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tl:dr: We're a bunch of condescending elitists ('elders') who will ban you for trying to discuss Debian in channels which are supposed to be related to Debian.

Translation(s): English - Italiano

(!) ?Discussion


The Fable of the Channel of #debian

Once upon a time, there was an IRC network called OPN (which is now called FN, freenode)), which had a nice little Channel called #debian. And all the people of Debianland would gather there, and they would talk. Some of these people were the kind that breathed and ate and slept and (allegedly) thought; and some were the kind that lived in computers and followed precise instructions to the letter. But they all lived happily together, for the most part, and talked and talked all the night and day.

Debian began to prosper and to spread its ideas far and wide, and the population of Debianland grew, as populations of the breathing-and-eating kinds of people are wont to do. When new people suddenly come into existence, they are quite ignorant, for they lack the rich heritage and experience of the people who have been around for a while. The new people demanded care and attention, and they had neither manners nor respect for rules. They did not read the instructions that the elders laid before them, nor did they put thought or time into their questions. They were incapable of caring for themselves, and had to be diapered and fed and burped. Those that could not grow beyond the infant stage were cast out of the Channel. Even the people who lived inside the computers and followed instructions were similarly rude and insensitive, spewing their creators' advertisements to everyone near and far.

The once merry Channel had become crowded, and chaotic, and tumultuous. People had to be turned away when they committed increasingly minor offenses. The elders no longer had the time to put diapers on all of the newborn people, and burp them, and read them bedtime stories. The elders only had time to stack up the diapers in neat little rows, and the books in other rows, and say unto the babies, "Here, do thou read this fine manual, and put upon thyself this diaper, for thou dost pollute the very air." And some of the newborn babies diapered themselves, and read the books that the elders had written, and grew into children and even adults. And others of the newborn babies threw tantrums, demanding that someone else read the books for them, and they were scolded and spanked and sent away.

Some of the babies throwing tantrums were not even members of Debianland; they were changelings that had wandered in from foreign lands, such as the neighboring dukedom of Knoppixton, or the Island of Ubuntubia. And they harassed the elders of the Channel of #debian, demanding that the elders fix the problems that they had on their strange Island, all the while pretending that the problem was actually occurring within Debianland. And the elders would waste great amounts of time scratching their heads, wondering how such a problem could be occurring within Debianland, for the problem made no sense. Then, when the elder finally learned that the problem was one of Knoppixton or Ubuntubia, the elder would wax wroth, and would hurl the changeling out of the Channel, followed by a stream of invective and curses.

But some of these unchanged babies complained to the King of Debianland, saying unto him, "The elders of #debian are mean and rude, and they do not answer our questions!" And the King and his Court came unto the Channel of #debian, and they saw the elders scolding and spanking the babies who needed to be disciplined, and hurling away the changelings. And they said unto the elders, "You are rude, and We like it not. You will be rude no more, for you bear Our name, and your rudeness in Our name will not be tolerated."

And so the elders faced a dilemma. The King and his Court did not know the ways of the Channel of #debian, nor of the people who demanded to be babied, nor how to deal with them. The Court had other responsibilities, and if they were to spend their time changing diapers and reading bedtime stories to whining infants, the land of Debian would fall into disrepair, for who would maintain the buildings and the fields? Most of the elders of the Channel of #debian were not of the Court, and most of the Court were not familiar with the Channel. Neither the elders nor the Court could do the job of the other; and yet the Court had been incited by the King to come and Investigate The Problem Of The Channel. So for a few days, a handful of the Courtiers would come into the Channel, and would attempt to change a few diapers, and then they would leave. The elders watched, shaking their heads sadly, knowing that the situation was not healthy, yet not knowing how to bring back the times of joy and conviviality that the Channel had once known.