Ask not what Linux can do for you...

Over the past week or so a few things have come along, like the tone of some forum threads for example, that lead me to wonder if the general public are ready for Linux on the Desktop. (Note, not the other way around!) In fact, Linux on the Desktop is just one part of it. Are people outside of the FOSS community able to understand what the community is about and are they able to interact with it without firmly putting their feet in their mouths and upsetting/angering everyone involved?

In fact, the site I've most noticed what is probably a clash of cultures is for users & developers of an embedded Linux device. There had been a few pretty angsty posts in the forums, so I conducted a poll to see if there was a general feeling as to what was causing the friction. The consensus seemed to be that it was users who had not had their expectations met. Now this is just my opinion, but I think this could have been avoided if the disappointed users had done more research into what they were buying into. Also, when problems did occur, if these issues had been presented in such a way as to encourage and facilitate other users in attempting to offer solutions/suggestions everyone would have been much happier. This web page tackles probably the same issues from a desktop PC point of view. Most of it would seem to be relevant to any situation where someone not used to the FOSS community gets frustrated by what they find...