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I know I'm going to get flamed about this, but then that's part of advocacy :-) Perhaps to keep it short I should do it in summary form. 1. Its NOT the job of any particular shop to promote one "brand" of technology over another. True, better shops will retain more informed staff who will be able to give Joe Punter (JP) an idea of what to expect and which way to go, but ultimately JP makes the decision as to what he buys and the reasons for buying (and rightly so). Sadly informed staff are few and far between and probably chosen more by luck than judgement. Of course you could always become a staff member of one of these establishments, but then I gather the pay isn't great, and hence (unfortunately) the cycle continues. 2. Always bear in mind that open source / linux / GNU "is not just about the software" (c) RMS. Open Source is as much about community membership (IMHO as always). Please remember that while the major contribution is programming skills, there are documenters, artists, testers, "supporters", users, (even advocates) and many other "non programming but skilled" people who have never contributed a line of code, but have never the less made a difference in the Open Source Community. Cherish and celebrate them all, in their part they are good people one and all. 3. IMPORTANT: Not all the community members think and act in the same way, but most of the time they are pulling in the same direction. Example: Philosophically there is a gap (not a rivalry) between RMS (Mr Philosophy) and LT (Mr "Just For Fun"), but both have progressed the Open source movement considerably. Its easy to loose sight of this and become isolated and embittered, if JP looks at you as if you are personally responsible for his machine falling over, my only suggestion is try to develop a thicker skin, and a broader smile (and yes I am also guilty of sensitivity, as many of my posts in the past are a testament to such), but we must all try harder. 4. JP is interested in a solution. If open source does it for him/her so much the better, but he/she may not wish to sing from the roof tops the virtues of using open source, neither may he/she be that enthusiastic about solving his own frustrating problems. In my computing career I have had my fare share of frustration, disillusionment and yet more frustration. Being able to turn to a "Bigger Brother" (in the friendly sense) has made the difference between calm existence and chaotic madness (or maybe I have just come to accept my own personal chaotic madness). Yes it may be trivial question to you "been there, done that, etc. .... etc....." but lets face it if we knew the answers we would never ask any questions, and it doesn't do any harm to anybody to have an alternative solution suggested that is more efficient (apart from a slight bruise to the ego, yes I'm talking to you Tom). There will always be those that will seek to shortcut reading a manual or trying something out, see it as an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and pass on a word or two of wisdom. Genuine ignorance is however usually a by-product of confidence (lack there of), and nothing can be more damaging to someone's confidence than the words "RTFM you stupid ...........". 5. So therefore, please be patient with JP, it really isn't a daft question to him/her. 6. There are many ways to skin a rabbit (so I'm told). Certainly there are many different routes to expanding the community of linux users. My favourite is to provide facilities to people who would have none otherwise through the recycling project that I am involved with, its also my "payback" contribution to the linux community. However this is MY favoured way of contributing, and I am sure we can all find our own routes to follow. (See Point 3 for clarification). 7. Perhaps the best form of advocacy is answering someone's (seemingly insignificant question) with a pleasant answer and a happy smile. Yes they will plague you for more answers and possibly one day find one that even you cant answer (that's when the humble pie comes running through the door), but the point is you are contributing, and hopefully they will be able to field some of the questions others ask and thus also become valued members of the community like yourself. 8 Definitely the worst answer to a question is RTFM. Reply with an informative answer and next time (hopefully) JP will ask a more informed question. At least provide a page reference ? It maybe worth noting that your future boss may be lurking on group (or looking through its archives). So if you mentioned on your CV that you are a member of XYZ group he may well have taken the initiative and looked at the kind of posts you put on that group. Now if you are going for that top job in support you cant really consider yourself as a viable candidate if all your replies are RTFM. Its all part of advocacy. Your future may count on it ! 9. VERY IMPORTANT : You may be a programmer, an artist, DBA, SA, advocate, tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, humble user, JP, but never the less you are always an advocate and representative of the open source community, "treat others with the same respect that you deserve". 10. WARNING: communities have only two directions to go in. They can either grown or shrink. to re phrase the words of JFK "Ask not what your community can do for you, ask what you can do for your community". So long as people continue to contribute to the open source community it will grow and grow, may it "live long and prosper". BUT communities are like coral reefs, they take years to grow but can be damaged so easily. Good answers lead to growth. Negative answers lead to at best long term damage and (more usually) permanent damage. Also there is always a danger of inward looking and self congratulation. We all buy the same sort of magazines, join the same newsgroups, and speak the same sort of advocacy to each other, there is always "virgin" soil for open source, if you see some, think of ways of plant the seeds needed to grow the community. Write to your local paper, organise a local event (ask for help if you need it), tell a (non linux) friend, sit someone down in front of your computer for half an hour, but most of all don't give up trying. Finally if you have read this far, thanks for your bearing with my protracted waffle, consider yourself a true advocate ;-) Tom. 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