Well, Jono has kicked off another blog post asking for a response, and my good buddy Daniel has already replied.

At first I was going to wait to post a response, but after reading a comment on Daniel’s previous Ask MOTU post, it hit me and I knew why I had to respond on why I believe in the Ubuntu Ethos.

Like Jono, I am a great fan of the entire Ubuntu community. From users to developers, each and everyone of them have such an important role in the greater community. It is watching the interaction of our community that really makes me enjoy Ubuntu. It is also the great friendships I have created in this community that makes me enjoy Ubuntu. The Ubuntu Ethos is deep!

Now, let me quickly get back to that comment on Daniel’s Ask MOTU post. The comment pretty much said that you have to create a patch, get it into a package, and make a MOTU friend, which for most people, is way outside of their scope. At first I wanted to agree sort of with the comment, but after thinking about our community, and a lot of my friends, it dawned on my just how wrong that statement really is.

I have been around here now for more than 3 years, and in that time I have seen many people come and go, and 99.9% of the time, when they go, they leave a much better person and far more intelligent in many ways. I have witnessed community members as young as 12 years old create patches and packages, and get them uploaded by one of their many MOTU friends they made without any problems. Now if you don’t believe in the saying that anything is possible as long as you put your mind to it, then you are saying to yourself, yes that is way outside any 12 year old’s scope. Recently we had a young, as in age, member join the ranks of the Ubuntu MOTU community. I have witnessed this person mature by leaps and bounds over most adults I work with on a daily basis, including myself. I have witnessed people who have never used Linux before in their life, install it, and within months start contributing like I have never seen before, and even some of them have become MOTUs. It is this community that makes me realize that there is nothing outside of our scope, and as a community we can achieve far more than we could have ever imagined.

Another thing that I love about this community is that they made me a better person. Prior to hanging out with the people around here, I was just another typical American asshole, and in many instances I still am. Maybe now I am just a Chicago asshole 🙂

Anyways, I was one of those people who thought America was the best, nothing could come close, and I don’t care what you think. Yes, I was like that. Some would even have called me racist to a point, and you know what, I don’t blame them. Hanging around all of these great people from different parts of the world, have made me seen the greater good of human beings, and for that I will be forever grateful to not only them, but Ubuntu and the community. Yes, I am far from perfect, I have made many mistakes, and my close friends have always been there to help, but there are people in this community, who I have never met face-to-face, who have helped me achieve far more than I could have ever imagined, and they will forever be a friend of mine!

So, if you are lost or confused, give the Ubuntu community a shot. Not only is it an amazing community, but it is so easy for you to be a part of it. Who cares what your background is, who cares if you have only been using Linux for the past 5 minutes, who cares if you have made mistakes in your life! The Ubuntu community cares, that’s who, and they are here to help you not only better yourself, but allow you to help others better themselves. It is this ethos that really makes me LOVE the Ubuntu community.