Edit: that wall of text really got away from me sorry. Tried so hard to not be misunderstood 😅
I really don’t wanna defend Linus here buuuut…
I can see someone who’s switching over from Windows making the same mistake, especially if they’re good with Windows but new to Linux. You get so conditioned constantly telling Windows to take off the fucking training wheels and ignoring all its bullshit warnings that I can see you making the same assumptions on your first(ish) time using Linux. Plus you don’t expect something as benign as installing Steam to destroy your desktop manager.
His biggest criticism if I remember correctly was also that widespread adoption won’t be feasible until <whatever distro> is idiot proof and I agree. Ease of use is there these days but the things that make Linux so powerful can also be the things your average Windows user (deletes desktop shortcuts by accident and panics thinking they uninstalled their apps level of technical) can use to break their install, especially if they blindly follow one of the many (sometimes out of date) tutorials out there that tell you to run some random commands in the terminal.
With that said, it’s still his mistake. He should’ve read the damn instructions, and owned up to it more. He’s technical enough to know you can’t go in assuming you know how to use something you’re new to.
Obligatory I fucking love Linux and hope it becomes the default someday not just because fuck Windows and fuck Microsoft, but because it’s genuinely amazing in its own right.
I knew this was Douglas Adams by the tone but had to look it up to realize it was Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Time for a re-read!