Experiencing low mood when someone calls you toxic can be really tough.
Experiencing low mood when someone calls you toxic can be really tough.
I notice many people share your perspective. However, honestly, I believe Linus emphasizes individual experiences rather than making broad claims. He even dedicates a whole section at the end of the last video to highlighting positive figures in the Linux community. I think it’s clear he distinguishes between toxic individuals and the entire community. Simply acknowledging toxicity doesn’t equate the whole group to being negative. Also, feeling inclusive doesn’t guarantee everyone shares that experience. Is this really necessary? This kind of broad generalization can be just as harmful.
I've faced identical toxic interactions from both Apple and Windows communities for not knowing basic expectations. This behavior is common in every forum. Linus mentioned that while the overall community isn't toxic, a small group can create a negative perception, particularly when their actions come from a project you're using. The issue arises because people highlight the few toxic members, making your view of the community based on what bothers most.
Would you prefer silence on this topic and avoid sharing your true perspective? There’s significant exclusion and harshness in the Linux community, especially among users. Perhaps we should stop labeling everything as a single group and be more mindful of how we interact.
I understand the need for clarity, though mentioning it every time can be repetitive. Your approach seems more effective when focusing on the collective rather than just individuals. I’m not familiar with much of the 'community' outside this context, aside from using the same tools. Of course, there are some unpleasant users and poorly moderated spaces, but you’re right—talking about a community as one unit isn’t entirely accurate since it’s not a unified group.
Casual folks and those who think "dumdum consoomers" are too simple are very different. The first one is pretty close to the truth, while the second comes across as condescending and elitist, making people think Linus users and the community are toxic. You've shown it.
You'd have to actively ignore parts of thier videos to come to this conclusion, it is literally just false. Direct quote from Linus: "Something that the good eggs in the Linux community need to understand though, is that; you guys are great, and there's lots of you. It's just that it only takes a couple of toxic gatekeepers to turn people off." This paints quite a different picture from what you're describing. To be fair, that quote could simply be Linus sucking up to the community, so as to not upset people too much, but at that point we're just assuming intention. I see it like this: As with any community, there is an extremely loud minority, who simply lash out whenever thier "thing" is criticised, as they've potentially developed an emotional attachment to said "thing," and end up taking it personally. It's not exactly an uncommon occurrence.
Oef, yeah I know some other examples out there that are real toxic as well. I'm not trying to say that there are none, sadly we all live on the internet, and I'm sure we've seen an insane amount of nasty shit out there. It's pretty much everywhere. A bit beside the point, but I would like to shear my strategy on dealing with them. I'm interested in your tactics as well. I click the downvote, or report button and move on as soon as possible. Except on YouTube, where I leave the page asap, clicking downvote or spending any time responding seems to count as an interaction and thus moves it higher up in the recommendation algorithm.
It's odd we don't use the same rules for Windows. I've never seen Linus or other tech influencers criticize toxic behavior in the Windows community. It's understandable to point out toxicity when you notice it, but it seems like people often treat Linux users differently. Calling out issues only on Linux might give the impression the community is more problematic than it actually is.