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Heh. What started out as a simple installation tutorial at a forum has turned out to be 5 years (not counting the past chunk of months of my lack of input) of geek-free Debian GNU/Linux tutorials written for regular Humans about something pretty stellar - Open Source. Well, regular-ish, right? ;) It pleasures me no end to know that my crotchety, loud-mouthed, fatter, balding self has had the honor of being able to share my experiences and 1 or 2 1/2-skills with the world at large. Of course, it's only been possible because Debian GNU/Linux is a wicked beast of a general purpose "operating system" and I'm only one tiny little man from a tiny little corner of New England saying tiny little things. In this moment of reflection I know with certainty that I was able, even for a moment, to stand on the shoulders of giants.
During the past 5 years I have made the acquaintance of many people in the community and I'm fortunate to have done so. Moms and Grandfathers and Professors and Managers and some "Big Cheeses" and regular folk like me, like us all, have emailed or IM'd or even called me on the phone. Some of them thanked me, some wanted to hire me, some wanted to cook me something yummy, some wanted to shout at me and some just wanted to talk to a like-minded fella. Not all of it was because of the site, as I do sort of work "in the industry" but on some level it all was (is) because sharing through the site is really what it's all about for me.
There are many sites like debiantutorials.org on the web and many that are written by those that have real skills. Back when I started with GNU/Linux it was their sites, and maybe a book or two, that relaxed my own fears about plunging into GNU/Linux. Back then these sorts of sites were few and far between, but they were there. I tip my pint of Guiness to them for all the help they provided and still provide, to me and countless others. I don't know if I will ever have skills like theirs or any talent at the keyboard like some of them do, but every thanks I have gotten for "bridging the gap" is really a nod to them.
Thanks to everyone that has ever stopped by. Even though I haven't written anything in a while, there were 59 of you reading something on the site when I started this article. That's so cool. It's cool because you're interested in something that's fabulous - Open Source. You're interested in real computing and you're a free-thinker that paves your own way. In today's society there are so many sheep, so many scared folk that are continually kept in the dark about so many things but you open doors and see through the BS and are your own person. If anything at debiantutorials.org helps or pleases you, pay it forward. Do what you can to combat computing tyranny and or ignorance. Every little bit helps.
Lastly I'd like to Thank Mr. Linus Torvalds for handling his pet project like he did and the devs over at the Debian GNU/Linux project for their dedication and skill and Mr. Richard Stallman for the GNU part of the show and for doing what he does. All of us owe these folk thanks because without them we'd be mindless drones pointing and clicking at whatever was shiny. Heh, I can't imagine actually paying for Windows or a Mac when I can have Debian GNU/Linux.
--machiner 18 March 2010
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