you are in a GUI.
Yes. I agree these chatbots are another text interface like a CLI. So to me that's again a barrier to usability when I wish to refer to graphical or linked logical items on my screen that don't have any text description. I don't work in a purely text world, where usually there are no CLI commands for what im doing.
Its likely these people find a chat bot easier as they don't need to memorise a command plus modifiers exactly letter perfect. Where one mistype can fail, or worse. Two big issues people have with a CLI. And the chatbot output is made readable too. Where on a CLI it's hard to know if something worked, not being familiar with the terminology it spits out.
Yes it is possible. I never need the terminal. If you are interested, you can usually find a GUI way if you look for one. Some people just don't look, then tell people there is no GUI for it. Not very helpful for newbies.
For those not into usability, different people work in different ways. Visual workers are not the same as text workers. So for some, CLI has poor usability and productivity. For lots of things I do, there isn't a CLI anyway.
I use Kubuntu these days. It could be better.
Me in shop: I want to buy a robot vacuum cleaner. Do you have one of those sweary ones?
I might be an idiot, but I'm not going to use a Mac.
This meme also perpetuates the myth that to use Linux you must be an IT person. I just use it as a user.
Great. Now everyone will be copying Apple's foldable idea.
Managing digital information today is a horrible mess of silos and big business driven incompatibilities. It often drives people to use PDFs, as there is nothing appropriate. Blame the software/businesses, not the victims/users.
I blame the Linux gatekeepers, keeping people on Windows. By pushing out misinformation to Linux newbies who ask a question online, and scaring them away.
I agree with the OP. But swap the term "newbie" for "casual user" or "non IT user", and more people would agree. Even the nerdiest IT Pro was a newbie whenever they use a distro for the first time. Avoid the term "normie" too, as people have different ideas of what normal is. There are more non IT, power users who have a deep knowledge of their applications, than all Linux users put together.
So this discussion is all around a sloppy choice of terminology.
I never do any of that. I'm sure a lot of non IT people don't either. At best they'd get an app to do specialised tasks for them. Sadly too many gatekeepers tell people considering Linux, they must use the command line. But I never use it. So that's clearly not true for normal users.