[kwlug-disc] "What Linux Distro Should I Use?"

[unsolicited]

John Johnson wrote, On 05/07/2010 11:35 PM:
> I am one of the Linux newbies in the UG and am following this discussion 
> with great interest.
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Yeah, but John's an old fart, in his late 30's at least. He brings 
with him a LOT of experience. Just not great gobs of it in Linux, I 
expect. That experience, I'm guessing (sort of), allows him to 
appreciate any particular topic, and even if over his head can take 
away sufficient to go to the web and work through it when interested.

And, nobody I've ever heard has ever called him shy.

Certainly the idea of an e-mail list is nothing new to him.

Question 1: If such a person has been shy about posting thus far, does 
that say anything about the effectiveness of the list as a mechanism 
for new member help? Note that John's post was not a request for help. 
If the list was working as a help mechanism, why do we not see more 
such questions?

Question 2: Does such a person typify new members, wherein facilities 
like this are sufficiently effective for them? i.e. Where's the rest 
of the new members?

[Sorry for the abuse, John.]

Ancillary observation: One new member I know resisted this list for 
many, many months - they get too much e-mail as it is already. [Never 
mind that there are mechanisms for dealing with it. Regardless of the 
reason, there was significant reluctance to join the list.]


I do wish we had a better handle on what new members are looking for / 
need in order to retain them, in terms of mechanisms. (Paul's comments 
do help.)

I also don't think they're one size fits all. Some are old, some are 
young, some are ms experienced, some are not, some are ...

	Actually, I wonder how many are single computer only, so either they 
'get' Linux immediately, or they give up and go back to Windows. Which 
would seem to suggest we should be emphasizing dual boots (with/out 
disk partitioning), vmplayer, usb keys, whatever. As long as there is 
persistence.