Letters
In Praise of Unsung Heroes
I am, I must confess, not quite a newbie. I've been using Ubuntu now for the best part of a year.
You would then think I would know what I am doing, but alas not, being thoroughly institutionalised in Windows, it has been up hill all the way.
So I come to the Heroes of my title, through all my trials and tribulations, not to mention head banging frustration, they came to my aid, helpful, encouraging and prompting.
Who are they? Well, I will tell you. They are the strangers who come to my rescue - the readers and more importantly, the responders in the Ubuntu forums. So many times over the last year, when all has been lost and with no hope insight, I have turned to the forums to see if anyone else has broken apt, lost their internet connection or can't play mp3s etc. Without fail, I am not alone. So far I have not had to post a question but I have read the dozens of answers given to others with the same problems as me. The community of Ubuntu has never ceased to amaze me with their help, patience and lack of negative attitude to newbies, who often have very little understanding of what they are doing. It can't be easy trying to help some one who knows little or nothing of command line and, in my case, gets cold sweats when opening a terminal.
Slowly, very slowly, as it happens, with the aid of the forums, I have overcome so many hurdles. With each upgrade I have gained more confidence - which is how I broke apt. This time I thought, this time, I will have to do a fresh install - but no, just when I was about to give in, help came again from the forums.
This is why they are my heroes and I for one will sing their praises.
Michael House
Editor replies -
I totally agree. Had it not been for friendly places like UbuntuForums this magazine would never have come to fruition!
Only by utilising the massive (and i mean massive!) userbase at UbuntuForums was I able to reach out to other volunteers who also wanted to help create an Ubuntu magazine.
I often wonder what the state of Linux would be without Ubuntu and Ubuntu Forums. Imagine you were using another distro, where could you turn for help? What other forum is that helpful and has so many users? In my opinion, very few forums have both criteria...
