No, using an OS is not something that requires a promise of commitment. It's a utility needed for using a computer.

As enthusiasts we want as many people as possible to use good OSs, even if it ends at just trying it out.
The more people try Linux the better regardless of their motives.

I'm more bothered by keyboard warriors intent on gatekeeping.

I spare very little mental capacity to how people utilize their computers where it doesn't directly affect me. No, it is not something I find worth being bothered about. Life's hard enough regardless.

No, it has never even once bothered my why people install Linux on their own hardware. Not even now that you have brought it to my attention. What is on my mind right now is why you care so much.

I could not give two shits what the reasons are and with which frequency someone uses Linux vs Windows say. If you use it you use it: welcome and enjoy your stay.

The community won't grow meaningfully with gatekeeping and elitist behaviour.

No. I do not care what operating system people use, how they use it, if they dual boot, etc. If someone reaches out to me for help with Linux, I will help out and provide suggestions and guidance. If someone wants to dual boot and mostly use windows, cool. If they want to go back to windows or MacOS after using Linux, cool.

I use what I use, the way I use it, because it works for me. Because I enjoy it. Because I find value in it.

What other people decide to do or not do with their operating system choice has no effect on my life, or my thoughts, whatsoever.

If I was feeling as described in this post, I would take some time away from the internet.

no. and why does it matter to you so much? If someone wants to say they switched to linux then awesome, have at it, good job, have fun and all that. but then you roll in with "ok...how are you using it? show me!" who cares? you're literally gate keeping an operating system.

you don't have to commit to a damn operating system, it's a tool. If I had a Brand A hammer and it really sucked I'd swap it for a Brand B hammer that was suggested to me. Now if Brand A suddenly started producing a better hammer and admitted their previous hammer was garbage then I would consider going back to Brand A.

If Microsoft came out tomorrow and said "you know what? we were wrong. We were wrong about AI, we were wrong about 11, we're going to provide you with a better OS" I would consider going back to it. I'd at the very least try it. Or if someone came out with something brand new that wasn't Linux or MacOS or Windows and it was a better tool than all of them I'd switch to that.

The point is I'm not going to lose sleep over someone wanting to switch and then not, why do I care? I got more stuff to worry about than some random stranger on the internet not using a specific OS. What DOES bother me more are people replying to comments where someone is having issues with Windows and says "just use linux" that isn't helping anyone and you come off as a basement dwelling asshole that's waiting on their chicken nuggies to finish heating in the microwave.

Here's my analogy:

I've been in the culinary industry 37+ years and a lot of famous chefs have come and gone, a lot have been very disparaged by regular chefs in the industry.

But here's the thing: those famous chefs promote your industry, which in turn offers you more opportunities. They should be embraced, and not shit on.

Anyone who shows an interest, even if it's only 'fashionable' because MS fucked up again, should be given the benefit of the doubt and assisted (if that's your thing) or encouraged to break away from the kings of enshitification.

Many of us have switched to Linux and haven't looked back. Just because we're not posting about it doesn't mean it didn't happen.

A small act of rebellion can be revolutionary to the lives it changes.

Nope - if there are swathes who say they want to switch to Linux but 'don't commit', that just reveals there is a real gap where Linux needs to be easier for people to install and use on a daily basis.

Most people don't want to be a mechanic, they just want a car

Every time someone says "I can't stand the gaslighting and abuse anymore. This time I'm leaving him." it's an opportunity for them to really follow through.

Sometimes we are held back more by the stories we tell ourselves than our actual capacities. And the solution is to stop telling ourselves what we can't do, but telling ourselves that we can and even will change our situations.

No.

People who say "I'm switching to linux" are like people who threaten to leave the country if [fill in the blank] is elected. I pay attention more to people who say "I switched to linux" or "I left the country". Or those who revert the decision later.

Why should it bother me? It's not like I have Linux corporation stock. I'm just a longtime happy user.

No. Positions Linux as an alternative in broader part of the society.

people performatively declaring they are going to Linux doesn't bother me at all. its good press, builds its reputation. people try new things for deep reasons sometimes, but also for casual curiosity and fashion following, and that's ok.

