Sticking with Ubunto over Mint because of forum support

I consider myself a noob when it comes to linux in any flavor. Even though I'm aquainted with the CLI in Mac OS, Buit my own rigs a few times. Always google a problem before posting. I usually figure out things for myself but there are always things I need help with specifically commands used in the CLI to solve a problem.

I'm under the thinking that a lot can get done in the cli than in any gui app for a solution to a problem..for the most part any way.

I'm always polite with people, never condescending & I always try to help someone else with their problems. Now that being said the Mint forums leave a lot to be desired, they are condescending, they ignore you, and a certain few can get down right insulting. the last thing a person needs when they have a computer problem is someone mocking them or giving smart a$$ answers that they know have no bearing on the issue at hand.

when I first started on my quest to drop Mac OS and move to linux it took some decision making in which OS to go with.

the Community in the ubuntu forum has made my decision for me. And it wasnt even on a post I made or a thread I started, I did a search on a problem on google came up with this forum and a description of my problem being close I clicked on it. It showed me that people here really care about keepin this OS on top, and not just concerned with themselves but with helping others.

You don't need to be running Ubuntu to post support on this forum. The other OS/Distro Talk sub-forum gets lots of attention. And some problems affect a wide range of distributions.

My take is most of the more common ubuntu forum members just want to get solutions for the various problems people have. Setting aside personal beliefs on preferences about whether or not an operating system is worthy of the attention.

And besides they are 99% similar so asking for help here will help in most cases.

I am sure it is not just my perception, UF seems to be a lot quieter than it used to be, many experienced users who used to offer help generously appear to be gone.

breezypt said: ...the Mint forums leave a lot to be desired, they are condescending, they ignore you, and a certain few can get down right insulting.

That hasn't been my experience.

monkeybrain2012 said: I am sure it is not just my perception, UF seems to be a lot quieter than it used to be, many experienced users who used to offer help generously appear to be gone.

I think they're more overwhelmed than anything. When a distro is marketed towards noobies who ask endless amounts of questions usually without posting any relevant information as to what caused their problems it can be frustrating to try and help them. Also a lot of them seem to be blindly copying and pasting terminal commands from tutorials from various blogs which aren't well explained in the first place without having the slightest idea of what those commands are actually doing.

I'm not knocking noobs by any means. I'm by no means a guru and we all have to start somewhere, but I know if I try and answer a forum post I tend to ask myself how badly I want to get involved in this before responding. I mean it's not like anyone's getting paid for this and we all have other commitments ie. family, jobs. If a lot of the more experienced users aren't posting as often I would assume that's probably why.

As for the Mint forums, I have no idea. I've never used Mint and obviously never bothered to read their forums. I've heard bad things about that forum, but I've heard bad things about every distro's forum. All it takes is one disgruntled user with an internet connection to start badmouthing one. Some of it's unwarranted: Arch Linux - those people are some of the most helpful Linux users I've ever come across, and some of it warranted: Debian - most people there are very nice and helpful, but it's a poorly moderated forum imho and the trolls seem to run wild in streets there, but it's been years since I've used Debian so that might of changed since then. Regardless of any of that I've never let a few bad apples prevent me from using an otherwise good distro.

My main issue with Mint's forum is that it's been very slow to load. Maybe that's just bad luck.

I suspect that, because Mint is based on Ubuntu, its forum reflects that. Many times Mint users searching for an answer are going to find it here, not there.

This forum is, frankly, superb. (Thanks, moderators!). The use of sub-forums to segregate and categorize discussions is excellent. (E.g., on one extreme, "Absolute Beginners"; on the other, the development release sub-forum.)

One specific and typical response that does not, happily, happen here very often that we all see too often elsewhere: Someone posts a "How Do I Do This?" question. Someone unhelpfully answers, "Why Do You Want To Do That? You Don't Need To Do That?" and the whole thread wanders off into a round of bashing the OP and self-congratulation.

I think the Mint forums are generally okay, if you ignore the fanboys. But after running both Ubuntu and Mint for a long time, I dropped Mint and kept Ubuntu. Not so much because of the forums, but one reason was that I found myself using Ubuntu's documentation for Mint most of the time, anyway. Plus they both use Ubuntu's repos.

neruson said: I think they're more overwhelmed than anything. When a distro is marketed towards noobies who ask endless amounts of questions usually without posting any relevant information as to what caused their problems it can be frustrating to try and help them. Also a lot of them seem to be blindly copying and pasting terminal commands from tutorials from various blogs which aren't well explained in the first place without having the slightest idea of what those commands are actually doing.

Is this not Ubuntu ?

monkeybrain2012 said: I am sure it is not just my perception, UF seems to be a lot quieter than it used to be, many experienced users who used to offer help generously appear to be gone.

The demographic of Ubuntu users on these Forums seems to be slowly changing. Perhaps less interested in the more technical aspects of Linux, perhaps with a little less patience for deeper exploration of problems. This is my take on things anyway...

There is no law saying you have to use ubuntu to go on its forums, after all if you are on mint all the better as the two have commonalities as they are based on the same thing.

andrew.46 said: The demographic of Ubuntu users on these Forums seems to be slowly changing. Perhaps less interested in the more technical aspects of Linux, perhaps with a little less patience for deeper exploration of problems. This is my take on things anyway...

I have ambiguous feelings about a similar observation. I like to see the technical being explored and tinkered with, (I'm a perennial casual user, but enjoy reading threads where people are getting into the nuts and bolts of things) and miss that. But, I like to see Ubuntu changing from more of a geeky distro, to a casual user base, if what we are seeing on UF is indicative of that, because I hope it means more regular folk are not being afraid to try and use Ubuntu.

I am happy UF continues to provide support for so many of us, and I feel a loyalty to Ubuntu for all the enjoyment it has given me.

;p

mikodo said: I have ambiguous feelings about a similar observation. I like to see the technical being explored and tinkered with, (I'm a perennial casual user, but enjoy reading threads where people are getting into the nuts and bolts of things) and miss that. But, I like to see Ubuntu changing from more of a geeky distro, to a casual user base, if what we are seeing on UF is indicative of that, because I hope it means more regular folk are not being afraid to try and use Ubuntu.

;p

Except that the casual users are not the ones providing help here. UF would be a much less useful place if the helpers are unproportionally replaced by newbies who need help. :)