But a sense of not being to blame was not far behind. It's difficult to understand but again his reasons were similar to those of the first case I cited - GNU/Linux would not give him this functionality or that which he found on Windows.

I wonder why people feel they have to justify these decisions. All my adult life I've been under the impression that an operating system is a tool. If the tool doesn't do what you want it to do, then obviously you need to change it. Do you really need to apologise for it? Do you really need to try and apportion blame to something else?

When it comes to people who try to convince the whole world that they tried to use GNU/Linux but failed due to reasons over which they had no control, nobody, but nobody, tells this kind of idiot what needs to be told: you shouldn't have ever tried to use GNU/Linux. It's not for people like you. Don't even think about it.

(For some strange reason, a large percentage of GNU/Linux users tend to feel that it is their bounden duty to try and make others follow their steps when it comes to choice of operating system. Somehow, using GNU/Linux is projected as the "right" thing to do. In other words, users of other OSs should feel guilty that they are not on the straight and narrow. The cry goes out: "Ahoy there, salvation lies over here; we'll help you get a toehold.")

When the confessions I referred to at the start see the light of day, the way readers flagellate themselves has to be read to be believed. They advance every possible reason to justify the confession; the occasional comment which seems logical is shouted down and drowned in invective.