a "thank you" to you all.

[chris-harry]

uhehe... thats dilbert...

but really you know who.. (voldermold, i mean bill)... would really say "Who cares. its not like they ever are going to pick it up"...

[Cuddles]

Getting back to the discussion....

Ways to "give back" to what you believe in...

Donate $$$$$ to your favorite distro; whether it be Knoppix, Kanotix, Gento, Suse, Debian, etc... (considering that the "majority" of distro's are run by people who just love to see what they can do, and how far they can go with it.)

Donate time to the irc chat rooms, or the forums, that your favorite distro sponsors. This is a great way to learn, and keep the knowledge "flowing" on to others.

Join a Users Group, or start one, for your Linux. Not just for the specific distro, considering that there are many, leave it open to whatever anyone who wants to attend, uses. This is a great way to distribute distros, ideas, knowledge, and learning. (I started the WIPLUG in my "small" town, which stands for WIsconsin Phillips Linux Users Group, in case you didnt figure it out on your own )

If you are more into the programming, or debugging, stuff... Get on a programming, or testing, or beta tester for the distrobution you favor. It takes resources for the distro to get made, and some of those people, are just volunteers, if not most. I am even quite sure that the "Debian Security" alerts are being found by just regular users of the distro.

As another thought, if you have an idea on how to make your favorite distro, better. Donate your ideas. Send your ideas to the distro, heck, I am quite sure that a lot of things that get "introduced" into a new version of a distro, had to come from "someone" who came up with the idea.

Advertise your favorite distro. Tell friends, neighbors, etc... Dont try and "glossy coat" the facts, just tell it the way you feel. If the distro of your choice has some pitfalls, then so be it. People dont like being lied to, and many can tell if you are. I have one friend who attests they will "never" run Linux, because it doesnt do "plug-n-play" as good as Windows, or that you have to compile your NVidia drivers into the kernel, whereas, Windows just installs the drivers. In this case, I dont promote that Linux can do what "Windows" can do, but, tell them that the compiling isnt really that hard, and you get a pretty fast, and stable, operating system out of the deal. Not to mention, the cost factor, and what comes "already installed" with Linux; productivity software, office software, photo retouching software, and a ton of other software, free for the installing, just a simple download away... He is starting to come around, but not too soon, though. Security is about the easiest way to get people interested. Considering all the viri attacks on "Windows" PC's lately, this can be a very easy way to get the "bug" in there heads that, Linux may be a better thought.

Just some thoughts,
Ms. Cuddles
-=- Sometimes, when saving the "known" Universe from evil attacking spawn, you gotta take a bathroom break -=-