Need computer help--(vanity)

> You are incorrect. I simply and politely offered the opinion that Apple products would do a better job. Others became obnoxious about the topic with snide innuendoes. They should be banned from the site.

Well, actually, no. Please permit me to observe that you are pretty clearly a newcomer to this site, based on two things:

Your FR birthday, which is only a couple of months ago. See how, if you mouseover your name at the bottom of one of your posted comments, your "Since 2012-08-29" date comes up? It is inadvisable to pretend you are an old-timer who knows the rules better than the rest of us.
Your lack of knowledge of the rules. This site has a sizable contingent of Apple fanboys, Windows fanboys, even Linux fanboys. Over the years, there have been some gruesome flamewars in the tech threads, which became pretty obnoxious. It got to the point where the owner of the site finally called a cease-fire, saying that while it was acceptable to have strong disagreements about computer brands, software and OSes, etc., it was unacceptable on this forum to:
- Tear into other people with personal comments simply for their choice of technology or brand. For example, Windows fans would throw out: "Oh, you use a Mac, you're gay."
- Jump uninvited into a thread about brand X, with snarky comments of the form "Get a Brand Y". Apple and Linux fans are particularly noted for "Get a Mac" or "Solution: Reformat C:, install Ubuntu."
Your initial comment falls into the second category.

So while you may honestly feel you were just being helpful, in fact your initial comment was most UNhelpful, since it did not answer the request for help with a Windows system problem, -and- it was a trigger and (unintentional) invitation for the anti-Apple folks to bash you, thinking you were starting a ruckus. And by the rules of "he who throws the first punch..." etc. you were in error there.

I offer the above observations in the hopes that you will take this as FRiendly advice, not harsh criticism. Some people are still touchy about the flamewars, and one is well advised to tread lightly with such comments as yours, even if well-intentioned.

If you wish to learn a bit more about the flamewars of the past, FReepmail me and in a day or two when I'm back home (I'm traveling, and away from my archive) I'll mail you back some links to the old threads, including the one where JimRob called the cease-fire. They make for some interesting reading, assuming you have a strong stomach and like reading about train wrecks where the survivors bludgeon each other into bloody pulp.

And... let me not forget... Welcome to FreeRepublic! :)

> Just don’t suggest they consider doing something that might help them. It gets then all angry.

I do like your sense of humor. Really, no /sarc intended.

You should perhaps get on Swordmaker's Apple/Mac ping list. I'm on it and find it newsworthy and entertaining, so I recommend you contact Swordmaker by FReepmail and get on the list. He is an unabashed Apple fan, and of course the Apple threads draw some flak from the Apple haters on the site, but such is life in the fast lane.

You might also want to be on ShadowAce's Tech ping list, which covers (mostly computer) tech of most sorts. ShadowAce is himself a Linux fan. There aren't nearly as many Linux haters as Apple haters, but there have been a few notable ones. These days it's relatively quiet in that regard.

It probably doesn't hurt that FreeRepublic itself runs on Linux.

There is, unfortunately, no Microsoft/Windows ping list. I have decried this unseemly lack for years, to no avail. I would have started one myself, but for two killer reasons:

I don't have the time or bandwidth to run a ping list that would be very active, and
I'm not a Windows fan, though I use Windows the most of the many OSes I operate daily. I'm actually more of a Unix fan than anything else. I make my living on Windows, I prefer Apple hardware, and I administer a network of Linux, Unix, Windows, and Apple computers for an international software company. But deep down, Unix is the only operating system worth being called an operating system, so there. :) (And yes, that's another reason I use Macs at home -- BSD under the hood.) So I'm not a great choice for a Windows ping list maintainer.

Maybe YOU could start up a Windows ping list!

Cheers!

Now that is a nice Reply. I sincerely meant it when I suggested to the guy with XP and Office 97 that he might be more happy with an Apple computer. I made the switch and have never looked back. But that simple comment brought out Freepers, who are generally nice and thoughtful people, telling the audience to ignore me because “I must be gay” because I like Apple products. Wow. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with my preference . . . of computer products. And I could send pictures of my kids who were not procured with the help of a surrogate. Then, I have a Freeper regular posing as Deputy Fife, telling me there are consequences for posters who make fun of people’s computer choices. And he wasn’t talking about the guy who called me gay, he was talking about me for offering a simple, and true, opinion. I am beginning to feel like Mark Steyn in Canada. But anyway, thanks for your nice words and ideas. I would consider starting a Windows ping list, except I really don’t like Microsoft products and I am spending most of my time wondering what Obama will do for three months if Romney wins.

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