It kinda feels like the digital equivalent of "I'M MOVING TO CANADA" in a lot of cases.

Switching to Linux, if the person is actually switching, can be seen as a rebellious action against the corporate, capitalist dystopia we're already in.

I consider this a good thing.

I find it amusing. I'm a die hard Linux user, but I never "switched". I still have windows machines I just don't like them.

I use Linux because it works for me, does what I want (and doesn't do what I don't want) most of the time. For me, it works much nicer than Windows or MacOs.

What works for you, is your thing. I don't care. That is I'm happy for you if you got an OS that works for you, and if it doesn't, I'll be happy to help if I can, but if you want to stay with Windows that's fine with me. Linux has its own problems, which are different from Windows. Depending on your needs, I can understand why one would choose one over the other, for both choises.

Personally I don't like people who give unasked opinions regarding which OS I should use. (Unasked being key there).

Does it bother me if people shout about that they are changing to Linux while they don't? Not at all. Does it bother me if people shout that I should change to Linux? Yes.

I always feel like a lot of it is just simply clout, a pat-on-the-back feeling for deciding against the masses kind of feel.

I think that's more a reflection of you than anyone else.

I always assume it's some dual-boot user who could sneak their way back to Windows

Everyone knows only posers use both! /s

I'm an old head, having daily-driven Linux since 2012, and so far it's been great. And the current pathetic state of Windows further reinforces my resolve to not go back to running that OS, or when or if I do end up running it, only doing so in a VM or on a secondary machine.

Due to the downward spiral Windows is going on right now, it ain't touching baremetal on my main system, and that includes LTSC. I genuinely do not trust Windows outside of a VM or burner box.

No. The rebellious spirit is what lights the fire. It may take a few tries to follow through, but I respect the rage >=D

We need to come together as a community and encourage every effort. If you really want to see other people stick to it we need to smash any sense of righteousness or gatekeeping to bits.

I mean I did not post anything about switching but have commented multiple times. Fact is I should have switched awhile back as I already knew it had gotten to the point it could do everything I needed it to. Windows 11 was the tipping point. I could no longer delay and it was already a massive pain to block the telemetry and such especially since updates would regularly reactivate things..

You're a windows user ? Chop wood and carry water.

You're a Linux user ? Chop wood and carry water.

You're a BSD user ? Chop wood and carry water (less easily)

You're a templeOS user ? Wow

It was for me about ten years ago, but because of that brief dalliance, when Microsoft really finally started running toward this particular cliff last year, I was already familiar enough with Linux to be comfortable diving in completely; I don't have a single Windows install in my house anymore. So it's not always for nothing.

I said it somewhere around 2003, did it immediately, never looked back.

I've been a Linux desktop user for well over 2 decades now, and anytime I see a Windows user with windows problems I just roll my eyes. My eyes by now have the ability to make 360 degree barrel rolls after all the practice.

Yeah, sure, I've had problems here and there.

Mostly self inflicted whilst trying out new shit. I've hada lot of help. When lvm was introduced back in whenever, I immediately switched and it fucked one of my drives. One of the developers of lvm spent hours trying to help me fix it. Talking about your tech support! Windows tech support won't get me the main devs to help me out.

Linux mostly has been "once it works, it works, and it remains working until you change something". I know it's not entirely like that, but it's nowhere near the Microsoft "well just reinstall it every three months because after that it'll just get so slow and bogged up that it won't work normal anymore"

I put my mother in law on a Kubuntu system probably about 10 years ago, and she's used it for at least 7 years straight. Nothing crazy, browsing, solitaire, etc. but a 65+ yo had no issues with running that.

I created a multi user linux machine some 15+ years ago in an intel Celeron with 1GB of ram and 4 video cards (plus the internal video). With USB splitters we had 5x USB Audio, keyboard, and mouse, with 5 monitors for the video. We created a setup program that allowed a teacher to easily identify what keyboard,I use, and audio went with what monitor once and them it would keep that setup forever. The desktop was skinned to look and feel like Windows XP to not scare people.

