How do I encourage people to use Linux?

Hi, welcome to LQ!

My advice is: don't. I've been a zealot (still am, but more on the inside) for
many moons, and usually people just get annoyed if you preach to them.

On a case to case basis you could come up with ways of helping people by
means of Linux, e.g. rescue/clean-up their windows machines using a Linux
live CD/DVD, and explaining that they'd never have that problem again in
the first place if they were using Linux.

At the end of the day it's the apps that people use that decide which OS
suits their needs best. Sure, Linux is more stable, more secure, it's
free ... but does it run that particular app that the person can't be
w/o? Will a Linux install be as easy for them to maintain (or neglect)
as windows used to be?



Cheers,
Tink

gboye:

You don't need to preach the good news to the msworld. They have heard already.

A satisfied user will always speak excited: http://www.zen26041.zen.co.uk/linux_overview.htm

But there are bad or poor advocacies: http://www.softpanorama.org/OSS/bad_...cacy_faq.shtml

The best way how to let others know the gold mines we found and share them the riches in the world of Free Software follow these guidelines:

http://www.datasync.com/~rogerspl/Advocacy-HOWTO-5.html

Hope this helps.

Start them off slowly by advocating Open Source Software, Things like Firefox, Thunderbird, OpenOffice, GIMP, etc..

They get used to running those applications on Windows, if they decide to try Linux things won't feel so foreign because the applications are now familiar.

Hi,

Lead them by example. If you attempt to push then some may even be turned off by your zealot action. Sometimes it is better to leave the door closed until it can be opened to that someone knocking to gain entry. Then you will be able to provide the path by your experience(s) to that person.

Tell them it will help them get hot chicks [ << fact, by the way ].

noctilucent:


that sounds interesting to an old man huh?


onebuck:

that's reversed psychology. i always did that and it worked effective to an above average IQ.

"You can lead a horse to water, but . . ."

This will usually depend on the person's level of true interest in an OS. Some people are just afraid to try anything different or new. However, if you can find something in common that Linux can accomplish as well (say parse through an XML file, or screen scrape HTML), it's always a great way to showcase "hey, you know, when I use Linux I can do so-and-so by so-and-so." Hope this helps!