This blog post is a reply to Jennifer Cloer’s recent blog post:
One Year Later: What Do You Think of Linux.com?
The Good
1. Information. Information. Information. The abundance of links, blogs, tutorials, and general Linux info makes Linux.com a wonderful resource for Linux users of all skill levels.
2. Community. It’s a wonderful place to interact with fellow penguins from all over the world… some famous, some not-so-famous.
3. Caring and responsive Linux.com employees. There are issues here at this site. No site is perfect and all-encompassing, but the staff here are usually quick to respond and helpful in their attempts to resolve issues.
The Bad
1. Inactive Groups. As a result of prostituting one’s self in the race to win Guru points here at Linux.com in the past year, there was a frenzy to create numerous Groups. Most of those Groups are now abandoned or, at the least, rarely moderated by the Group owners. It’s sad. Some sort of consolidation of duplicate Groups should be considered. Also, dead Groups should be reassigned to people willing to run them or deleted.
2. The Guru Point System. I grumbled about this about a year ago. There was far too much cheating and far too little oversight. I don’t really care. I’m not here for Guru points. I’m here to participate, learn, and help when I can. That’s what it should all be about. I still think there can be some improvements made with the Guru Point System. For instance, entities other than individuals should not be in the rankings at all. I’m speaking here of magazines, other websites, etc. The Guru Point System should be about individuals.
3. The Forums. I should think that the forums would be an integral part of any community, yet that’s not so here. Why is that? Is it possible that the forums need some revamping? They’re not really bad, per se, but they could use some improvement.
The Ugly
1. SPAMMERS. Should all DIE ignominious, but painful deaths. It may be ugly, but it’s usually handled quickly by Linux.com staff. Thanks for that.
2. Guru point whoring. Be here because you want to be a part of Linux, not because you want to win a laptop or a free trip to Helsinki, Finland. It should be about learning, teaching, helping others. Why are you here? Think about it.
The Wrap Up
On a scale of 1-10 (10 being excellent), I’d give Linux.com’s first year about a 7.5. It has fabulous potential to be the one-stop place for all Linux/Open Source fans, but it does need a bit of improvement. All in all, though… GREAT JOB, folks! Thanks for all you’ve done.
~V. T. Eric Layton
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