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I would like to have a link on website, both advertising the fact that I use (GNU/)linux, and pointing the curious reader to a source to learn more information. But I'm having trouble finding the right place to link.

Desiderata:

  • Not distribution specific. (It would seem inappropriate to link to anything but the distro I actually use, but Arch Linux is not really right for beginners.)
  • Beginner friendly. Says in very simple terms what linux is for those who don't already have any idea. Links to download and beginner resources.
  • Not overly preachy. Doesn't shame or scold people for being bad, naughty Windows/Apple/non-free-software users.
  • Professional looking and up to date.
  • Presents linux in a positive light.

But I'm having trouble finding a destination that matches all these criteria. Here are some of the things I've considered, but don't seem right for one reason or another:

  • Linux online! Provides decent summary, but the page is extremely unprofessional looking (IMHO); straight out of the mid-1990s.
  • Linux.com or the Linux foundation: To me, these seem more aimed at those who already know what linux is, and want to learn more about the foundation, or recent linux-related news, rather than beginners; but the first link may be a possibility; some the pages buried deeper down are more promising.
  • Switching to Linux page on Grokdoc; a very good source of information, but is just information only, no pizzazz.

Thoughts?

xenoterracide
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frabjous
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    I don't believe that this question belongs here because at best it's parochial and worst chauvinistic. UaL is also Unix; FreeBSD and OpenBSD in particular are important versions of Unix even if they lack the mindshare of Linux. – gvkv Aug 24 '10 at 17:01
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    @gvkv I think he's just trying to advertise on his website that he uses Linux, not that he uses Linux and feels Unix and FreeBSD should die in a fire – Michael Mrozek Aug 24 '10 at 17:38
  • @gvkv Well if you have a good guide to generic unix... that meets his criteria I'd bet he'd go for it. – xenoterracide Aug 24 '10 at 17:48
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    I have nothing against FreeBSD, and other unix-like systems, etc. I just have almost no personal experience with them, and so it would be odd to advertise them.

    I'd be fine with a site that covered both linux and other open source unix-like operating systems at the same time, definitely, so long as it was beginner-friendly.

     – frabjous Aug 24 '10 at 18:03
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    @frabjous I don't know any... but maybe you're looking for the wrong thing... maybe try looking for a KDE, or Gnome advocacy site... true beginners will want to use a GUI and they won't know how to make the choice (or care). – xenoterracide Aug 24 '10 at 18:43
  • @MM That made me laugh. I've had a busy day and I'm trying to do too many things at once. – gvkv Aug 24 '10 at 19:12
  • After reorienting my interpretation, have you thought about breaking your advertising up into sections with relevant links for each of your desired goals? Maybe you can build what you're looking for. If you can't do it directly on the page your post refers to maybe link to a page that you make your chosen references and personal commentary. – gvkv Aug 24 '10 at 19:17
  • Also, I assume you looking for links without the obnoxious inline advertising too. – gvkv Aug 24 '10 at 19:18

5 Answers5

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Let people explore themselves. alternativeto.net allows you to find alternative applications for different operating systems.

People love pictures, whylinuxisbetter.net has a great summary style landing page with pictures, click on them for a detailed breakdown.

Update: There are so many sites that advocate GNU/Linux, and just found this list of links that will keep anyone busy for quite a while.

There is also sites like http://badvista.fsf.org that advocate via FUD, but I think it's best to stick to sites that focus on the positive of Linux, and not the negatives of the competition (for newbies at least).

invert
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  • Hmm. whylinuxisbetter.net is close to what I'm after, though there's still something less than fully professional about it, but perhaps I'm being too picky. – frabjous Aug 29 '10 at 02:37
  • Perhaps it's the light cyan color scheme? ;) Don't let the index page fool you though, the details in each section are clear enough for the average user, and covers enough for power users. – invert Sep 01 '10 at 07:42
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This site does not comply with the "Not distribution specific" but you know what they say: "...Learn Slackware, Learn Linux", so, in that spirit, check out the Slackbook =)

Hugo
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    Oops, I can say that Slackware is not for beginers. I have used it quite sometime and although I have experience with Ubuntu beforehand, Slackware was a steep learning curve. – phunehehe Aug 25 '10 at 03:50
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    Yeah, I'm afraid this really isn't what I had in mind; it wouldn't much different than linking to the Arch pages. It sounds like a great resource, and a great way to learn about linux, but I'm targetting a much wider, more casual, audience here. – frabjous Aug 25 '10 at 04:50
  • I agree that Slackware has a steep learning curve but still, I think it is a good distro for a beginner if (s)he mind to put the effort for that it demands but, although, I get what you mean with a "wider, more casual, audience". – Hugo Aug 27 '10 at 05:38
  • I'd say that you may either love or hate Slackware. Personally I cannot imagine how anyone could use so hard distro (speaking as Gentoo user who does not consider himself beginner and like to tune kernel etc.) - i.e. how to have package manager without dependencies handling (it is the only pakage manager that do it I ever heard of). – Maja Piechotka Aug 31 '10 at 16:29
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDxMJQLXmBE
http://www.gnu.org/gnu/manifesto.html
http://www.kernel.org
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/docs/lkml/

Quandary
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I found linuxquestions.org to be a great forum, especially for beginners.

I still ask a question sometimes there, when I need a somewhat quick response and don't want to use Usenet, especially when it's concerning legacy hardware, etc.

Don't know if you want to put this on your website, but it's definitely a good place to start.

polemon
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Check out Linux.org! The site is now back. This Linux site has tutorials and forums. This site covers all of your criteria.

Devyn Collier Johnson
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