Why attitudes matter

[Ed Greshko]

Not too long ago I recall folks bemoaning the sorry state of the Fedora
Users mailing list.  At that time the suggestion was floated that people
should be directed to the IRC channels for a better end user
experience.  Now, we see folks bemoaning the sorry state of the IRC
channel and even a suggestion that folks be pointed to the mailing list.

Every single linux distro support avenue that I've ever been a part of
has had its share of incidents.  I've never done, nor thought it would
be easy or even productive, an analysis of which avenue or distro is the
"worst".  (Just like beauty, worst is in the eye of the beholder.)   I
have read users from many distros say "I'm leaving and moving to X". 
This includes leaving Ubuntu to move to Fedora due to a series of
confrontations. 

All the support avenues for all the distros are populated by individuals
over which no control is possible since there is no effective punishment
for "bad" behavior.  It isn't like a dedicated, paid support staff which
can be held accountable by an employer.

So, while it is always regrettable that we may lose one person from time
to time we will always gain others from time to time as they switch from
another distro.

No amount words in guidelines, or IRC disclaimers is going to change or
moderate an individual's behavior.  Nor, is confronting individuals in
public going to have much effect and in some cases may even make it worse. 

IMO, the only thing that *may* have an impact is to have individuals,
preferably non-contributors, monitor the lists and IRC channels whose
charter it is to contact combatants offline and address it problem.  On
the other hand, I think this would require too much effort for little or
no significant gain.