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From: benjy@ai.mit.edu (Benjamin B. Thomas)
Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.misc
Subject: Re: Why *BSD's have smaller user base ? [WAS: Can we quit with "Linux Sucks" ?]
Date: 15 Nov 1994 12:49:01 GMT
Organization: Massachvsetts Institvte of Technology
Lines: 66
Message-ID: <BENJY.94Nov15074901@blackjack.ai.mit.edu>
References: <3a9205$bqj@mall.sinica.edu.tw>
NNTP-Posting-Host: blackjack.ai.mit.edu
In-reply-to: ywliu@beta.wsl.sinica.edu.tw's message of 15 Nov 1994 01:13:41 GMT
>>>>> "Yen-Wei" == <ywliu@beta.wsl.sinica.edu.tw> writes:
In article <3a9205$bqj@mall.sinica.edu.tw> ywliu@beta.wsl.sinica.edu.tw () writes:
Yen-Wei> As Jordan posted here, I just wonder why *BSD's have
Yen-Wei> fewer users. I don't think A-is-betther-than-B is the
Yen-Wei> answer. It must have be some other historical factors,
Yen-Wei> rather than technical ones.
Yen-Wei> I wasn't aware of the existence of Linux until last
Yen-Wei> October so I didn't know how it's got its user base.
Yen-Wei> Does anybody has any idea ?
1) Linux is much easier to install. You just pop in the disks and you
have binaries for not only the system, but every program you would ever
want to run. *BSD people seem to have the attitude that it is so easy to
compile it yourself, why waste space on precompiled binaries of programs
like ghostview, xdaliclock, etc.
2) Linux has very good postscript documentation. Sure there are plenty
of books which cover *BSD just fine, but even if new users knew this
lots of folks would rather just print it out.
3) Linux people seem to be rabid evangalists; They push their OS very
hard. From taking the time to put together and advertise easy install
distributions to forming an international Linux consortium, they beat
*BSD hands down on the PR front. *BSD seems to take the approach of "If
we build it, they will come."
4) Visibility. Look at how many articles there are in the Linux
newsgroups. Now, look at how many articles there are in the BSD news
groups. When a newcomer does this he says, "Wow! Linux is an active
thriving OS whereas this BSD thing looks dead." I know that a lot of the
BSD traffic is handled over the mailing lists, but this is hurting the
cause IMHO. Additionally, when undecided people look in linux.announce
and see all the messages saying, "I've finally ported foo to Linux, here
is where you can find the binary." and then look in bsd.announce and see
nothing, they think "There is a lot of work going on to get software for
Linux, but there doesn't seem to be anything available for BSD - I had
better use Linux." I know this isn't true, but that is how it appears to
the neophyte.
My suggestions for improving BSD's user base:
1) Make it easy to install the system and a complete binary set of every
program anyone would ever want to run. Make sure that binaries of the
newest versions of these programs are announced on the bsd.announce.
2) Make NOISE and let people know BSD is ALIVE! Contact magazines and
get stories on BSD. How many times have you seen Linux featured? How
many times have you seen *BSD featured? 'nuff said. Do whatever other
rabid evangelicalizing it takes to tell people that *BSD exists.
3) Move the mailing list traffic over to the newsgroups so that people
are actually developing and using BSD.
4) Get some spiffy postscript documentation.
/>
// Benjy Thomas benjy@ai.mit.edu
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