5 people could work on that simultaneously, and one of them could run real windows in a virtualbox instance. It all worked, flawlessly. The work I did was fun, interesting, and awesome, but the real work was already done, right there, with the Linux kernel, and X. I was merely standing on the shoulders of giants, and the total development cost of the system (including research, salaries, hardware, etc) was around $30KUSD

Try that with windows.

Linux and Linux desktop are awesome 💯😎

To me it reads like "I'm going to move abroad if x wins the elections."

Actions speak louder than words, but even then I don't really care what you do in your personal life. Wake me if you need help or have something useful to share.

Nope. Changing to another OS isn’t a commitment, people are free to do so (and announce it) as they please.

Are you, perhaps, thinking of irresponsible pet owners?

Even if they don't end up fully switching it doesn't matter. Some might switch, some might try dual booting. But saying they are going to switch is free press and may convince more people to try it so that's still a win.

I suppose I am one of those, although the process has been gradual over the last years.

Do I still use Windows? Yes - I earn a living designing and developing solutions in the ecosystem, although it is mostly on the corp server side of things. Azure can be easily managed on any of the three big OS’s.

Do I dual boot? Yes, but less and less. For gaming, flight sims are still not supported enough on Linux - to many extensions and add-ons are just not there yet. I am primarily on Linux though and all of my non-sim gaming on Linux nowadays. On my work laptop the Windows partition is bricked (as in Windows Update said bye-bye to it), so next re-install of Ubuntu LTS next year will see the Windows partition wiped.

Am I nostalgic about Windows? Not yet, after 1-2 years of Linux practically full time. Win11 is still on a downward trajectory. Linux is getting better with every distro release.

Have I gone more hard core in my Linux journey? I dabble in EndeavorOS, but mostly run Ubuntu. I am happy that it works. I am comfortable in the terminal so any DE works as long as it leaves me be.

Will I go back to Windows? Microsoft have a lot of work in front of them to regain my trust. It will be a harder switch with the Linux experience being as good as it is.

Do I have any sympathy for those who try and revert? Sure - change is difficult for many.

No, why would it bother me.

Some people need to voice their opinions loudly, some don't. Doesn't matter much for me.

The number of "I'm switching to Linux" comments or the change in frequency however is a reasonable indicator for public opinion (under the assumption that there is no sudden global increase in extroverts needing to voice their opinion loudly...).

No, the more the merrier, even if it's pure publicity.

I don't care the reason, I just want to share my love for linux with others, even if they don't switch

No.

No. People do what they do.

What I find more laughable is people complaining profusely about windows but doing nothing about it.

Using something different is hard too. Most people are somewhere between cows and idiots. I have been using Python since the late 90s even on Windows and at work too. I got some strange reactions and push back over the years. You just have to not care. We see now how that turned out. Now everyone agrees Python is useful.

There will always be some percentage of users that Linux just isn't for, and some users that fall in love.

In my opinion the motivations that convince them to try Linux are irrelevant. What's important is that the general trend is more users sticking with it.

IMO I couldn't care less if people dual boot, we're still have a use case for Windows. I have a Windows machine myself.

Well I’m sometimes feeling like I wouldn’t be happy if Linux became the norm, as it would kind of robb me of my rebellion.

Still I’m really invested into Linux, so it ain’t just a rebellion, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who wants Linux to stay under the 20% marketshare.

I also want to add that dual-booting can be a really good first step and shouldn’t be looked at with disdain.

I don't see what's wrong with dualbooting. I was using only linux full time for 4 years, until one of my favorite online games started using anti-cheat. Some people might say that i should've just given up the game, but i chose to dualboot. And now i just bought an LG OLED C5 as a gaming monitor, realized hdmi 2.1 isn't working with amd on linux, so i switched my dualboot around where windows now uses the bigger SSD, cause i have to pretty much play everything through windows for the best experience. It sucks, but linux is still there for productivity, and general tasks that i don't want microsoft to snoop in on. Windows is purely a gaming system for me now. Using the right tool for the job and all that.

I've never perceived it as rebellious.

Well, it is rebellious.