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1. pxc+(OP)[view] [source] 2023-06-10 20:21:32
> An impressive number of 4chan's /g/ users are on github. Some even actively contribute to Linux (though usually to Arch, Gentoo, and now more and more Nix).

An aside about this from a moderately longtime Nix user and very occasional Nixpkgs contributor:

I used to occasionally post about Nix on /g/ before virtually anyone there knew what it was just to gauge reactions, and boy were people shitty and dismissive about it. It was all hot takes, broad strokes, and very little curiosity about the technical details. And even though Nix is 'cool' on /g/ now, all of those things are still true about the way /g/ treats NixOS and other distros.

The interest that 90% of /g/ users have in Linux distros like NixOS is as a bullshit status symbol, a token in some consumerist identity game. The presence of that shallow, status-obsessed, needlessly edgy type of person in the Nix community is definitely more visible in the Nix(OS) community now than it was a few years ago, but it still sticks out like a sore thumb against the backdrop of longtime Nix users and the culture they've evolved together.

For that reason, I strongly recommend engaging with the Nix community in community-owned channels, like discourse.nixos.org or the community Matrix channels, rather than message boards like 4chan or mainstream social media platforms like Reddit. If you do that, you'll find kinder, more knowledgeable people (and perhaps in some cases, kinder more knowledgeable personas for the same people).

If you're reading this and you've unfortunately encountered Nix 'evangelists' with those shitty attitudes online, please understand that those influences are external to the community, and as far as most participants in the community are concerned, quite unwelcome.

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